Rodina Ventures Ltd.

How to Grow a Small Business and Why Most Get Stuck In the early days of a business, growth often comes from working harder. You take on more clients, put in more hours, and do whatever it takes to move things forward. Over time, that approach...

We see this all the time. High-performing technical professionals who step into leadership roles and are expected to figure it out as they go.

They’ve built their careers on being capable, reliable, and technically strong.
Then the role changes.

Now they’re responsible for setting direction, developing people, making decisions under pressure, and leading teams.

No one trains them for that change.

That’s why we built the ASCEND™ Leadership Program.

It is a structured 14-week coaching program designed specifically for technical professionals stepping into leadership roles.

It’s a practical program that is built for real-world leadership challenges.

Participants strengthen their ability to:
• Lead with a style that reflects their own values
• Make decisions with confidence
• Develop their team and build trust
• Navigate difficult conversations calmly
• Set direction that people understand and follow

If you or someone in your network is in that transition, this program was built for that moment.

Andrew Buzinsky is offering a 45-minute no-obligation Leadership Strategy Call.

It is an opportunity to step back, think clearly, and decide what your next move should be.

👉 Book here: https://lnkd.in/gAkxpiDK

Some of the best leadership lessons I ever received did not come from business school.

They came from the turret of an armoured fighting vehicle.

When I was a young Officer Cadet in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves, I spent two summers training at the Armour School at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick as part of the Reserve Entry Scheme Officer program.

The first summer was mostly about breaking us down and building us back up. A lot of physical training, marching, and infantry exercises on foot. The goal was to test endurance, resilience, and teamwork while teaching the fundamentals of leadership.

The second summer was the one we were all looking forward to.
That was the armour training.

Driving light armoured fighting vehicles, maintenance, tactics, gunnery training, and spending time on the range firing the 76 mm gun. We spent hours in the gunnery simulator and even more time in the field running exercises.

Most of us were young reservists. What many people called “weekend warriors.”

Our instructors were the opposite. Regular Force soldiers who had served overseas and who took their profession very seriously. They were tough, direct, and extremely professional.

One day during a field exercise I was in the turret acting as the Troop Leader, responsible for leading four armoured vehicles through a tactical trace. We were stopped just behind the crest of a hill, using the terrain to hide the vehicle from anyone who might be observing from the other side.

I remember sitting there looking through the binoculars, trying to decide what to do next.

My instructor, a Captain in the Regular Force, kept pressing me.
“What are you going to do next?”
“What is the plan?”
I hesitated.

Finally he slammed his fist down and yelled,
“Make a decision!”

And in that moment I learned something important about leadership.

Not making a decision is often worse than making the wrong one.

In business we often wait for perfect information before acting. The reality is that most decisions are made with incomplete data.

Waiting rarely makes the decision easier.

Progress usually starts the moment you decide to move.

That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career.

Interestingly, decision making is one of the topics that comes up most often in my coaching work with founders and senior leaders. Many of them are carrying the weight of decisions that affect people, strategy, and the future of their companies.

It is easy to feel like you need perfect clarity before acting.
Leadership rarely works that way.

Often the real work is building the confidence to make the best decision you can with the information you have and then moving forward.

If you are in a leadership role and find yourself stuck between too many options or waiting for more information before acting, that is exactly the type of challenge we work through in coaching conversations.

https://www.CalgaryBusinessCoach.ca

For the first part of my career I thought I would spend my life building equipment.

I trained as an engineer and the path seemed fairly obvious at the time. Solve technical problems, design better tools, and keep improving the technology that people would eventually use in the field.

The real turning point for me came when I had the opportunity to build and lead an R&D team.

What surprised me was how much energy I got from watching the team grow. Seeing people develop confidence, grow in their careers, and achieve more than they thought they were capable of was far more satisfying than solving the technical problems myself.

That experience forced me to recognize something about myself that I had not really articulated before. I was more interested in building organizations than building equipment.

That realization eventually pushed me toward business school, earning an MBA and a CMA designation (now CPA), and then finding opportunities where I could combine my knowledge of the oilfield with the skills needed to grow and lead a company.

Looking back, that R&D team was really the moment where the pivot happened.

I would be curious to hear what moment in your career made you realize you were meant to do something different.

This topic actually came up during a recent conversation I had on the Back to Business Calgary podcast, which made me reflect on that turning point.

Podcast link: https://lnkd.in/gh3BN9FJ

A leadership trap I see all the time is nostalgia.

When things get hard, leaders start saying things like:

“We just need to get back to how things used to be.”

But the truth is simple.

The past worked because the conditions were different.
Customers changed.
Talent changed.
Expectations changed.

Nostalgia might feel comforting, but it is not a strategy.

Strong leaders take what worked before, keep the lessons, and then build something that fits the world as it is today.

That work is not easy. But it is where real leadership happens.

If you are navigating change, growth, or uncertainty in your business, I spend a lot of time helping leaders think through exactly this.

Link in bio.

This Wednesday morning at BNI Vibe, I will be speaking about the 2 main building blocks of any size of business: value proposition and the business model.

Even if you're a one-person business, your business will not succeed without a well thought out business model and value proposition.

