The Art of Standing Out: Finding your Business Niche with Robert Brawner

Great business often starts with a need that hasn’t been met. Whether you’re operating in an emerging field, or offering a new service within an established industry, a good niche holds unique potential for your company. Our guest Robert Brawner knows this from experience.As an environmental consultant and the founder of One Consulting Group, Robert was carrying out health and safety assessments, digging out landfills, and removing asbestos before climate change was on everyone’s mind. He started in his field in the 1990s, when environmental regulations were not a primary concern in real estate construction and development, and built two successful environmental consulting firms in Atlanta, Georgia. Thirty years later, his field is booming and he is still at the heart of the action, with a boutique business and clientele he has intentionally nurtured.So in this episode, Robert reveals how to identify a good business niche, and dig in! We unveil the strategies that helped him seed his company, and reflect on the forces at play within the environmental industry today. We draw lessons from Robert’s inspiring professional journey to find out how to keep business flowing even through changing partnerships and financial crashes. Tune in with Robert Brawner for a lesson in motivation and resilience.  Highlights: Robert Brawner’s professional background (2:31)How to explore your niche and gather information (4:15)Unpacking the “Blue Ocean” strategy (5:52)Getting into Environmental Consultancy in Atlanta (7:07)How Robert became a partner at his first firm (8:43)Developing environmental consultancy in the commercial space (10:04)Growing your clientele within your niche (11:56)Switching gears before the 2008 financial crash (13:15)“When you leave a business relationship, don’t burn bridges” (15:05)Pivoting in the property development market after 2008 (16:45)How the Atlanta Beltline gave One Consulting Group a new lease on life  (17:34)Property redevelopment: adapting & reusing building sites (19:50)The effects of climate change on Robert’s practice (22:08)Convenience, consistency, connection: the Japanese approach to client relationship (24:18)Advantages of keeping business at a boutique scale (27:22)“Now is a great time to grow” (30:02)Links:Cadence Bank WebsiteCadence Bank X (Twitter)Cadence Bank LinkedInOne Consulting Group WebsiteRobert Brawner LinkedInThe Atlanta Beltline WebsiteArticle - Why is Environmental Consulting Booming?Feedback:If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, Natalie.Barron@cadencebank.com, Eydie.Pengelly@cadencebank.com, or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com.

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Starting and running a business or managing one isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re balancing internal and external forces in a continually changing landscape. You’re building strategies, and banking on the future – no matter what it holds. This is where Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies comes in. We share our wealth of knowledge, and insights from noted industry experts, to guide you through the forces shaping business today. We’re back for Season 6, and this time, we’re setting our sights on the future of work. We’re asking the big questions, like: What will your career look like in 2030? Or 2050, even? How is ESG shaping the future of companies? And how can we leverage AI to our advantage? We bring together experts from across the board, from Silicon Valley to multinationals like EY, to help you stay on the cutting edge of business. And we get to know those who are building the future of our companies; because at Cadence Bank, we want to hear the human side of every success story. Hosting our stellar range of guests this season is our new host, Ari Marin. He is a Cadence Bank Senior Vice President and family enterprise advisor, whose specialty is consulting with family-owned and small businesses. Ari’s idea of “good company” is being around creative, insightful people with unique and inspirational stories. For Season 6, he brings in his curiosity and ambition to In Good Companies, to lead discussions with our guests, and bring listeners across the U.S. all the information they need, in one place, in under 30 minutes. Ready to launch into the future? Then join us!