As a global corporation consisting of various businesses and multiple industries, we at Southwestern Family of Companies can create synergies that build a richer experience for everyone we encounter. Our strength of working together in our global ecosystem is one of the competitive advantages that will help us achieve our goal of becoming the most impactful privately held company in the world.
We are at the core, people helping people. The same way that a family works together to lift one another, Southwestern Family of Companies strives to do the same. We work hard to continue the culture, values, and vision that past leaders worked so hard to instill, grow, and maintain. And there is no greater time where those values are evident than at the start of each new year as our businesses celebrate the past year’s wins and set a vision for the coming year.
According to Dr. Michael Porter in his book On Competition, the most competitive companies in the world build their business model based on values and not just making money. They maximize their economies of scale by focusing their business model in clusters that support one another and leverage natural resources to help each other grow. Remembering our roots and how we started, we know that faith, integrity, hard work, accountability, and partnerships are keys to not just succeeding, but thriving. The belief in our values motivates us to work as a family and help support all of the family member companies at Southwestern Family of Companies. A great example of this is at Southwestern Advantage, who know the power of our collective synergy. Recently Southwestern Advantage had over 390 sales leaders, student leaders, and first-year dealers attend the Great Recruiters Seminar (GRS) in Nashville, TN, wearing masks and social distancing to abide by local and state health and safety guidelines. Southwestern Advantage included some of our international dealers by leveraging the partnership with Southwestern Family of Companies family member company, Global Educational Concepts (GEC). GEC sponsored visas for international dealers to sell in the U.S. and was integral to helping grow sales for Southwestern Advantage in 2020 and achieving their mission of impact across the globe. One of the eight Bulgarians who attended the training (after quarantining for two weeks) was Emil Tsvetkov. Southwestern Advantage recognized his achievement for breaking the previous company record. (You can read and watch Emil’s most recent interview HERE).
How do these student dealers get together in one place? As the Beatles sang, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” Southwestern Family of Companies personifies what Dr. Porter teaches in his Harvard classes about the microeconomics of competitiveness by leveraging its cluster of companies to create economies of scale. From hotel rooms, flights, incentive trips, and event planning for several of our companies, Southwestern Travel’s expertise made our many events possible during this time. Southwestern Travel Group is invaluable to the Southwestern Family of Companies, Southwestern Alumni, and anyone needing world-class travel services.
What is so great about the Southwestern Family of Companies family partnerships is that it doesn’t just work one way, and it’s not just an empty monetary exchange. Our family is happy to give back and pay it forward. Southwestern is known as a world leader in recruiting, training, and motivating top-producing salespeople. Southwestern Consulting’s entire business model takes the proven best practices that Southwestern Family of Companies has developed to the outside world. Another benefit is receiving world-class training for free as part of the Southwestern family. Southwestern Speakers’ business provides some of the best keynote speakers globally. Just this past month, we had speakers from many of our companies coming together to share their knowledge and experiences to inspire and empower. These events don’t happen in a vacuum. It takes collaboration and a shared mission. It is an excellent opportunity for our teams and alumni to shine genuinely. An example of that is at Southwestern Consulting where both Emil Tsvetkov and Danny Gamboa (Senior District Sales Managers from Southwestern Advantage) trained the team at the Southwestern Consulting Global Summit. The talent pool of world-class sales and leadership trainers at Southwestern Family of Companies is deep.
Southwestern Travel Group took advantage of the talent and expertise found within our family of companies by inviting speakers from Southwestern Advantage, Southwestern Fundraising, Southwestern Consulting, Inspire Kindness, Southwestern Tax Services, and many more. Some also spoke at other events, all to continue passing on the knowledge they’ve acquired throughout their careers to help others find success in both their personal and business journeys.
Social distancing hasn’t slowed our companies down, either. Last week, Southwestern Consulting hosted a virtual Global Summit for their 130 coaches from eight different countries. They were able to learn from top producers to catapult their business into the new campaign. Deepening relationships, celebrating achievements, and holding each other accountable have continued to be a recipe for success.
When you have family support, you don’t have to go it alone or wonder where to turn. The wealth of knowledge and services that we have right here within the family of companies is vast. When we can connect and know what is right at our fingertips, the opportunities are endless.
Let us continue to support and encourage one another, as businesses, as well as fellow human beings. We are all in this together.
