BILLINGS — Starting a business is something that many dream of and many attempt. There are over 33 million small businesses in the United States. In Yellowstone County, small business owners make up 21% of the workforce.
Billings resident Andy Rahn is a part of that 21%. He owns Montana Land Source, a land market resource company based in Billings.
"I’m a little bit unique in pivoting from kind of a safe, established, professional services career in business, to something more entrepreneurial... I find the mapping and the data of tracking the whole state pretty interesting and pretty fun. So, I pivoted full-time about three years ago to Montana land source." said Rahn.
He created a resource online where people can see maps of all the properties that are listed in the state of Montana. It's been a success, but that's not always the case.
80% of small businesses fail in the U.S.
On Friday, Denver based company, TrueSpace was in Billings to help owners like Rahn, grow their businesses even more.
"There’s a very distinct space between starting a business and scaling one and we call that TrueSpace. So, we as a company have invested heavily in that space. There are 2.1 million businesses in the United States that are between those two posts," said TrueSpace Chairman & CEO, Charles Fred.
Fred mentioned that many businesses fall short in three crucial areas.
"Time, capital and talent. If you’re not using those precisely as a business builder, you’re basically not growing," Fred added.
But not all growth is good.
"Our data suggests that rapid growth in a business is the quickest way to die. We’re here to say, don’t grow fast, grow predictably. Grow in a way that you know how to use time, capital and talent," Fred said.
"Fast growth isn’t necessarily good growth, and a lot of businesses really struggle with that because they might be thinking they’re making a ton of money. But at the end of the day, did they look at all the factors, and are they actually making any money?" said Rock31 Interim GM Kayla Vokral.
Feedback and advice that Rahn has consistently found at Rock31, both of which have set him on a trajectory where he says, the "sky’s the limit."
"To be a part of Rock31, especially with all these entrepreneurs down here, and just having the collaborative work environment that I can’t quite build within my own business yet, because I just don’t have that big of a team is great. But to just be around those entrepreneurs, spitball ideas and get support has just been invaluable, absolutely invaluable," Rahn said.
