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Despite being a successful international business, it wasn’t until director Darren Attard signed up for the Growth Accelerator Program delivered by MGI and the City of Gold Coast that he started to consider the real purpose behind Jet Pilot and why his business did what it did.

Jet Pilot is a 30-year-old strong international brand. The business has loyal customers, great products and a strong head office team. However, director Darren Attard has long believed that, to remain relevant for tomorrow, his business needs to continue to adapt.

As head of the business, he seeks out opportunities to drive this.

 

Participating in the Growth Accelerator Program

Eight months ago, Darren was selected to participate in a six-month Growth Accelerator Program run by MGI and funded by the City of Gold Coast.

“While we have been very successful in the past, I know that if we keep doing things like we did 10 years ago we won’t be around to see the light of day tomorrow,” he said.

The focus of the Growth Accelerator Program is to help each business establish where they are now, where they want to be and the strategy for how they are going to get there.

Each business is supported by monthly coaching to help them focus on executing their strategy and to help them to accelerate opportunities and overcome hurdles throughout their growth journey.

Understanding how well the business was really performing

As part of the program Jet Pilot undertook a detailed financial assessment process.
Darren said he found the program’s baseline assessment and financial health check very insightful.

“The review and grading system Grant undertook was different to anything other chartered accountants had done for me in the past.

“It helped me assess what I could do to add more commercial value to my business.”

Help to articulate the Jet Pilot purpose

However, the biggest take-away for Darren was the process of workshopping why the Jet Pilot business did what it did or simply why it was that his team turned up to work every day.

“Throughout the program Grant kept challenging the group to remember ‘people don’t buy what you do but why you do it’,” Darren said.

“This really resonated with me and wasn’t something I’d considered before.

“I went back and presented what Grant had covered with the Growth Accelerator Group to my internal team.

“I sent them home for the weekend with the challenge to come back with five key reasons why we did what we did.

Live.Ride.Escape proposition is born

Darren and his team then workshopped their ideas further and eventually drilled it down to: live.ride.escape.

“Our audience wants to really live their life.

“For them this includes the rush from the ultimate ride that our products give.

“Ultimately, we are offering them an escape.

“This clarity around the vision for our brand has helped drive momentum and clarity for our business strategy over the next three years.”

Live.ride.escape has also now become the face of the Jet Pilot marketing campaign.

The campaign and strategy has resonated strongly with internal staff and distributors alike.

In a recent pitch to 22 international accounts, the group was blown away by the team’s clarity on where Jet Pilot wants to be and how they are going to get there.

 

Help developing and staying accountable to a plan

Grant and Darren also made significant progress in their one-to-one coaching sessions to get this strategy into a strategic one-page business plan—something Jet Pilot has never had before.

“This is probably the biggest thing I’ve realised I need to work on,” Darren said.

“What I have found in the past is that when you’re running a business, you run four steps forward but sometimes forget to go back and link arms with the troops.

“I found that one-page plan really good for this. Its simplicity means it’s not complicated to write. It’s literally a list of bullet points that need to be done.”

Developing the personal confidence to lead

The journey for Darren over the past six months has also been somewhat of a personal challenge. One of the key strategies he’s been working on is having the confidence to become a visual and motivating cheerleader of the business.

“I’m not usually one to stand in front of a crowd—in fact, it’s my biggest fear,” he said.

“However, now my business has grown to 35 people, Grant has been encouraging me to learn how to overcome this fear.

“This is a personal weakness we’ve been working on.”

The future is looking exciting for Jet Pilot. A brand new marketing campaign features their inspirational live.ride.escape proposition. The team is talking to suppliers about what they stand for and where their brand is headed, and everyone is motivated and excited to be a part of this journey.

Darren says he’d definitely recommend this process to other businesses.

“If you’re looking to be creative in your business and you’re looking to grow and embrace a process—definitely this process would be of value to you.”

“Grant is encouraging and engaging, and I guarantee he won’t miss any of your hot buttons.”

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