What opportunities could be hiding inside the successful business you've already built?
You would think a company generating billions of dollars a year would have already identified every opportunity to make more money.
But that wasn't my experience.
More than 40 years ago, I was managing multimillion-dollar departments inside Carter Hawley Hale, a multibillion-dollar retail corporation whose department stores included The Broadway and Weinstock's.
Over my ten years with the company, I worked across men's and women's designer fashion, children's clothing, handbags, shoes, cosmetics, luxury fragrances, and even fur coats that sold for several thousand dollars—back when fur coats were a thing!
At one point, I managed a multimillion-dollar cosmetics department with more than 36 women, including a dozen managers representing leading luxury beauty and fragrance brands.
And let me tell you, managing that many strong personalities, each with their own brand, sales goals, and opinions, required leadership skills that would rival those of any corporate executive!
Believe me, it prepared me for just about anything in life! LOL.
But here's what made my approach different.
I wasn't simply managing the business they had trusted me with. I was constantly looking for ways to elevate it.
How could we create more value?
How could we improve the customer experience?
What opportunities were we overlooking that could generate more revenue?
And I found them.
The Room Nobody Saw as an Opportunity
When I took over the cosmetics department, I discovered a back room being used for inventory storage.
But the room already had equipment we could use for skincare treatments.
I remember thinking, Why in the world aren't we using this?
We transformed that unused storage room into a beautiful, spa-like setting. Then I brought in an esthetician and created skincare and facial treatment events.
We not only generated revenue from the treatments themselves, but we also increased skincare and cosmetic product sales.
One overlooked space became a new revenue stream, increased existing product sales, and created an exceptional customer experience.
And this wasn't the only time.
What I Learned From Some of the World's Leading Luxury Brands
One of the greatest advantages of my retail career was the opportunity to work firsthand with some of the world's most successful luxury beauty, fragrance, and fashion brands.
And I learned far more than how to sell expensive products.
I learned how these brands created desire, built customer loyalty, elevated perceived value, and made the entire buying experience feel special.
The fragrance companies were especially good at this.
They invested heavily in creating exceptional experiences for the people who sold their products.
I had the opportunity to attend beautiful launch events, elegant breakfasts, and receive special gifts. One particularly memorable experience included an overnight stay at an exquisite five-star bed-and-breakfast, followed by an elegant dinner cruise.
These luxury brands knew how to make people feel valued, appreciated, and excited to represent
their products.
They understood something important.
People don't just buy products. They buy into the value, experience, and feelings associated with them.
I carried those lessons into the customer experiences and commercial strategies I created.
But I didn't simply copy what the brands were doing.
I used what I was learning to create my own commercial strategies that attracted buyers, increased sales, strengthened customer relationships, and helped our departments outperform competing stores.
We Sold the Same Products. But We Didn't Sell Them the Same Way.
Whenever a major fragrance launched, every store had access to the same products.
Same brands. Same fragrances. Same prices.
But I wanted our customers to have a different experience.
For one launch, I transformed part of the cosmetics department into a black-and-white dance floor, brought in dancers, and created a Putting on the Ritz experience.
Our department achieved the highest sales for that fragrance launch among the competing stores.
For other launches, I brought in living statue performers holding fragrances or created glamour portrait experiences with professional makeup and beautiful fur coats.
And when we held luxury fur coat trunk shows, we brought in models, served champagne and appetizers, and created an elegant shopping experience.
We weren't simply selling premium products. We were creating experiences that matched their value.
These were my ideas. I developed them, presented them to upper management, and made them happen.
My store management and brand representatives loved working with me because I was always creating, innovating, and finding new ways to drive business.
I consistently exceeded my sales targets, earned performance bonuses, and was promoted into the departments everybody wanted.
I was an intrapreneur long before I became an entrepreneur.
And here's what's important.
I carried those lessons into all seven businesses I've built—five I've sold and two I still run—and into the work I've done advising hundreds of business owners across more than 80 industries.
For 45 years, I've used that thinking to create greater value, elevate market positioning, design exceptional customer experiences, build loyalty, and uncover opportunities that generate more revenue and profit.
It's not just something I learned. It's something I've applied, refined, and proven throughout my business career.
And today, it's at the heart of how I help established business owners elevate their businesses and capture opportunities they may not even know exist.
What Does This Have to Do With Your Firm?
Quite a lot.
I see established professional service firms and agencies doing something similar to what many department managers were doing.
They're delivering excellent services, managing teams, serving clients, marketing their expertise, and keeping the business running.
And many are doing it exceptionally well.
But here's the question.
Are you simply running the business you've built, or are you recognizing the opportunities to elevate it?
You may have expertise that could become an entirely new high-value advisory offer.
You may have existing clients who could benefit from much larger engagements.
You may have relationships that could open doors to higher-caliber buyers.
You may be capable of winning significantly bigger contracts, but your market positioning isn't communicating that capability.
Or you may be delivering exceptional work without creating the kind of client experience that makes your firm the obvious choice.
There may be opportunities inside your business worth far more than simply adding another client or increasing your marketing budget.
You Don't Have to Be Bigger to Become the Better Choice
Here's something else I learned working inside a multibillion-dollar corporation.
Size doesn't mean every opportunity has been recognized.
And being a smaller firm doesn't mean you can't compete for bigger opportunities.
In fact, boutique firms can offer advantages that larger competitors may struggle to match.
Direct access to senior expertise. More personalized attention. Greater flexibility. Stronger relationships. An exceptional client experience.
But those advantages must be positioned and communicated so higher-caliber buyers recognize their value.
You don't have to become a bigger firm to become the better choice for bigger clients.
Sometimes the opportunity isn't in changing what you do.
It's in changing how buyers see, experience, and value what you already do exceptionally well.
This Is What I Mean by Business Elevation
I've spent 45 years recognizing opportunities, creating premium value, designing exceptional client experiences, and engineering strategies that turn opportunities into financial results.
I've built seven businesses, sold five, and advised hundreds of business owners across more than 80 industries.
And here's something I stand behind.
In 16 years of advising business owners, I have NEVER worked with a client where I didn't identify new opportunities for them. Not one.
Sometimes those opportunities were worth tens of thousands of dollars. Other times, hundreds of thousands or millions.
And often, they were opportunities the business owner didn't even know existed.
I've heard it repeatedly from clients who tell me I could see possibilities they couldn't see for themselves—and helped them capitalize on them.
Some have described the experience as life-changing.
And here's the philosophy behind my work:
I don't look at successful businesses and see what needs fixing. I look at what they've built and see what else could be possible.
That's Business Elevation.
Creating greater value. Capturing bigger opportunities. Building a more profitable and valuable business.
What Might I See in Your Business?
If you've built an established firm or agency, there may be significant opportunities inside your business that you haven't recognized yet.
Some could potentially be worth $1 million or more.
And you may not need more employees, more marketing, or more clients to capture them.
You may simply need a different strategy for leveraging what you've already built.
Imagine what could be possible in your business if someone could see opportunities you don't even know exist—and help you capture them.
Let's Explore What's Possible
If you're an established firm or agency owner and you're ready to explore the $1M+ opportunities that may be hiding inside your business, I invite you to schedule a private Business Elevation Strategic Conversation.
We'll explore what you've built, where greater opportunities may exist, and whether there's an opportunity for us to work together.
Book your conversation: https://annlcarden.com
Ann Carden Strategic Business Advisor | Expert In You®
Business Elevation™ — Be Seen. Be Chosen. Be Paid at a Higher Level.
Grow Higher, Not Harder.
