Website URL: 
www.ServiceRoundtable.com

Social Media Links:
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/Service_Nation
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ServiceRoundtable
LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/company/service-roundtable

Year Founded
2002

Number of Employees:
12, with two openings

What does your company do?
Our mission is to help service contractors improve their business and financial performance, leading to a profitable exit strategy.  To accomplish this, we operate three business alliances.

The largest is the Service Roundtable, which services air conditioning, plumbing, electric, and solar contractors.  The Service Roundtable provides content (downloadable and customizable sales, marketing, and business tools like consumer newsletters, direct marketing, social media marketing, interview guides, job descriptions, pricing calculators, and everything else necessary to run a contracting company), community (24/7/365 moderated, online peer support groups, and two national conferences per year), and cash (rebates through our buying group for parts, equipment, and supplies contractors use in their business and sell to customers).  Through April, we have already paid members over half a million in rebates.  Our average quarterly rebate check exceeds $700.  Service Roundtable membership is only $50 per month.

The next alliance is the Retail Contractor Coalition, which is a turnkey branding program for HVAC contractors who want to sell their own line of branded heating and air conditioning equipment.

Our highest level alliance is the Service Nation Alliance, which serves air conditioning and plumbing contractors.  The Service Nation Alliance is a best practices group focused on streamlined business operations across the board so that any contractor in our system can operate another contractor’s business, making that business more marketable when the contractor wants to sell and retire.

We also offer a few separate products like books that we publish through Service Nation Press and Service Roundtable Money Mail, our turnkey email marketing program for contractors.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?
There have been a number of turning points.  Generating a positive cash flow was huge.  Breaking past the first million in revenue was also a major milestone.  For me, personally, it was reaching the point where the business could run without me.  This made it a true business where my role was less “doing” and more leading, directing, managing, and reviewing.

Our COO, who has been part of this every step of the way, cites a trade show where we stopped having to recruit vendors and they began seeking us out.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
We started as a purely Internet based company and invested significant amounts in web applications and solutions to manage and operate the business.  We continue to make investments in web based IT for every aspect of our business.  As a result, we are largely paperless and very scalable.

One process that’s very important is annual goal setting.  We focus on the end result for the year and for five years, which drives everything else.  We set aggressive goals and still blow them away.  When we do, we celebrate as a company and reward everyone.  As a result, we have total buy in.

What are some of the best marketing strategies that have worked for your business?
Long before anyone coined the terms, social media and blogging, I started the Comanche Marketing email newsletter.  In it, I intuitively followed all of the principles of good social media.  I was open, real, and delivered value.  Comanche focused on nuggets of marketing (and the occasional rant) that small business owners could get their arms around and put to use in their business.  Other than member referrals, Comanche has still generated more members than any other single source.

A second area that’s been extremely valuable is public relations and writing.  In addition to Comanche Marketing, I personally write regular, featured columns for Contracting Business Magazine, Contractor Magazine, CB Hotmail, Southern PHC Magazine, and Contracting Canada.  From time to time I also write pieces for vendor newsletters.  It’s a beating, but it’s built the brand.

Are there any ways that you have leveraged the Internet to grow your business?
The better question is, “Are there any ways we have not?”

Well, we don’t spam.  Otherwise, we have made extensive use of the Internet, especially for marketing.  This includes email marketing, blogs, microsites, webinars, social media, mobile apps, SEO, SEM, paid search, banner ads, banner exchanges, and so on.  We will continue to explore and test new avenues.

Recently, we’ve moved our development site to the cloud, are now backing up all local computers in the cloud, and are using the cloud for internal company collaboration and file sharing.  We’ve also added a new VOIP phone system, which allows telecommuters to plug in a handset at home.

Eventually, we will move all of our websites to the cloud.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
Building a team of extremely talented, highly motivated people who I struggle to keep up with is a daily joy.

It’s also rewarding to encounter our members at trade shows and other events express appreciation for our company.  In some cases we are credited us with saving their businesses!  While I think they’re giving us too much credit, it’s still incredibly rewarding to hear.  And, with all modesty, we are assisting people change their lives for the better.

I’ve got to admit, I take pleasure in proving skeptics wrong.  These are the people who doubted our business model, doubted me, or doubted decisions we’ve made along the way.

