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Growing Against the Grain: Meet the Entrepreneur360 'Contrarians' Forget convention. These companies do everything their own way.

By Entrepreneur Staff

AlleyNYC

Through surveys and available data, we've examined hundreds of small businesses and come away with six archetypal sets of practices and characteristics that we believe are representative of most growth companies operating today.

The qualifications were simple: Companies had to be domestically owned, privately held, for-profit and have shown net capacity growth over at least two years, with an employee size in 2015 of 10 to 1,000.

Below, we examine the traits of Contrarians, one of the six archetypes of the Entrepreneur360™ Performance Index. To see the other five archetypes, click here.

These companies thumb their noses at management best practices. But unlike Controllers, Contrarians seem made of Teflon, blithely gliding over the bumps and pits that trip up other companies. They keep putting up the growth numbers, and they do everything their way.

Key characteristics

  • Contrarians' employees have needed skills and are fully productive, and managers usually reach a consensus.
  • They maintain good profit margins, their departments are all able to adjust to growth and they time expansions well.
  • When it comes to planning and decision-making, they are less likely to turn to data, operational metrics or internal or external market research.

Takeaway

Most companies pay a substantial price for ignoring even some best practices, and it takes magic to thrive in the absence of all of those practices. What's the magic? The success of Contrarians defies group analysis, emerging instead from whatever it is they're doing at a micro level.

American Family Care

American Family Care

Founded: 1982
Business Type: Urgent care
Archimedia Solutions Group

Archimedia Solutions Group

Founded: 2006
Business Type: Consulting
Benay Enterprises

Benay Enterprises

Founded: 1986
Business Type: Administrative support
BrainStorm Tutoring & Arts

BrainStorm Tutoring & Arts

Founded: 2006
Business Type: Tutoring
Dashed

Dashed

Founded: 2009
Business Type: Restaurant delivery
Desert Jet

Desert Jet

Founded: 2007
Business Type: Aviation management
First Endurance

First Endurance

Founded: 2002
Business Type: Nutrition
Hawkin International

Hawkin International

Founded: 2002
Business Type: Public relatoins
JAMF Software

JAMF Software

Founded: 2002
Business Type: Software
One World Solutions

One World Solutions

Founded: 2011
Business Type: Consulting
PURE Group of Insurance Compan

PURE Group of Insurance Compan

Founded: 2006
Business Type: Insurance

Entrepreneur Staff

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor

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