Page 33 - BusinessWest October 3, 2022
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 Dowd
Continued from page 31
is very real and becoming more stern with each passing year.
“We’re at a point now where getting to the next level requires a higher level of sophistication in just about every area,” he said. “Obviously, technology is huge because it creates the efficiencies we need. Meanwhile, the labor market is extremely difficult and challenging right now.
“The investment in technology and the way we staff ourselves, the levels of management ... all of these important areas have to be looked at and adjusted accordingly,” he went on. “You can’t keep doing things the way you were when you were half the size. You have to be forward-thinking in this business; you have to be looking ahead and be prepared for what may come, and you know the unexpected will happen. You have to be nimble enough to be able to adjust.”
“You can’t keep doing things the way you were when you were half the size. You have to be forward- thinking in this business; you have to be looking ahead and be prepared for what may come, and you know the unexpected will happen. You have to be nimble enough to be able to adjust.”
Prudent Policy
As he looks forward, Dowd sees the agency doing what it has been doing all along and especially over the past decade or so — seeking to grow organi- cally, but also looking for opportuni- ties to grow through acquisition and expand geographically.
The agency currently has nine loca- tions, all in Western Mass., but it is exploring options well beyond this area code, he noted.
“We’ve looked at Northern Con- necticut, we’ve looked at acquisitions in Vermont and New Hampshire, and we’ve also looked at Eastern Mass., toward Worcester, working our way in that direction,” he said, adding that, while the agency serves clients in those areas and others, including Boston and New Jersey, it does not have a physical presence in those locations, but could attain some if the conditions are right.
“In our business, it’s about where your network of contacts takes you and
what your appetite for challenge is,” he told BusinessWest. “Do you want to do what it takes to be regional and avail- able and able to support services? You just have to be realistic that you can do what you say you can do.
“We’re careful and selective with regard to companies where there’s some distance,” he went on. “But we’re looking at some relationships in New York right now where we could possi- bly have an ofice and be able to oper- ate similarly, but on a smaller scale, to what we’re doing here.”
Overall, there are a number of ways to get to the proverbial next level in terms of size and revenues, he went on,
adding that, while remaining indepen- dent is the preferred route, the agency will consider all its options. “We’re evaluating what steps we need to take in order to continue to grow and build the company.”
Returning to those phone calls he gets from the private-equity firms, Dowd noted, again, that he doesn’t take many of those calls anymore.
“I feel bad about that, but not too bad,” he explained. “I get a lot of mes- sages — they call and they say they’re from such and such firm, and he’s call- ing again; I talked to him a year or two ago and told him I’ll call if anything changes.”
Nothing has really changed, at least on that front, he went on, adding that there has certainly been change with regard to the company’s size, reach, and position among area agencies.
Over the course of 124 years, many things have changed, but the most important ingredient hasn’t — this is still an independent, family-owned agency.
And as it prepares to mark another important milestone, that’s a quality worth celebrating. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
               BusinessWest
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