St. Charles business helps other companies find ways to grow
An interview with Chuck Thomas, president, managing director and founder of The Valcort Group in St. Charles.
Q: Describe your business. What do you do?
A: We help companies and organizations identify obstacles that hinder their growth, then create strategies and a road map that results in greater customer engagement and increased sales revenues. We do this using our proprietary Valcort process, which creates trust and prompts high engagement both inside the organization and out.
Q: What made you start your business?
A: After building our Valcort processes and diagnostics over the last 10 years, we're excited to take these proven tools and focus exclusively on our clients' critical issues of growth and innovation. I believed there was a better way to do business and I set out to create an organization that would help clients do that.
Q: What has been the most difficult obstacle in starting the business?
A: Building efficient, effective tools that work every time to help our clients grow.
Q: What do you enjoy most about operating your business?
A: Finding the key insight that is the secret to an organization's growth and achieving the CEO's vision.
Q: Is this what you pictured yourself doing when you were young? When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I have always wanted to help people engage with others and bring change for good. I believe our organization does that.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: The excitement of the next day, working with our really smart, creative teams to probe and solve our clients most difficult growth challenges. I am so grateful that we have the trust and commitment of great clients that engage us to help them solve these problems. It's incredibly rewarding.
Q: If you could give one tip to a rookie business owner, what would it be?
A: Find something you love to do. Become an expert at it. Build the skills necessary to do it with excellence. Invest and execute tenaciously. You'll be rewarded with great friends, clients and a lifetime of adventure and rewards.
Ÿ Every Monday we feature a small, local business. We want to hear about yours. Contact business writer Kim Mikus at kmikus@dailyherald.com.
The Valcort Group
Address: 214 W. River Drive, St. Charles
Founder: Chuck Thomas
When business started: 2001 as CTCreative. Strategy practice spun off and renamed The Valcort Group; creative spun off and renamed Outside7.
Number of employees: 12
Web address: www.valcort.com