Egotistically, it’s incredibly rewarding  seeing a multi-million dollar, significant business arise as the product of my imagination.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
I don’t think our challenges are unique.  Regardless of the challenge, the approach has been to seek the perspectives and insights of others, stay calm, develop a plan, and execute it.  Resist the urge to panic.  Resist the gut instinct to overreact.  Remember that every challenge is an opportunity to grow and that the only businesses without challenges are out of business.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
Trust my instincts more than my intellect regarding people.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Watch your cash.  The number one reason small businesses fail is lack of cash.

Hire above yourself.

Join lots of networking groups and organizations.  The more people you know, the more opportunities you will encounter.

Business is all about relationships.  It’s all about people.  No matter what the business, it comes down to relationships between people.

Put financial controls in place early to minimize the potential for fraud down the road.

As soon as you can, make yourself unnecessary.  If your business can’t operate without you, you don’t own a business, you own a job.

Celebrate success.  Cherish it.

Bad days will occur.  They help you recognize good days.  If every day was great, how would you know?

No matter what, do the right thing.  Even if it costs, do the right thing.  Your reputation matters more than you know.

Market, market, market!

Invest in your people, but don’t forget to invest in yourself.

Set goals.  Track results.  Reward success.

Don’t forget the family, family vacations, exercise, and life away from work.

Pray for your people and your company.  Give thanks daily.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
Michael Gerber’s classic, “The E-Myth” should be required reading for starting a business.

Anyone who wants to understand the culture of the Internet should read “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” which captured how people interact with social media before there was social media.

Small business owners should read all of the Jay Conrad Levinson books on marketing.

To help gain an understanding of the way markets work, read Milton Friedman’s dated, but excellent work, “Free to Choose.”

For personal motivation and reminders, read Mark Matteson’s “Freedom From Fear” and Og Mandino’s classic “The Greatest Salesman in the World.”

Two other classics on wealth creation are “The Richest Man in Babylon” and “The Wealthy Barber.”

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
In high school, I dreamed of winning a Texas state championship.  No one would have believed it would come from cooking…

My salsa has won first place for the State Fair of Texas three times (each with a completely different recipe, which is unprecedented on two levels – first for three wins and second for three different recipes).

I also have a second place for picante sauce and a third for BBQ sauce at the State Fair of Texas, plus numerous chili cookoff championships.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
For 2011, we were ranked 43rd in the Aggie 100 list of fastest growing companies owned, led, or founded by Texas A&M graduates.

Within the Lone Star State, the Aggie 100 is a big deal.

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.Joolwe.com

Year Founded:
2008

Business Partners:
Not yet – but we’re working on that.

After the holiday rush, we’re going to start reaching out to other small retailers targeting the same female demographic. We feel that by cross promoting products through our respective email newsletters, we can increase sales for both parties.

Number of Employees:
5

What does your company do?
Joolwe.com is a new online jewelry store that offers our customers a myriad of jewelry in a wide array of metals and gemstones that are gorgeously designed at an affordable price. The company is built on a simple philosophy: we believe online jewelry shopping should be a fun experience. Our approach to online shopping is to offer our customers fascinating pieces at outstanding prices, while maintaining our reputation for excellent customer care.

At Joolwe.com, shoppers can create signature looks by choosing from one of our ensemble selections or choosing unique accent pieces that compliment their personality. We have free shipping on all orders, a best value guarantee, an easy returns/exchange policy and a biweekly free jewelry giveaway. Our top priority is to make sure that all our customers to be completely satisfied with their shopping experience at Joolwe.com.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

Definitely! I don’t have any retail experience, and leading Joolwe.com has been very trying. I spent a lot of time my first year learning new things. Starting the second year, I began to feel comfortable leading this company – which allowed me the freedom to set new goals and work on bigger projects.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
Three of our procedures have been really well liked by customers and have helped us grow:

1. Frequent jewelry giveaways (because everyone likes free gifts and customers are more likely to make a purchase when they get something for free).

2. Posting customer reviews on our website (so new shoppers can see what others think of Joolwe.com’s selection).

3. Online searching techniques (to make it really easy for customers to find exactly what they’re looking for).

What is most rewarding about running your business?
I absolutely love it when are customers are happy with their shopping experience at Joolwe.com. Despite being a very young company, we’ve been very successful. That success has been driven by our customers and we want to always make sure that our shoppers needs and wants are met.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Leading Joolwe.com has been a major learning process for both myself and my staff. When Joolwe.com first started, we tried attracting customers with very low prices. That goal wasn’t nearly as successful as we hoped, but we were able to learn from that experience. Now we better understand that shoppers want and expect a great selection along with great prices. Once we quadrupled our selection of jewelry, our sales immediately improved.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
Initially, my goal was to keep our start-up costs as low as possible to maximize sales revenue. That was a big mistake; we had to redo a lot of things (like website graphics, jewelry photos, etc.). In the end, we didn’t save any money and wasted a lot of time, money and other resources. Now, I make sure to allocate a responsible amount of our budget to ensure each project can be executed successfully.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Take responsible risks. Change is rarely easy and often challenging – but you’ll never succeed if you always stick to the easy road. Be opening to try new things, but do so responsibly. Compare the pros and cons and set limits to yourself (especially financial limits so you don’t end up losing all your money).

