We had our Fastest Growing Private Companies event the other night – and it was an uplifting moment in what has been an otherwise dismal week. State analysts are predicting another huge budget gap in Sacramento in just a few months. Student demonstrators were arrested as protests grew rowdy outside a meeting where the University of California Board of Regents were considering a 32 percent fee hike (32 percent!). I’m still hearing of layoffs at local businesses. Nothing massive, but enough to show that things are still really slow. So it was good to talk to business owners and managers from companies that are at least holding their own – and in some cases – doing very well. Before I continue, I must point out the fact that the fastest growing list that you see in this issue takes into consideration average revenue growth from 2006-2008. Some of the companies on the list may not have had as good of a year this year as during that three-year period. In talking to these businesspeople and in putting together our special report of the fast-growing companies in this issue, there are some things that become quite clear as to why these firms are continuing to grow despite the economic downturn. They are Run by Fantastic Managers. These people know when to maneuver when a potential crisis is coming at them. They weave and duck. They anticipate. They hold a line on spending before it becomes a problem and they forecast accurately. These managers also keep a keen eye on the competition. They imitate if they have to but they always know what the other person is doing. Keeping an eye on spending is far easier than managing people – and this is where the leaders of these fast growing companies really excel. They attract the best people that they can and they keep them. And they keep them by not just throwing money at them. They keep them by making their business a place where their employees want to come to everyday. They train their workers, they nurture them, help them succeed and award them when they do succeed even if it’s just an “attaboy” e-mail or handshake. They invest in the workers, not just buy their services. They Keep Their Businesses Focused. They provide a core service or sell a core product that is considered the best in the industry. They keep perfecting it until it is the best – and then they make it better. This is done by staying attuned to the marketplace and their customers’ needs. They don’t try to “outsmart” the competition by adding another product or service line that may be just mediocre. The Luck and Genius Factors. This doesn’t apply to all the firms on the list. Many of the firms have just succeeded because their companies have stayed focused, hired the right people and not gone into too much debt. But there are those business owners who came up with a product others just didn’t think about or didn’t execute properly (Alexx Inc.’s key chain invention or Blackline Systems’ software that helps companies in their accounting closing processes, for example) But even if there was luck and genius involved, these companies still have to be run properly or they don’t last. By the way, our published list of Fastest Growing Companies in this issue only has 49 rather than 50 companies due to a last-minute request by one firm to be taken off the list. Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected].
