Strategies for Growth in Business & Lessons From 4×4 Racing

How in the world could racing in the Baja 1000 be related to strategies for growth in business? I’ve spent decades behind the wheel of four-wheel drives (two of mine pictured above) and about as much time as a small business owner. Over breakfast this morning, I was thinking about both and realized that there are plenty of correlations between the two.

There is so much romance to racing in the Baja 1000. It’s the 4×4 enthusiast’s equivalent to climbing Everest and, in many ways, is set upon for the sheer intensity of the experience. The testing of your skills. The teamwork required. The unimaginable serenity and beauty of open, rugged country. The people you meet along the way with the willingness to help or hurt you. There are more experiences per second when you race the Baja 1000 that, if you pay attention, will have a lifetime’s worth of lessons.

Business growth is also romantic. A business usually starts as a dream. It comes from nothing except for the grit, determination, vision, sacrifice, and stamina of the hopeful business owner. There are plenty of highs and lows. Summits and dry desert lakes. And, of course, like racing, the idea of a finish line.

In this article, I’ll share several racing experiences that might inspire you to implement a victorious growth strategy for your business. Onward!

Sponsorships, Business Strategy, and Asking

One of the first things you’ll learn if you ever want to race in Baja is that it takes some serious cash – no matter your skill level or race class. Even in one of the least competitive classes, a single race might have cost me about $50,000.00 – and there was never a guarantee of a finish. Insanity.

If you’re starting a business, you’ll definitely need some capital. Finding some should be part of any launch or go-to-market strategy. But what if your needs are more than just capital? What if you need a product, too?

In racing, plenty of businesses see the value of putting their products, services, and brands in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators. As part of their own growth strategy, sponsorship opportunities typically include cash and products, helpful for any race team. Or business.

Partnerships are an essential part of any business growth strategy. So, how do you build them? You ask. If you’re a startup team or business, determine your core values. Never tried this? Great! Fill in the blanks, “We are a [team/business] that believes in [your core belief]. Without us, the [race/market] would lose [whatever you uniquely bring to the table]. Here’s some suggestions:

1. Start researching businesses that align with your core values.
2. Go to the company’s About page or LinkedIn page.
3. Track down the senior-level marketing person and write a letter – asking for a partnership.

Part of the fun of having a race car is displaying all those awesome stickers along your vehicle’s body panels. It gives you street cred and authority. So why not have some bragging rights with your business, too? Develop some strategic partnerships as part of your growth strategy, and you might be surprised by who steps up with cash and product (and stickers)

Business Growth & Maintaining Race Pace

Back to the peninsula for a second. The terrains you cover are diverse. You’ll start on asphalt, quickly launch into hardpacked mud, then hills, some more road, then The Sierras, the dry lakebeds, the silt, the rocky beaches, and the blind cliffside hairpins.

What does any of that have to do with building a successful business growth strategy? Because of the varied terrain, every racer knows (or learns) that there is a time to go slow and a time to go fast. The course (and the route changes every year) is so treacherous that you have to take every opportunity you can to go flat out and make up time.

So the business growth strategy rule for this section: Sometimes you go slow. Sometimes, you go fast.

Here’s how you do that: Identify the cycles or elements of your business that are like navigating broken cliffside tracks (often in the dark, with damaged headlights). Take the time to go slow. Every inch and every detail matters. Don’t sacrifice your processes, and always strive for forward progress.

When conditions are favorable, and you know you’ve got endless miles of flat, dry neolithic lake beds, punch it. 

For business purposes, this could mean attending a local conference for your target market, having your team implement an email campaign, or doing whatever is appropriate for you to elevate your customer service experience.

Every business is different, and if you’re scratching your head, wondering how going slow and going fast applies to your business strategy, drop me an email. I’m happy to brainstorm with you or just keep reading for a little more about going slow and going fast.

Making the Climb. Beating What’s Tough

One of the first tests that await any race team are the near-vertical rocky trails that take you over the summit of the Sierra Juarez Mountains – which run the middle of Baja from north to south. Naturally, the race planners want to kill you, so as you cross from the Pacific to the Gulf and then sometimes back, mindfulness is the key.

Usually, the tracks crossing the Sierras are littered with broken vehicles. In nearly all cases, it’s due to carelessness. Most businesses fail because, somewhere, they’re careless. They’re careless with their customers. They’re careless with quality. They’re careless with attention to marketing and market development strategy.

So if you don’t want your Range Rover (that’s what I race – and drive) or business to break down or burst into flames, this essential 4×4 rock crawling rule must become your mantra:

Steady pedal – hood horizon.

I don’t mean a steady pedal with the throttle wide open. I’m talking about maintaining 5 MPH at about 1200 RPM. This allows the torque of your motor to effectively meet the ground in a way that helps you keep traction and momentum. How might that apply to your business growth strategy?

“Hood horizon” essentially keeps you aware of the fact that your vehicle will flip if you do not focus on correct wheel placement and let your suspension do its job of articulating over the terrain. In a sense, your hood becomes your level gauge. You might be in trouble if your hood gets to about 45 degrees or more. In those instances, you might need your co-driver to hop out and stand on the opposite corner of the front bumper as a ballast.