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
The internet has amazing free resources for businesses.I think companies should google their particular issue whenever they want to branch out or to solve a problem. But, companies should also remember that not all advice online is good advice. Take intelligent risks, ask around and weigh your options before diving into online ideas.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
Most people are surprised to learn that I dropped out of a nationally ranked, top-five business school to start and run a new business – especially in a down economy!

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.tritonsuccess.com

Year Founded:
2008

Business Partners:
La Mancha Sims
CEO and Founder

With over 15 years of experience in financial consulting, La Mancha specializes in small business growth & development and commercial finance. La Mancha’s strategy utilizes his three pillars to success (Planning, Growth, Profit) to promote business growth and access to capital in order to help his clients achieve their goals. A former Naval officer, Investor and Entrepreneur with degrees in Economics and Finance, Mr. Sims continues to work with start-up and established companies throughout the United States, providing solutions for growth and profitability.

Michael Thompson
Co-Founder and Senior Partner

Michael has been a small business development specialist since 2000 and co-founded the firm with La Mancha. After a decade working with small business owners, he has developed a system which focuses on business growth, management consulting and process improvement. Michael’s specialties are business growth, consulting and planning. Michael holds a B.S. in Political Science and an M.B.A. in Finance.

Number of Employees:
5

What does your company do?
Triton Business Solutions is a business development consulting firm specializing in helping business owners start or expand their operations.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

A client engaged us to advise them on all facets of their business, including financial, operational and supply chain.  This was a huge challenge for us, but we were able to meet the challenge and the client was so happy with our work that he extended the engagement for an additional two years.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
We created an innovative Project Tracking System that allows our clients to interact and give us immediate feedback.

What is most rewarding about running your business?

Helping entrepreneurs achieve their business goals and dreams.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Having a client whose business was about to fail and they didn’t think they could afford our services.  We were able to convince him that we could help turn his business around, which we did, and his business is now more successful than ever.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
Focus more on marketing.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
If you know you have a good idea and there is a demand for your product or service in the marketplace, don’t get discouraged and don’t give up.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki
“The Richest Man in Babylon” by George S. Clason

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
That I love to cook exotic dishes.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Starting and growing your own business is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have, as well as leaving a legacy for your children and grandchildren.

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.FitnessForHealth.org

Year Founded:
1987

Number of Employees:
10 people

What does your company do?
Fitness for Health is a premiere pediatric, therapeutic exercise facility providing multi-sensory and individualized programs to foster growth and development for all children. Our innovative facility, trained staffing team and novel approach to fitness encourages children to achieve goals previously thought unattainable. Our activities are designed to teach children new skills and improve a child’s fitness, motivation, self esteem and overall physical wellness.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

I realized that I was at a turning point when I went from using space inside of a local school to a commercial building.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
I have implemented phone consultations along with tours of my facility.  Additionally, increasing word-of-mouth with regional physicians and families have helped grow my business.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
I find that having the ability to help local children achieve their health goals is the most rewarding aspect of my business.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Our latest challenge has been that our office building experienced a fire over the summer.  We had to rebuild our equipment base while concurrently relocating to interim space within the building.  Although the temporary space is smaller, we have purchased new equipment that better reaches our targeted tween age group.  This equipment has caused new excitement about attending our services and, in fact, has helped to grow our business.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
If I was starting over today, I’d have a more detailed business plan that outlines specific ideas to reach demographic target audiences.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
My advice is to encourage business owners to follow their passion and create detailed business plans.  Try to help your community by providing a valuable service.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
I recommend reading “The Nordstrom Way: The Inside Story of America’s #1 Customer Service Company” by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy.  It details an innovative approach to customer service.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
My vision for my company is based on my own personal life experiences. I am committed to creating a facility dedicated to helping children improve their motor capabilities, physical fitness and self-esteem. I have worked personally with equipment manufacturers to design innovative and multi-sensory programs that are adapted to each child’s stage of development and skill level.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Most businesses fail within their first two years so new business owners need to be determined and have enough capital to last through the tougher times.

