Why Your First Clients SHOULD Be Your Friends
(This article originally appeared on www.inc.com.)
The surprising lessons learned from a B2B Entrepreneur
A lot is written about the importance of your first clients in any business. There is a lot of opinion on working with friends and family too. Most business writing on the subject seems to mostly refer and apply predominantly to retail and creative businesses. It generally covers the ground on subjects such as working with people who expect stuff for free, or for fees to be heavily discounted, and not valuing your time and effort. Much of these writings tends to paint a picture of relationships that are devoid of professionalism when having your friends as business clients. Less is discussed about working in a B2B setting beyond the cliche of “there are no friends in business.”
Interview with Ian Jackson, CEO of Enshored
Ian Jackson is the CEO of Enshored (www.enshored.com). Enshored is an outsourcing firm purpose-built to solve the challenges related to scaling disruptive, high growth businesses, delivering proven results by employing our unique agile operating framework and the most highly skilled associates in the industry
Ian’s role at Enshored sees him drive client acquisition efforts as well as providing direction and oversight to Enshored’s operational leadership.
Inc. Magazine Unveils Its First-Ever List of California’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies—The Inc. 5000 Series: California
Inc. magazine today revealed that Enshored is No. 56 on its inaugural Inc. 5000 Series: California list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing California-based private companies. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the California economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses.
Facts and Figures of the Inc. 5000 Series: California–At-a-Glance
Following the money? Make your first stop California. Home to some of the most prominent U.S. venture capital firms, California attracts 47 percent of venture dollars, according to Pitchbook. But that’s just part of the story. To gauge the dynamics powering the state’s hottest private companies, Inc. crunched their numbers between 2016 and 2018. Here’s a look what’s driving California’s fast-growth businesses: What they do, where they do it, and how they contribute to the state’s economy in the process.
Introducing the Inc. 5000 Series: California’s Top Companies
Inc.‘s first annual ranking of America’s top businesses in California is here. The fastest-growing private companies–representing cities from San Diego to Sacramento–saw their combined total revenues climb 168 percent to a collective $5.5 billion between 2016 and 2018. Their 2018 revenue ranged from $1 million to $393 million. And they are also job creators, adding 26,000 to California payrolls.
Trust Others to Achieve Success
Ian first graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1993 with a Sociology degree and no clear idea of what to do. Falling by chance into a job as a librarian and general assistant for a small financial publication, Ian became fascinated with finance, markets, and companies, sparking the drive and desire for self-improvement that saw him start a rapid growth upwards through the business side of a raft of Fintech companies.
Enshored joins the ranks of the fastest-growing companies in the US
This week has seen Enshored recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in the US. According to Inc Magazine, we rank at 607 of the 5000 companies who made it onto the annual Inc. 5000 list.
This is further validation for Enshored. We have carved out a unique niche in the outsourcing world in supporting disruptive businesses to grow and be successful. As a partner to them, we bring expertise in operational areas where they need help. They, in turn, can get back to focusing on the big ideas, and the more disruptive parts of their business.
What puts the “Great” in “Great Customer Service?” – Process
In the final part of our series on customer service, we will bring everything together by looking at the process. Process – how you do things – is critical. You can have the right tools and the right people, but without a clear and consistent process to manage things, you will not be able to deliver great customer service.
What puts the “Great” in “Great Customer Service?” – Great People
This is the second part of a short series on how to deliver great customer service. The first part focused on having great technology to support your team, the next part then is to have the best possible team.
What puts the “Great” in “Great Customer Service?” – Technology
If you have a business with customers, you need some sort of customer service. If you want to have a good business, you are probably thinking you need good customer service. And if you want a great business, you need great customer service. It is unavoidable if you are going to compete.
So what makes great customer service? We shall dig into that question and tackle some of the challenges we see at Enshored each day.
See how we helped increase annual growth by 25%
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