The situation

Bonaventure Partners was responsible for turning around a USDA food company based in Chicago that was growing in sales, however, their costs and expenses were off the charts.

Here’s how Bonaventure Partners turned this around by not only making the business more efficient through process improvements, technology, and automation: Through hard work, and determination, we created a new revenue stream by going to market in Canada.

And over the course of two years, they were the 10th largest importer of Canadian beef from this USDA meat producer.

This transformation involves an agreement between a Rabbi & an Imam. It’s a must-listen.

The story

Transcript

My first foray as an entrepreneur when I left corporate was to buy a company, a USDA Food Company in Chicago. This company was growing in sales; however, their costs and expenses were off the chart. So, we had to find a novel way to grow this business and to get them out of their traditional way of doing business with trucking, with labor. It was highly inefficient. It was antiquated. They were using paper receipts, hand counting inventory, and it was just archaic. So, over the course of time, I stepped back and I took a look at how they were doing business and I knew that there were certain things that they had to change or else they were not going to be in business for very long. 

So, given my background, and where I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, I was quite familiar with pareve. And in Kosher, I knew what that meant. And I know that it's a very mature lucrative business. And consequently, I wanted to look at Halal, a Muslim tradition, and get a better understanding of how that sector in the food industry was being served. So, the first thing I had to do is find a supplier. So, I had no luck at all with a US supplier. They wanted no part of it. 

It's a fractured space and I think that especially some of these larger multinational companies, it's too much of a niche and they just weren't interested in it. They couldn't get their head around it at that time. So, I went to the Canadian consulate and they were able to, over many months, knocking on doors and getting to the right people. I found the agricultural group of the consulate, and they in turn sent me to Canada. I met with a number of producers. And then once I went to Canada, and once I found a producer that was willing to talk to me, I had to find an Imam that would support this agenda. 

So, I should add that the producer in Canada was kosher. And I had to convince him that I would buy one day of his capacity, which he was willing to consider, but in order to complete the entire plan, I had to have an Imam to help me. So, I found an Imam after, again, knocking on doors at the Islamic Food Council who weren't very receptive initially. But I was able to not only get his support, but we kind of carved out a business in which we bought this capacity, it was a trial program. We had to change the entire structure of the company that I owned, in that we had to have separate vehicles, trucks. The product had to be in a different part of the warehouse. And we had to be willing to have this inspected seven days a week, 24 hours a day. 

So, the final agreement was with the Rabbi, the Imam, and myself, which was to strike this agreement. And I'm proud to say that over the course of two years, we were the tenth largest importer of Canadian beef from this producer and we were shipping products throughout the United States. And I am most proud of the fact that I was able to bring together various cultures and religions and we built a business around it.

I think it's just basic sales practice that you have to be willing to ask a lot of questions and be told no. And then finally, once you establish the relationship with a decision maker, and to explain that it's a win-win, it's a win ultimately for Canada, it's a win for their Canadian beef producers, and selfishly, it's a win for me and for my company. So, I think the answer lies in, you have to like what you're doing. You have to have a clear objective and be focused.

It's very common for people to not embrace the unknown. And if they're doing business in a certain way, why change it? And it was a risk for them to give up some capacity. And it was a risk for us to go to a new market of immunity, country. And with all the trade and issues with the international transportation of a perishable, a great unknown for all of us. So once that trust was established with all parties, and we were able to prove how this could work, and this is reality, then people were much more open, and then they were willing to even give you more opportunities.

Bonaventure Takeaways

Transformation takes risk & courage.

The reality was that in the long-term if the business didn’t change dramatically, this company would not be in business.

Business growth is about real, empathetic listening.
You have to ask a lot of questions and you have to listen intently to build a coalition. You have to align your business to the benefits of everyone involved.

Combining culture & religion in business is challenging, but not impossible.

The only way this course change could work is if we get the Imam and Rabbi to agree on the agreement. Most people would avoid it due to all the political issues, but through intentional listening, we were able to come to an agreement that benefitted all parties. 

WILLIAM J. O'CONNELL

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

William is an ultra-competitive senior leader with experience leading Fortune 500 divisions and entrepreneurial ventures as an operator, advisor, and investor. He’s a creative, tenacious practical leader with deep, diverse experience in solving difficult challenges. If there is a problem, Bill solves it. Plain and simple.

Bill is also a former amateur boxer and accomplished marathon runner. Will has a strong ability to help clients grow sales, evaluate management teams, and improve operational efficiency.