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.VirtualAssistUSA.com

Year Founded:
2008

Number of Employees:
35

What does your company do?
Virtual Assist USA provides business services in areas like marketing, administrative, web design, customer service, search engine optimization, research and more. Commonly known as Virtual Assistant or Consulting services, we stand out by offering personal service and serving our clients with panache.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
Coming from a Business Process Improvement (BPI) background, I was familiar with the systematic approach to optimize underlying processes to be more efficient. Using BPI principles, I reduced our cost and project life cycle time by 80%, while improving our quality by 60%.

In BPI, there are 4 roles: Business leaders, Process owner, Operational manager and Process operator. Using the theory of “continuous improvement”, each quarter, I personally reviewed our process and quality control.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
The most rewarding moments come when we have successes for a client. Fortunately for us, these are frequent occurrences.

When a client grows their business directly related to a project we’ve done — helping them get to page 1 of Google or freeing up their time to focus on sales — it just lights me up. I believe in small business, entrepreneurship and the risk-takers who make the leap. Helping them continue on the path that they started on brings me so much joy.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
When I launched my business, I was 23. However, even at that young age, I already earned my MBA and had work experience at large brands like ESPN. At first glance, I faced opposition.

However– I knew my stuff, I knew it well and I could talk the talk. Once I had 5 minutes to sit down with someone, it was a closed deal. I overcame the challenge of being young for my industry by being educated,sharp and confident.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
I would have outsourced more early on. I would have taken more calculated risks to create change. Early on, we did all of our work in-house — marketing, web design, direct mail, upkeep, etc. This turned out to de-tract, not attract. I would have got more help early on from passionate, creative people.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Be hands-on. Answer the phones, personally send clients birthday cards– spend time doing the tasks that your staff does, too. While you can’t spend 100% of your time doing this, be aware of what is going on, be empathetic and you will likely find ways to make improvements. Be the business owner who is also the technician!

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
People might be surprised to know that I am a card-carrying NRA member, never had braces and graduated high school at 16.

Business Name:

Website URL:
http://www.Easysmallbusinesshr.com

Year Founded:
2009

What does your company do?
My company, Easy Small Business HR supports small business owners as well as supervisors in general by sharing the best management practices for hiring staff, managing difficult employee and workplace issues, and improving morale among other HR challenges.

I share quite a bit of free information through my blog, my “Employee Hiring and Managing Tips” podcast, and HR Quicktips newsletter. I also coach clients on a very select basis who are interested in “as needed” help with HR issues.  I’ve recently written an e-Book entitled “How To Supervise: What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took The Job” and I’m working towards launching a premium membership site where managers can access premium employee management information and participate in live webinars with me and other HR professionals.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

Yes.  Definitely 2011 has been the turning point for me.

I’ve been very measured in my approach to my business.  I’ve always wanted to develop a sense of community first and build relationships, (as much as you can online) before monetizing the business.  I needed to be sure that there was a need for not only HR information online, but for my particular style of sharing the information which is in a very easy to understand step-by-step format.  I already knew that there are plenty of companies out there online that provide HR information, but most of the information is provided in a way that is too technical.  I wanted to share information in the same way that I do with my clients; in a clear, easy to understand and conversational tone.

People really seem to be able to relate to this no frills approach.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
I try to think strategically and plan ahead.  I sit down on almost a weekly basis to research what the competition is doing and seeing how I can do the same thing differently.

I’ve utilized social media quite a bit and it’s paid off in terms of establishing a loyal fan base and with establishing relationships with peers that I can potentially partner with in the future.

One of the best things that I’ve done is hire an assistant who helps me with the administrative work that can be a time-suck.  I have a lot of time to focus on growing my business instead of trying to do everything myself.

Another very good decision for me was to automate as many processes as possible in order to free up my time.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
Sharing information that comes so easy for me because of my experience with people who find real value in the information that I provide.  I also love being able to do things my way.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was attracting visitors to the website.  I spent quite a lot of time learning about how to do organic internet marketing as opposed to pay per click to garner traffic.  The free way takes a little longer, but well worth the effort; especially if you are on a budget at the beginning!

