How Adriaan Bouten found his tribe in Collecitve 54 and grew his professional services firm
You don't know what you don't know
Adriaan Bouten is the founder and CEO of Digital Prism Advisors (dPrism), a boutique consulting firm that helps executives unlock hidden potential in today’s digital ecosystem. dPrism works with enterprise organizations to identify and execute digital growth opportunities through sound cohesive strategy, effective technology selection, and digital process improvement.
Founded in 2014, dPrism has grown into a successful firm with clients that generate a few hundred million in revenue to a few billion in revenue. “We know how to serve our clients very well,” said Adriaan. “However, our biggest challenge is getting more clients.”
In addition to the continual need to attract new clients, Adriaan had contracting and invoicing issues he needed to be resolved. He also wanted to expand dPrism’s sales and marketing capabilities. But with so many tasks on his plate, he wasn’t sure where to start.
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” said Adriaan.
what makes collective 54 unique
When Collective 54 reached out to Adriaan, he took a long look at the organization. “The first thing I noticed was that I already knew a few of its members,” said Adriaan. “That made me even more comfortable becoming a member myself.”
Collective 54 is the first mastermind community for boutique
professional services firms. The community is focused on helping members make more, work less, and get to a bigger exit faster. This is done through peer-to-peer mentoring, expertise sharing, and specialized programming built to help founders and owners grow, scale, and sell their firms.
“Over the years, I’ve been a member of various CEO ‘peer group’
organizations,” said Adriaan. “The problem with those groups was that my issues weren’t the same as the issues the other CEOs were dealing with.
“In Collective 54, even though we’re all working in different specialties, we’re all boutique consulting firms. From public relations firms to human resources consulting firms, our core issues are the same.”
As a member of Collective 54, Adriaan quickly learned that the group offers far-reaching benefits that flow from unmatched peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Based on his experience, Adriaan decided to have both dPrism’s president and COO join Collective 54.
“The reason I wanted my president and COO to join was that I don’t have the bandwidth, or the responsibility, to deploy everything I’m learning in Collective 54,” said Adriaan. “Now, they learn alongside me and we have group debriefs after each session to make our learnings more actionable.”
Adriaan has made many valuable connections with other Collective 54 members, which have led to one-on-one conversations that helped him address specific business issues. He’s also become a client of a couple of members who are helping him better manage his firm.
“My firm is in a better place than it would’ve been if I hadn’t joined Collective 54,” said Adriaan. “I continue to be a member not just because I’m always learning new things, but also because I’ve built relationships with other members whom I respect and who respect me.”
membership has its benefits
expanded sales and marketing capabilities
An important business impact has been Adriaan’s ability to expand dPrism’s sales and marketing capabilities. “Through Collective 54, I’ve gotten excellent checklists and tools to help us create new business opportunities,” said Adriaan.
actionable learnings
“One of Collective 54’s strong benefits is that what
we learn during sessions is immediately actionable,” said
Adriaan. “That helps us make better business decisions.”
better cash flow position
“I learned about best practices regarding our invoicing and
contracting issues,” said Adriaan. “Now I know what really works with this deceptively straightforward issue. Today, we are in a much better cash position after changing the way we do things.”