Building a Business That Can Scale Beyond One Person: Charles' Story

Building a Business That Can Scale Beyond One Person

Charles Reid has been with ERA Group for 17 years, and in that time he has seen both his business and the wider market shift dramatically around him. What started as a steady consulting practice has evolved into something far more scalable, driven in large part by changes in how goods and services move through the economy.

In recent years, he has watched the rise of e-commerce fundamentally reshape demand across his client base. As retail has shifted online, parcel delivery and logistics spend have surged, creating new opportunities for the work he does with clients. That change has not only expanded the scope of projects, but has also allowed him to grow his own business in a very tangible way—bringing in new staff and beginning to build a structure that can support further expansion.

With that growth has come a clear ambition: to scale. Charles talks openly about wanting to build a seven-figure business, acknowledging that while it feels like a big milestone, the trajectory is already visible. His business has doubled in the last couple of years, and continues to grow at around 20% year on year, which has reinforced his focus on building the right team and infrastructure to sustain that momentum.

Much of his day-to-day work sits around relationships—connecting ERA client managers, suppliers, and end clients to make sure projects move smoothly and deliver what they should. He sees this coordination as central to how the business functions, where success depends on trust and communication flowing between all sides.

As he puts it, “what I’m trying to create is a business that doesn’t rely on me in the end.”

That idea runs through how he approaches growth. Alongside expanding revenue, he takes pride in building a team around him, including bringing in colleagues in areas like data analytics. For him, the goal is not just to grow bigger, but to build something that can eventually stand on its own.

He is also clear that the environment he operates in is becoming more demanding for clients, with inflation, geopolitical disruption and regulatory change all increasing pressure on costs. In that context, he sees ERA Group’s model as particularly relevant, with organisations actively seeking external expertise to find savings and improve efficiency.

Looking ahead, he sees further opportunity not only in existing client growth, but also through ERA Group’s international network, where collaboration across countries is opening the door to larger and more complex work.

His advice to anyone considering joining is grounded in realism rather than promotion: be ambitious, be self-motivated, and go in with full awareness of the challenge—but with the right mindset, he believes the opportunity is significant.

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