Success in business rarely happens by accident. It’s the result of identifying real opportunities, building proper systems, and working with the right people. Brad Burns, founder of Burns Holdings Corp, has put these principles into practice across multiple industries including construction, signage, seafood, concrete, and quick-service restaurants. Over the last decade, his companies have scaled from early-stage ventures to multi-million dollar operations with national reach. His practical approach offers valuable insights for business owners looking to achieve similar growth.
Finding Real Market Opportunities
Brad’s first key strategy focuses on building businesses around genuine market needs. His seafood company provides a perfect case study of this approach in action. “The seafood company that we own and operate would be a great example of this,” Brad explains. “When we decided to move forward with this, there was a gap in the market. A company that had been around for 40-plus years decided to shut down operations.” The situation created a clear opportunity that Brad was quick to recognize. “There was a situation with imminent domain that led them to no longer wish to operate in that market,” he notes. “We essentially partnered with an employee that had worked there for several years and decided that we were going to move forward on relocating that business to another part of the city.”
Brad’s team didn’t just take over the business concept—they acquired its operational backbone. “We brought over all their cutters, we brought over all their delivery guys, used their trucks, bought their equipment, essentially reestablished them in a new location with a new name and pushed forward,” he shares. The results speak for themselves: “The first year we were able to generate a revenue of a little over $3 million, which was great for us.” Brad credits their quick market entry to past experience. “Having done this three or four different times previously, our speed to market was quicker because we understood the process we had to go through,” he says. This pattern of identifying market gaps and moving decisively to fill them has become a signature element of his business strategy.
Creating Systems That Enable Growth
The second pillar of Brad’s approach centers on building scalable systems. “This is a critical thing. We’re really heavily dependent upon workflow and processes inside of our businesses,” he explains. His companies operate with established protocols that maintain consistency regardless of who’s performing the work. Brad applies these principles across his portfolio, adapting them to different business models. “Same kind of similar strategy for the seafood company, which is more of a product-based company,” he says. “Basically, two different types of operations. Both of them really scaled out in terms of the workflow that we go through.”
These systems create a business that doesn’t depend on any single person. “There’s no dependency on one individual,” Brad points out. “You can plug and play people that you need to. It’s easy because you just jump in. There’s already a strategy and an understanding of what is required for those specific parts of the business.”
The Power of Strategic Partnerships
Brad’s third strategy might be the most crucial: surrounding himself with the right people. “This is a critical thing for me. I’m really focused on doing this,” he emphasizes. “I realized early on that I wasn’t great at every single aspect of the business.” This self-awareness led to a practical approach to team building. “I knew enough about various aspects that we kind of pushed the boat off the shore a little bit and hoped that people would get excited about what we were doing and swim out and jump on the boat and paddle with us,” Brad explains. This metaphor captures his collaborative leadership style.
The results have been transformative for his businesses. “Fortunately, I’ve been able to surround myself with a lot of great people over the past decade that have helped us really grow and scale companies that are amazing at their individual niches,” he says. Brad doesn’t hesitate to give credit where it’s due: “To be completely honest, being able to grow these companies that we have wouldn’t be possible without any of those great people.”
Follow Brad W. Burns on LinkedIn to learn more about how he scales successful businesses across industries.