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
I wouldn’t be so hands on and I’d trust the “small stuff” to an assistant early on.  I learned to do this eventually and it’s really helped me to move to the next level.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Don’t let a perceived, (or real failure) keep you from your goals whatever the goal may be.  It sounds cliche, but I found that my business is stronger because of my failures.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend my own digital book:  How To Supervise: What Your Boss Never Told You Before You Took The Job.

I’m very much into internet marketing to grow my business.  Although it’s seen as a “scammy” type of industry, there are a lot of “real” people that have helped me tremendously.  Two websites to check out are: “Smart Passive Income” by Pat Flynn, and Internet Business Mastery with Jason van Orden and Sterling.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
There are a few things that people are always surprised to learn.

I love internet marketing so much that I started a second website called “Tools For Social Media.com”.  There are so many people that ask me about how I’ve been able to drive traffic to my website online, that I created the website and added articles to address the questions.  It’s so far removed from my HR World.

People would also be very surprised to learn that I just created my first iPhone app which I hope will be in the iTunes store before the end of the year called “Shut The Cell Up”.  I tend to get very annoyed when I’m forced to listen to other people’s personal conversations in public places, so I created an app that helps me to laugh about what I can’t change.  The website is ShutTheCellUpApp.com, (still a work in progress).

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I think that it’s important to do what you love.  My career has been in HR which I enjoy, but I’ve found a second career in internet marketing.  I realized that I can be an expert in more than one thing and that I don’t have to limit myself to one career.  I would encourage readers to do the same. Follow your dreams.

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.Burba.com

Year Founded:
2000

Business Partners:
Jim Burba

Number of Employees:
Six

What does your company do?
Burba Hotel Network (BHN) produces some of the largest and most successful annual hotel investment conferences in the world.  Since the company began in 2000, we have held over 90 events in 22 countries and have hosted over 67,000 delegates.  At our multi-day conferences, people come to learn about the latest trends in hospitality and network with other industry leaders.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

One year, our large event in Los Angeles presented newly elected California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as our keynote speaker.   People were practically beating down the doors to get into see him.  After the conference, we started receiving many offers to “partner” on other events around the world.  Because of the interest in us and our company, we had to be very strategic about how to move forward without compromising our brand and how we do things.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
Jim Burba and I have developed a set of partnership principles that we apply to our daily lives and our business.  We try to treat all of the event sponsors, our delegates, and even our employees as “partners” or stakeholders in our events and the success of our company.  By following our principles closely, we are able to align interests and keep everyone moving in the same direction toward the common goal.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
It takes about ten months to plan a conference from start to finish, with 1,000 details to work on.  It can be a very nerve-wracking undertaking.  But when all the planning is finished and the time has come to execute, there is nothing like it when the curtain goes up, 3,000 people start to applaud, and the big event begins.  Three days later, when the conference is over, we take a couple days to “bask in the glory” — then we start the process all over again.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Some of our biggest challenges have been overcoming situations which were entirely out of our control.  Our fist big event when the company started was in the planning stages when 9/11 happened.  We pondered for a while about continuing the event or not — we continued.  The terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India happened about one month before our first conference in India was to begin in Mumbai, so we were in crisis mode over that.  Fortunately we had only 10 cancellations, and the people who did come to the event were very appreciative that we carried on.  There was bird flu in Hong Kong one year, and SARS, and of course the financial meltdown in Europe right before our London event this past year.  But as I said before, we look to the positive, and we carry on.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
We had a “5 year plan” when we started the business — 11 years ago.  We got going, and the next 11 years went by way too fast.  We probably were not prepared for the growth and success we experienced because we were not looking to far past the startup phase.  I think we should have planned for what happens after year 5.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Business owners need to develop their own set of principles by which they live their lives and run their businesses.  Particularly with small business owners, the business becomes your life, and you need to know how to maintain balance, integrity and a life outside the business.

Also, you always need to be on the lookout for good people to bring into the business.  Over the years, one of our biggest challenges has been to find employees who want to learn, participate, and become an integral part of the organization.  A small business really is like a family, and each member must be willing and able to contribute — not just be looking for a paycheck.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
Ed Fuller’s (President of Marriott International) “You Can’t Lead With Your Feet on the Desk”

Reuters.com, CNN.com, LATimes.com, and many other online news sources for world news.  To find and take advantage of the opportunities, one must know what is going on in the world around them.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
Jim and I have been successful business partners for 11 years now.  What many people don’t know is that we have been successful life partners as well for more than 21 years. We have found a way to create success in life and livelihood without killing each other in the process.

