Page 6 - JF17

FOCUS
COVER STORY
2016 – A Year of Small Business Success Stories
Despite the ongoing challenge of attracting great employees and retaining talent, most of our SBAM members had a very successful and prosperous 2016. SBAM will continue to track the progress of the small business economy to gain insights
into how we can help you grow your business. This month our Entrepreneurship Task Force will be surveying members to find out more about what you need from public policy makers to ensure entrepreneurial success. And this spring, SBAM and MiQuest will publish the 2017 Entrepreneurship Score Card to report how the entrepreneurial conditions in Michigan match up with the other 49 states.
Below you will find anecdotes from SBAM members around the state that describe the best things that happened to them in 2016 and the lessons they learned that will help them prosper in the coming year.
Welsh & Associates, Inc.
Sheri Welsh, SPHR, CPC, CERS
50 percent of our business this year came from new clients; companies we have never worked with before. Of those new clients, 90 percent of the work came to us as a referral. We enjoy a lot of repeat business, but always need to add new companies into the mix to keep our revenue stream solid and diverse. The referral component of that new business is really the most significant thing that happened to us.
The lesson learned? Referrals can be the lifeblood of your marketing efforts. They take time to develop, but can pay enormous dividends down the road.
Edge Partnerships
Lorri Rishar, MBA | Chief Executive Officer
#1 Best Thing = Retaining great client partners
Why it happened? Truly believing that our clients’ success is our success and by doing everything within our expertise to generate positive results.
Notes for other small businesses: While it is important to attract new business, taking great care of current customers is critical. Small clients can – and do – turn into big clients.
Market Mapping plus Inc. David Fant
I was fortunate to be approached to start a second company in 2015. By 2016, we had signed our first client: the Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Hollywood/Tampa, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a three-year contract for a highly targeted marketing database.
After running my first company for 25 years, it was exciting to be open to a new venture and start a new company. As a small business owner you need to always keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities. Although the new business is in the same industry as my first company, this new venture is one of owning data, not brokering it – a totally different concept.
Don’t be afraid to venture into business opportunities that may be affiliated with what you currently do. I’ll bet you have expertise in those affiliated areas and don’t even realize how much you know.
Akervall Technologies Sassa Akervall
A couple great things happened to Akervall Technologies Inc. in 2016.
You know how they say when one door closes another one opens? We were basically dropped by our contracted manufacturer and had to scramble to fulfill orders for the first couple of months. That led us to a new and better manufacturer, where we now have a more collaborative relationship. We work on ideas and development together. The relationship is still in its infancy, but looking in the rear view mirror, the panic we felt at the beginning of 2016 turned into a very positive outlook for the future and will help us end the year with yet another 50 percent growth spurt.
One other thing is that we made the list of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest growing, privately owned companies in the USA. How is that for a vitamin injection for all of us here in Saline!
And this tells me that you can accomplish anything you want if you really set your mind to it. The support from the business community in Michigan has been fantastic and a large part of that is due to SBAM.
6 January/February 2017