Chad Chancellor

Chad Chancellor is an experienced entrepreneur and the co-founder of Next Move Group. Born and raised in rural Mississippi, Chad always had a passion for business. However, when his father’s employer relocated overseas, he made it his mission to help bring economic growth to smaller regions across the United States.

Chad went on to obtain a business degree from Mississippi University and since then he has received extensive recognition for his outstanding contributions to his industry. In 2017, he was chosen for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Accelerator Program, where he further enhanced his unique skill set.

Chad Chancellor is now the co-founder of Next Move Group – a company that focuses on creating economic growth for small to mid-sized companies, communities, and non-profit organizations. Since the company’s inception, Chad has secured more than 600 clients from 40 states. As a forward-thinking individual, Chad continues to search for new professional opportunities world-wide.

Where did the idea for Next Move Group come from?

My business partner and I worked for a community, recruiting companies to the town. My partner and his family were entrepreneurs, however I had no previous business experience. One day we got to talking and came up with the idea of starting a business of our own. The goal was to help bring economic growth to communities across the U.S. We refined the idea for about nine months and since then we have never looked back.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

There is no one answer to that question on account that it’s been changing a lot. So, I have a routine that I stick to every morning, which I consider critical success factors to our business, and I make sure I have no appointments before 10 am. I sit down and I plan my week to make sure that I’m prepared and I fight to make sure I keep that time free for myself. While it’s true, things happen and it throws you off, always try to stick to the routines to keep yourself going.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I owe it to the fact that in 2017, we got our big break when Goldman Sachs chose our company in the 10000 Small Business Accelerator Program. Their goal was to hit those businesses and increase their revenue. And I can safely say that thanks to the formal training we received, our revenue has increased 300%. You don’t imagine a rural kid being trained by the likes of Goldman Sachs, but with the chance I got, I am now able to take any concept and brainstorm around and refine it until we can bring it to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

It’s companies moving manufacturing back to the US. Imagine my shock when the pandemic hit, and I’m sitting here, seeing the governor of New York saying they don’t have enough blankets, gowns, and masks for our healthcare workers. Well, it was no wonder, when companies ship their jobs overseas, we lose out on the materials and items that we as a country need. I read an article that industrial construction has risen over 100% this year, which shows that we as a country are working to be able to produce goods and services ourselves in case another event like this happens.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Every Sunday night, I go through and look at every client on our list. For each project, I write one or two bullet points that we got to get done for the week to focus on those. From there, I build a list for our team on anything and a lot of times they already know what to do, so each client gets the attention and support they need.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Probably be more patient. Building our company to where it is, has taken longer than I thought, but we’ve surpassed my every expectation. There were times where I was not patient enough either with myself or others.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

I think when the pandemic hit, I knew that if we stopped our economy like we did for a matter of two or three months, that it would put the entire supply chain of the world into total disarray. That was the first time I realized that I understood how the economy works a lot more than I thought I did.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Every Tuesday, I follow up with everyone in my database. I send a one-sentence email to check up on clients, see how they are doing, and so on. So, being able to follow up and track our clients has served us very, very well.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I used to try to grow the entire business at once. That’s impossible. Goldman Sachs taught me to focus and grow one aspect of the business at a time. It helps create focus and now I think about it all the time. It’s very hard to write down something all encompassing. So, being able to focus on a single aspect and if it doesn’t work, put it away and do something else.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

A challenging aspect of my career has always been the need to terminate certain professional relationships. Sometimes employees or even clients do not align with your mission and goals, so you find it is best to move forward without their service. While it is a natural part of business, it always costs me lots of sleep.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there is a market to teach rural people how to lose weight with the ketogenic way of eating, many of them are just now getting internet and can now watch videos and read online content.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I bought a book for 20 dollars called Never Eat Alone about fifteen years ago. Now, I’m an introvert, which is odd to hear, given that I have a YouTube channel and all, but I read the book and it changed my perspective. But as far as 100 dollars is concerned, it was more. So, my father has dementia and it makes him nervous, so, when I was able to get a house near the beach, we made sure it had a patio where could sit and just watch the ocean to calm his nerves. It was more than a hundred dollars and it was worth every penny.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Trello. It’s basically a sticky note, list building system. So I have in it the five things I have to do every morning. Every sunday when I do my to do list. Even my groceries. I use it religiously. It helps immensely.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferazzi. It’s about networking, but it’s also about giving more than you receive. But in order to do so, you have to have the audacity to ask for help, because most people will be willing to help if you ask. Also, not to take advantage of relationships, but not be bashful either.

What is your favorite quote?

Success breeds success. I don’t know who said it, but there is a certain momentum that happens when you have enough critical mass. There are certain customers that won’t buy from you unless they see another path. Once you have a certain amount of success, it’ll attract others. And I really believe that, but you gotta be patient enough to wait for it to happen as you work for it.

Key Learnings:

• Success will come when you work for it.
• Take advantage of lucky breaks when they happen
• Serve your community and they will serve you back.
• We are all in this together.