02/ 11/ 2008
One business owner reveals why a culture of growth translates into happy employees
The expert:
Tim McMullen
Founder, redpepper
Nashville, Tenn.
What are you doing to grow? It's a question I ask myself and my employees every day. Every business owner focuses on growth--whether their goal is to gain more clients, more revenue or more locations. But what we've learned in the last six-and-a-half years is that you have to put your money where your mouth is. For us, growth isn't just a goal--it's a way of running our business day in and day out. By encouraging--and in some cases requiring--personal growth among our staff, our business has seen tremendous success.
Most entrepreneurs share one common trait: the drive to do more--to grow. That desire actually fueled my career in the advertising industry. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to own my own business, but I just didn't know what kind of business. In a past life, I played professional soccer, and while I loved the sport, it didn't pay enough. So I went to the team owner and asked him what else I could do to earn some extra money. He challenged me to increase attendance at our games, but gave me no budget to do it--and that was the start of my first marketing job.
Eventually I fulfilled my dream of owning a business by starting my own company--one month before 9/11. Starting a business when we did makes us different from a lot of other agencies. We have never experienced a booming economy, so we've been forced to be frugal from the start. We also grew up in the digital age, so we didn't have to learn to adapt to new technologies: We embraced them from the beginning. Because we're still a relatively young company, there's no one walking around the halls saying, “This is how we've always done things.” All these elements have contributed to a fluid culture that allows us to change major business practices overnight if we find better ways to help our clients. It also fuels growth.
We're huge believers in planned growth. Just like a doctor or lawyer would study their field, we're constantly studying what's working well in marketing. Every day we look for ways we can be better. A love of learning is essential to being part of our team. We operate under a simple philosophy: Show me a growing person and you'll show me a happy person. We pay for employees to attend seminars, conferences and webinars on subjects that interest them. But we also instill a culture of learning into our daily life. Once a week, our employees are required to contribute a 150-word entry on our internal blog about something they learned that week. Our weekly company meeting begins with a 10-minute presentation--we call it a “Red Bit”--on a topic that everyone in the company would benefit from knowing about. Employees take turns acting as the presenters. We've covered topics from the best billing practices to inspiring sources for creative thinking.
Once a year, we take learning to a higher level with our company's annual retreat--Pepperpalooza. It's a day to get away from the office and focus on making sure we're all aligned and working toward the same goals. Let's face it: When you reach a certain point in your business, you can't run your company like an entrepreneur anymore. One person can't be the flagship of ideas. One person can't execute a strategic plan. As you grow, you've got to have more than one person in the center of the huddle.
As hard as we work for our clients, we work just as hard for ourselves. Operating effectively as a team is essential to long-term success, and it doesn't happen without effort. To me, there are two things that grow companies: Make employees happy by encouraging them to focus on personal growth, and make sure everyone is focused on the same long-term goals.
Encouraging employee growth:
Break the mold. Tim McMullen's business had the freedom to try new things because his employees weren't hindered by tradition. Even if your business has been around 50-plus years, try instituting a new practice or changing an old procedure. Venturing outside the norm inspires creativity.
Require learning. Even if employees have good intentions of studying up on something new, days get busy and suddenly there's no time left. Assign presentations or hold meetings to ensure that everyone makes time for growth.
Realign regularly. Even if you have talented employees, you won't be successful unless everyone is working toward the same goal. Include employees in strategic planning sessions and share ideas with the entire company.
Share your story
Do you have helpful advice to share with other NFIB members? Tell us about lessons you've learned, and we may include your story in a future issue of MyBusiness. E-mail us at feedback@mybusinessmag.com.
