Dan Leaf has moved Leaf Communications Consulting LLC to the fast lane in the early going, trying to replicate a track record that ultimately led to the sale of his first company.
The San Clemente-based consultancy, which specializes in infrastructure connectivity, zoomed past $4.8 million in revenue in the year through June 2016, up 836% over the previous two years.
The percentage jump won it the No. 2 position last year among the fastest-growing private companies in Orange County with revenue under $9.9 million.
A slowdown isn’t projected this year for the recent recipient of the Business Journal’s Family-Owned Business Award in the small company category. The 18th annual event was held at a June 14 luncheon at Hotel Irvine (see profiles of the other winners, pages 1, 3, 8 and 10).
“We are on track to grow 160% from 2016,” Leaf said.
The company, launched in 2013, has built a solid reputation in a few short years, though Leaf’s personal experience in the sector dates back to a decade earlier.
“Our repeat business makes up about 80% of our revenue,” he said. “I have never hired a sales director. Our team in the field is our sales team.”
Leaf Communications handles wireless and wireline infrastructure; public safety codes for first responder radio networks; and engineering for development of 5G networks. Its customer base ranges from Internet of Things providers and Fortune 50 firms to small and large commercial building owners needing wireless signals.
The company has completed about 58 projects in high-rises, corporate campuses, universities, stadiums and arenas across the country.
Leaf understands the challenges of growing too fast in a family-run business, particularly in the wireless telecommunications segment, whose customers need reliable systems developed and installed quickly.
Operating a family-run business brings unique circumstances and advantages.
“Business comes home,” he said. “We do a great job in turning it off, but oftentimes in startup mode, you are eating, breathing, living, sleeping your venture. So it often can bleed over during personal time.”
Dan and Lisa, who have four young children, do their best to separate work and life, though the two tend to be inextricably linked in a family-owned business.
“The advantage is having someone with mutual interest and goals right alongside you day in and day out. That is the fuel that pushes us,” Leaf said.
It’s a delicate dance the couple knows well.
Leaf’s first venture, Leaf Communication Services, grew to more than $13 million in annual revenue before he sold the Washington state-based company on undisclosed terms in 2011 to Santa Barbara-based Tempest Telecom Solutions LLC.
Dan took on a consulting role at Tempest for a few years after the sale but wanted to return to the driver’s seat of owning his own company.
“Putting the right team together was going to be the key,” he said.
Leaf Communications Consulting has grown employment to 44 employees and has other offices in Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Jose, Denver and Dallas. Competitors include Corona-based Stellar Telecom Inc. and Mobile RF Solutions in Omaha.
“I have been blessed with a handful of employees that trusted in my vision that have now stepped into major roles within the company, allowing it to have the same culture spread across all divisions,” Leaf said. “Without the employees on our team, we wouldn’t be the leading company on the West Coast for the solutions we provide.”