Back to your business growth strategy. Saving yourself from flipping over always comes down to wheel placement, which also comes from reading the trail ahead. How well can you see what’s ahead of you? Is your pricing strategy and level of quality and service on point with the needs of your customer base? Are you a one-trick pony that will suffer swings in the economy, or is there a diversification strategy in place that helps you win in all seasons?

Take the time you need to anticipate trail conditions so that your wheels always deliver forward progress

Don’t Sink in The Silt Beds

There’s a portion of the Baja 1000 that is the most feared and perhaps the most exhilarating: the silt beds. Imagine an expanse of red talcum powder that stretches on for miles and is about five feet deep in some cases.

You are often flying blind, knowing full well that your vehicle can be swallowed whole (if you’re lucky). So how do you survive the silt beds? Keep your foot on the gas at all times, no matter what.

I think the business equivalent of the silt beds is implementing a market penetration strategy. So how do you not get swallowed whole?

Trust your data: When looking for more market share (or traversing the silt beds), you need data. My race vehicle has a marine-grade satellite navigation system that can alert me to obstacles along the route. When trying to expand a customer base, I also depend on a lot of data, but my flavor of choice is search intent. I love seeing what a business’s customers are looking for and building campaigns around that data. There’s no flying blind when your foot’s on the gas. Data makes that possible. ROI is your outcome (not dying is your data-driven outcome in the silt).

Trust your co-driver: Your job as the driver (or business owner) is to steer and keep your foot on the gas. Your co-driver is there to call out directions and read your equipment’s data stream so your engine and transmission don’t overheat and your breathing machine stays functional so that you don’t crash into a giant man-eating cactus (yes, they’re out there). As I sit here writing this, I realize this is why I love running an agency so much. We’re the co-driver for your business. Teaming up with a proven business consultant is essential to any business growth strategy.

Pray: Yeah. Not gonna lie. Even with equipment and a great co-driver, the silt beds are scary. There’s this moment right before you hit the beds where your vehicle launches into the air before making the plunge. In that Elliot & E.T. moment, I often say a quick and earnest prayer that we make it out the other side. What does prayer have to do with a successful business growth strategy? It can help you create a vision for what you hope to see happen.

Take the time to be clear about your business. Remember: It’s your business. Make it work how you want. Take it where you want it to go. See if you can determine these things at the start because, let me tell you: course-correcting in the silt beds is madness. But if you have to, that’s where data and the right industry expert as your implementation specialist will be invaluable.

Pit-Stops, Rest, and Defining Your Wins

I’m willing to bet most people reading this article are business owners and founders. Right there, we share a lot in common. We’ve sacrificed so much of ourselves, our time, our resources, and our sanity for something we believe in. At what cost? Are we the life partners we want to be? Are we better than our parents? Are we enjoying the freedom we hoped to create in our lives, or has the quest for freedom become an all-consuming monster that eats up all the time we have?

In Baja, a podium finish isn’t necessarily the win. You’ll hear so many racers talking about this in Ensenada’s cantinas: the finish is the win.

The race is nearly impossible. Running a business of any size can certainly feel that way, too. Taking the time to identify personal goals helps me live the life I want and have the business I want. The podium finish, for me, isn’t the money. It’s time. With those I love. Doing what I love to do.

I have implemented a mandatory “Fridays off forever” policy. Everyone appreciates it and feels valued because of it. One could argue that top-line productivity suffers. Maybe. But happiness and fulfillment replace it. Which is more important to those I serve and those I work with. That’s what a win means to me. What does a win really mean to you?

You cannot get across the finish line without coordinating your pit stops with your team. You get to check in, have some water, take a quick stretch, pee (for the less competitive teams, anyway), and fix what’s broken.

Do you do this in your business? While chasing all mighty revenue growth, product expansion, team performance, and more, when do you stop? When was the last time you sent a remote member a coffee gift card? When was the last time you took everyone to lunch (for 2 hours)? When was the last time you had all important 1:1’s where you could celebrate what’s great or fix the things that are broken?

Like muscles, businesses (and race teams) are made incrementally stronger during much-needed periods of rest.

As someone who works with tireless enthusiasm and passion, I’ll be the first to tell you that sometimes, even when blasting across Laguna Diablo at 90 MPH at 5:30 a.m., it pays to stop, even for a second. There’s a dome of stars that sear through a purple canvas. There’s a sweet smell of cactus nectar and sage that rides on the breeze. There’s a stillness to be found in 36 hours otherwise filled with chaos.

Every race is won with moments of stillness and rest. When was the last time you stopped?

Kicking Up Dust – Reflections on Growth in Business & Racing

That’s what racers call talking about Baja. I didn’t mean for this article to go for as long as it has. But much like kicking up dust with my fellow racers, I’m glad to have spent the time here with you.

I hope that some of these associations with 4×4 racing were helpful to you, and if you ever want to talk strategies for growth in business (or which breathing machine works best in the silt beds), I’m just an email away.