If you have a business services company such as commercial real estate or corporate finance, come visit our chapter this week in person at The Glencoe Club 7:00 AM. Send me a message for a personal invitation to the meeting and find out how BNI can help you grow your business through referrals.



https://www.calgarybusinesscoach.ca/

The Shift No One Warns Technical Leaders About
You were promoted because you had the answers.

Now you are expected to provide direction.

That is a different job.

In our webinar From Technical Expert to Leader, we talked about this exact shift. Most technical leaders are trained to solve problems. Very few are trained to define long term direction.

In the article I just published, I wrote:
“Most organizations have a vision statement but far fewer have a vision that shapes decisions.”

That is the gap.

You can optimize systems all day long. But if your team does not know what you are building and why, they will execute efficiently in different directions.

That is not a performance issue, it's a clarity issue.

If you are navigating this transition from expert to leader, send me a DM. Or book 30 minutes with me and we can walk through the framework together.

Book a meeting here: https://lnkd.in/gVhMdG3B
Rodina Ventures Ltd.

One of the most common leadership traps I see is the habit of waiting for permission, even in moments where the cost of waiting is obvious.

Permission from the board, permission from the market, permission from someone with a bigger title or louder voice.

The challenge is that moments do not wait. Windows open and close, conditions shift, and by the time permission arrives, the situation that required leadership has already changed. What felt cautious at the time often turns into regret later.

Strong leadership is not reckless, but it is decisive. It is the ability to assess reality, understand the risks, and move with intention instead of waiting to be told it is safe. Autonomy does not mean acting alone. It means choosing direction, building the right alliances, and taking responsibility for the outcome.

I have seen leaders stall because they wanted certainty before acting, only to discover that certainty never arrives in fast moving environments.

Momentum, once lost, is far harder to rebuild than it is to protect.
If this resonates, I would be interested to hear where you have seen waiting slow progress, either in your organization or in your own leadership role.

https://www.CalgaryBusinessCoach.ca

If you are thinking about starting a business or have already started one and are stuck with what to do next, you should consider these programs. Two programs that are led by a certified executive coach with experience building $100M+ businesses in over 10 countries.

Interested? Drop by https://www.CalgaryBusinessCoach.ca for more information and schedule a no-obligation consultation.

35% of startups fail for one simple reason: they build something nobody wants. Let that sink in for a minute. Over a third of startups die because there was no real demand. Not because the founder was lazy. Not because they did not work hard. Not because they lacked passion. They built something the market did not care about. CB Insights reviewed over 100 startup failures and this keeps showing up. And yet I still see founders skip the most important step. They fall in love with the idea before they check if anyone else does. Here is the part most people do not like hearing. Most startup failures happen before launch, not after. That is why we run two different programs for two very different stages. Startup Boot Camp This is for founders who: • Have an idea but are not sure the market cares • Want proof before they spend real money • Need a hard answer before they go all in The goal is not hype. The goal is a decision: proceed, pivot, or stop. Then comes the next stage. The Launch Program Once the idea is validated, we: • Study real market trends • Define a sharp Ideal Client Profile • Build a value proposition buyers actually respond to • Design a business model you can execute You leave with a clear, editable launch playbook. Not theory. Not fluff. Not motivational quotes on a slide. No group coaching. No generic startup advice. No building in the dark. If you are thinking about starting a business this year, the smartest first move is figuring out what stage you are actually in. Go to CalgaryBusinessCoach.ca Book a no obligation 30 minute call Building fast is optional. Building smart is not.

Check out this FREE WEBINAR! Next week will be too cold to go outside to cuddle up by your computer for this great leadership webinar from someone who has gone from technical expert to business leader.

You were the go-to expert and now you’re the boss (or want to be). Different job with different skills, but nobody gave you the manual. Most people get promoted because they’re great at what they do. But leadership means getting results through others, not just doing more yourself. It means building trust. Setting a clear direction. Asking better questions. And knowing when to let go. If you’re an engineer, accountant, tech, or tradesperson stepping into leadership, this free webinar is for you. We’ll talk about what changes when you move from expert to leader and how to lead without losing your edge. You’ll walk away with: -A simple leadership self-assessment -A tool to help you lead diverse teams with less friction -A new way to look at the role you’ve stepped into -Confidence to step into your new role It’s real talk from someone who’s walked the same path. Spots are limited. Grab your free ticket here: https://lnkd.in/gUcw8ydp

Is your network actually sending you business? Or just watching your stories? @bnivibecalgary is growing because we focus on referrals, accountability, and revenue. Right now, we are opening seats in two Power Teams: Business Services • Digital Marketer • Commercial Banker Property Services • Electrician • Property Manager One seat per profession. No internal competition. Structured referrals every single week. If you’re serious about growth and want to see how a strong referral network works, DM @abuzinsky for a personal invitation to visit a meeting. Let’s turn relationships into revenue. #YYCBusiness #YYCEntrepreneurs #YYCNetworking #YYCSmallBusiness #YYCProfessionals #YYCRealEstate #CalgaryBusiness #CalgaryEntrepreneurs #CalgaryNetworking #CalgarySmallBusiness #SupportLocalYYC #YYCCommunity