Nine years ago I set out to help small businesses grow by providing an easy-to-use email marketing tool that was completely affordable. Now VerticalResponse is profitable, over 85,000 customers strong and growing, and what a ride it's been! In celebration of VR's success, I decided to write about 9 things I've learned leading a growing business that might help you ease over your own bumps, or flatten them! I'll start with the first five things in this post:
1. Hire a GREAT Lawyer - Luckily, this is one mistake I didn't make, but I've heard nightmare stories from other businesses that weren't as lucky as me. Make sure your business is set up properly. For instance I had no idea that I HAD to set up as a C-Corp. because one of my investors resides outside of the U.S. Make sure your i's are dotted on this one. If I was going to spend a bigger budget, this is where I'd spend. Also, consider giving a percentage of your company to your lawyer in exchange for big dollars. They may be even more attentive when it comes to doing work for your business.
2. Don't Hire Ahead of the Curve - I'm a firm believer that you and your teams should be at more than FULL CAPACITY before you hire. The last thing you want is your new employee to be "waiting around" for work. I once hired a salesperson before the product was ready. I'm sure that was a bit de-motivating to them since they had nothing to sell and I got angry with myself for wasting good money.
3. Get a GREAT Accountant - If your business isn't set up properly from an accounting perspective, you could end up paying for it years down the road. I learned the hard way when I thought my accountant had all the information necessary when it came to paying employee tax for the city of San Francisco. For years we just didn't pay and I never had a clue. When Mr. Auditor visited us one day it was very clear that our accountant had no idea this wasn't happening either, and he should have. A hit of $20,000 wasn't pretty for our business that year.
4. QUICK Decision Making - Sure we'd all love to know every piece of information on a subject before we make a decision around it, but then, no decisions would ever be made. I've had employees belabor every possible aspect of a decision, but in the end it wasted some serious time. Inform yourself as much as you think makes sense, and ask yourself one question: "What's the worse that could happen?" I'm a huge proponent of "doing something" and either being successful or cleaning up a mess and learning from it, versus "doing nothing" and learning nothing.
5. Get Rid of Bad Employees...FAST - There's something to be said for trying to help employees who aren't up to snuff, but at some point you have to let go. I've definitely been "scared" to fire people because in my mind they held some amount of proprietary information that would sink the company. But when they're gone an amazing thing happens...the business continues. It may be a bit slower for some amount of time, but it's amazing how things will seem to run. Find out what they know, make sure others can figure it out, and get rid of them. They're a poison to the rest of the employees, and you risk your team thinking less of you if you don't act.
6. Establish & Enforce Core Values - I just assumed that if we liked the people we were hiring, they were "just like us". They believed in the same things; respect for others, honesty, and passion for what we do. And that was true when we were just 10 people, but if you enforce this even when you are a ten-person company it gives your team something they can stand behind. Also make sure you call people out when they're violating these values.
7. EARLY Training - Even though you want your employees to jump in and work immediately, take a few deep breaths. They're not going to be successful without the right tools, I don't care if it's your receptionist in your dental office, an accounting manager, or your lead engineer. They need to understand what you stand for, what your business is all about, and how their specific job fits into the picture. At VerticalResponse we show people a video of me welcoming them to the company outlining who we are and what we stand for. Then each employee goes through a 13-step training on our product, and there’s a test at the end. Then they sit on the phones and listen to our amazing customer service team handle incoming inquiries so they know who our customers are and what types of issues they face. This has helped new employees tenfold get indoctrinated in our company and our products.
8. Don’t try To Be Everything to Everyone – It’s a fact, even great employees will leave your company. Most won't leave because of money, but they'll usually find something that pays them better. They may tell you it's because there was more money offered, but they wouldn't have been looking if they were happy in the first place. Some will leave because they don’t like their boss, some will leave because you simply can't provide a career path for them. You just have to wish them well and offer to be a reference, especially if he or she was a good employee. When you do have one of those angry employees with an ax to grind saying bad things about you or your company, take the high road. That sort of behavior by former employees only serves to make them look bad and we all know what a small world it is.
9. Love What You Do - You have to be passionate about what you do every day, since you're likely putting in 80 hours of work a week. Don't forget to take a break when you need one and don't feel guilty. There is a chance that not many people are working harder than you at your business. If the day comes that you dread going to work in the morning, and you have taken your vacations, maybe it's time to ask yourself if you should be replaced. You don't want your team feeling you've thrown in the towel.
It's been a great 9 years at VerticalResponse and I look forward to the challenges in every coming year, no matter what shape they may take. There have been a lot of mistakes along the way, but I think it's made me a better leader. We never stop learning!
http://www.inc.com/janine-popick/2010/07/9-lessons-from-9years-in-business.html
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