Business acquisitions and strategic growth require both innovative thinking and operational excellence. Many successful entrepreneurs have discovered that buying established businesses provides a faster path to expansion than starting from scratch. Construction industry leader Cory Towers has mastered this approach, transforming existing businesses while creating new opportunities for integration and growth.
Strategic Business Acquisition vs. Starting Fresh
Rather than creating new ventures from the ground up, Cory is focusing on acquiring established businesses that complement his existing operations. His construction company is currently finalizing the purchase of a building supply business with 60 years of history. “I like to look at buying businesses that I can integrate with my own business,” Cory explains. “We’re about to acquire a building supply business, which means we can get better buying power on materials and look to add other services as well.”
This acquisition strategy serves multiple purposes. Beyond improving purchasing power, Cory plans to leverage the property’s available land to launch additional complementary businesses. “We’re going to start up an equipment hire business because the property comes with a lot of land. We can add other things like landscape supplies as well, so it won’t just offer building materials but other services too, including a storage facility.” When comparing starting a new business versus buying an existing one, Cory’ preference is clear. “It’s definitely easier to buy an existing business, especially if it’s been operating for a while. It means it’s got a track record, whereas a startup takes a lot of work and takes up a lot of your own time.”
Balancing Innovation with Day-to-Day Operations
Managing both creative innovation and daily operations presents a challenge for many business leaders. Cory credits his success to building the right team rather than trying to handle everything personally. “It’s important to have a good team around you. Getting the right people allows me to come up with creative ways to implement things into the business. But to do that, I need to have a good team behind me looking after day-to-day operations,” he shares. This philosophy led him to recently bring on a high-level team member to oversee operations. Implementation of new ideas happens through collaborative strategy meetings rather than top-down directives.
The key to building an effective team isn’t finding people who think like you do. “You need to hire good people and get out of their way,” Cory says. “You want people that challenge you. You need to have other people with different personalities to put you in a different perspective.” This approach contrasts with leaders who surround themselves with “yes-people,” which often leads to stagnation rather than growth.
Embracing Technology and Systems
Looking at current business trends, Cory emphasizes systematic approaches to operations. “Anything that can help systemize your business is important. There are so many different AI apps and software out there now – you just need to find the right ones that suit your business.” He notes a shift away from manual processes: “People are trying to systemize things so there’s less human interaction. Whether it’s answering services or website chatbots that provide immediate responses, these tools help streamline operations.”
Calendar management presented a specific challenge for Cory, who juggled four different calendars across multiple email accounts. “We found AI software that syncs all your calendars together and shares them with your team. It helps manage my time, and the team can see when I’m available rather than just calling me up all the time.”
Leveraging AI for Business Decisions
Cory sees artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT as essential for modern business leaders. “If you’re not using ChatGPT or similar, you’re falling behind in the business world. The amount of time it saves is incredible. If you’re not using AI in your business, you’re going to become obsolete pretty quickly.” He integrates AI into his decision-making process: “When we want to streamline a CRM and get everything working, rather than spending five or six hours trying to find the perfect solution, you can just ask ChatGPT which CRM would be best for this particular business. You’ll get a list with a full breakdown of pros and cons for each one.”
Cory approaches business challenges by looking for strategic opportunities. Rising material costs presented a problem for his construction company, but rather than simply accepting lower profits, he found a solution through acquisition. “When the price of materials was going up, we needed to figure out how to reduce our costs so we could make more profit. That’s when we thought about buying a building supply business to get better buying power,” he explains. Similarly, his pool building business expanded services by partnering with pool cleaning companies. “I like to look at other ways we can generate revenue. We white-label with other companies like pool cleaning businesses so we can offer that as another service.”
For business leaders looking to build thriving companies through both innovation and precision, Cory’s approach offers valuable insights: acquire established businesses when possible, build strong teams with diverse perspectives, embrace systems and technology, and transform challenges into strategic opportunities.
To learn more about Cory Towers’ approach to building thriving businesses through strategic acquisitions and innovative integration, connect with him on LinkedIn today.
