Colin Bowman is the Vice President of Sales and Partner at Cultivate Advisors, a firm that provides tailored business advising and coaching to small business owners across North America. As a Cultivate Advisor, he drives revenue growth, enhances client experiences, and builds strategic partnerships with wealth advisors and M&A experts.
With over a decade of entrepreneurial leadership experience, including overseeing a franchisor division of 65 franchisees and 350+ employees, Colin applies real‑world insights to help clients scale efficiently. He previously served as a Regional Business Manager at FirstService Brands and holds a BS in general social sciences from the University of Oregon.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [2:57] How Colin Bowman started business advising after a career in painting franchises
- [7:50] Common barriers that prevent businesses from scaling
- [10:34] Early influences, coaching sports, and lessons from athletics
- [13:08] Running a painting franchise in college and learning leadership
- [18:31] Mindset shift and mentorship after setbacks
- [20:47] Colin defines what makes a bad leader versus a good leader
- [23:30] Partnerships and referrals as a growth strategy over automation
- [36:31] Making enterprise value the North Star for business growth
- [40:56] What it means to “amplify people”
In this episode…
Growing a business often means hitting barriers that have less to do with the product or service itself and more to do with people, systems, and leadership. Many entrepreneurs struggle with trust, scaling operations, and sustaining growth through uncertain times. How can leaders build organizations that not only thrive but also increase long-term value?
Colin Bowman, an experienced business coach and sales leader, shares how he transformed lessons from his early days running a painting franchise into proven strategies for advising entrepreneurs. He explains how focusing on enterprise value rather than just revenue or profit helps businesses become more sustainable and attractive for growth or exit. Colin emphasizes building credibility through small but consistent value-add interactions, leveraging referral and partnership networks over automated sales tactics, and leading with clarity, expectations, and accountability.
In this episode of Amplify People, Eric Taussig interviews Colin Bowman, Vice President of Sales and Partner at Cultivate Advisors, about unlocking growth by building enterprise value. Colin also discusses how trust and authenticity drive sales, why setbacks can fuel leadership development, and the power of referrals over automation.
Resources Mentioned in this episode
- Eric Taussig on LinkedIn
- Prialto
- Colin Bowman on LinkedIn
- Cultivate Advisors
- Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make It...and Why the Rest Don't by Verne Harnish
- Scaling Up Compensation: 5 Design Principles for Turning Your Largest Expense into a Strategic Advantage by Verne Harnish and Sebastian Ross
Quotable Moments
- “Rarely have I seen the reason somebody's not scaling is because they don't know.”
- “The more valuable you are to the business, the less valuable it is to others.”
- “The best way to really sell something is to teach someone something or shift their paradigm.”
- “We mistakenly felt like user base was the right metric to focus on versus relationship strength.”
- “Anyone out there who thinks they can't switch industries, you can usually learn most industries.”
Action Steps
- Focus on enterprise value, not just revenue: Building systems that reduce owner dependence makes businesses stronger, sustainable, and more attractive for growth or exit.
- Leverage partnerships and referrals over automation: Relationship-driven sales outperform automated outreach by lowering acquisition costs and opening doors to high-quality, trust-based clients.
- Set clear expectations with your team: Success comes from process clarity, which prevents costly mistakes and keeps everyone aligned on goals.
- Learn from setbacks and try again: Challenges should be treated as lessons that build resilience and fuel future growth opportunities.
- Give away your best insights freely: Sharing value upfront builds credibility and trust, making prospects more likely to engage meaningfully.
Sponsor for This Episode
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