Business Name:

Website URL:
http://www.tutorspree.com

Year Founded:
2010

Business Partners:
Josh Abrams
Ryan Bednar

Number of Employees:
6

What does your company do?
We’re a marketplace for local tutors.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

Last year, when we got into Y Combinator, a startup accelerator in Mountain View California. It’s run by some of the smartest, most capable people in the industry, and they have a phenomenal track record of success. Just getting in was a huge boost to the company, and the advantages that have come with it have been spectacular.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
We take a fairly darwinian approach with new tactics and strategies. We aggressively test the products we build against the results they produce, and kill off things that don’t make sense. When we see something working manually, we think about how best to systemize it and make ti faster and better.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
Helping people learn things at which they thought they were destined to fail. At the heart of what we’re doing, that’s what it is all about.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges we face is how to grow our engineering team in a heated market. Top talent is under a huge amount of demand, and, without it, a company like ours cannot grow. We’ve overcome that by developing a culture that is attractive to engineers, and by aggressively pursuing the candidates we love.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
The truth is, there isn’t much I would do differently right now. We’re still a bit too early in the life of the company to take that kind of view. Ask me again in a few years .

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Build the right founding team. The people you go into business with, and the first people you hire form the core of your entire company. They set the tone of the culture – the DNA of your company. If you ge that right, then you can rapidly overcome any setbacks you face.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
Steve Blank’s blog, SEOMoz, Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston, and HackerNews.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
I studied History and Literature at Harvard – not exactly the most relevant skillset for running a business.

Business Name:

Website URL:
http://www.3six5dates.com/

Year Founded:
2010

Number of Employees:
20

What does your company do?
3six5dates is an international reality dating blog where ‘Sex and the City’ meets ‘Big Brother’. It is a unique social experiment that follows four single, professional, and attractive women, in four different big cities across the world, as they tackle 365 dates between them in an attempt to answer ‘is finding true love just a numbers game?’.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

It was exciting when other businesses that service the same market started approaching us to do cross-promotions. That’s when we realised that there was a potential to partner with these businesses in order to generate another income stream.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
The key thing that all my team members ‘sign on’ to is that everyone in the business is in Marketing. That is – everyone on the team is excited and talks about 3six5dates in their day to day. It is also for this reason, that I place more value on having a great businesses culture and not just the most highly skilled team.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
Out of everything that I have achieved so far with 3six5dates, I am most proud of my team – a group of 20 volunteers across four different time zones all virtually connected. I have actually not met most of them in real life and manage the operation without make-up on and in my pyjamas on most days!

It was also very exciting to have been  recently been listed as one of the Australia’s top 10 female start-up entrepreneurs by Startup Smart. A great buzz and honour to be recognised amongst some truly amazing women in the same space.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Being a creative person, I would come up with a lot of different ways to market the business. As a result, we would be trying to work on 10 different campaigns and completing none of them. I believe most businesses and entrepreneurs go through this at one stage or another. 3six5dates now concentrates on delivering three key outcomes per quarter and this has delivered a lot more results.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
I would have recruited for more team members on board sooner as initially I tried to do too much on my own. This meant I didn’t have enough time to work ‘on’ my business as opposed to ‘in’ it.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Being an entrepreneur is not nearly as glamorous as it sounds – few of us become the next Mark Zuckerberg! Because of this, I think it’s really important that you understand why you are building the business you are building. What is it you hope to achieve and do you like the audience that you will be serving. Having a strong reason will get you through the tough times.

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
There are three books I swear by and they’re more psychology based rather than strategy as I find the ‘people’ part of the business more challenging than saying coming up with a new way to market.
1. The Magic of Thinking Big – Dr. David J. Schwartz.
2. Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway – Susan Jeffers.
3. Personality Plus – Florence Littauer.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
I came from humble roots – arriving in the country at the age of 3 on refugee status. My parents did not speak a word of English, and besides some clothes, had $50 in their pockets when they arrived on a humanitarian visa.

I also started off with a Bachelors in Science with a major in Neuroscience – hardly the traditional start for a career in business!

I mention these things because I truly believe anyone can start anywhere and at any age and have it work.

Business Name:

Website URL:
www.fetchnotes.com

Year Founded:
2011

Business Partners:
Chase Lee

Number of Employees:
8

What does your company do?
We create note-taking software that helps you deal with information overload. Fetchnotes makes it extremely easy to capture tasks, ideas, reminders and other short notes and get them into your workflow.

Was there a specific turning point when you realized your business was moving to the next level?

Yes, when I started getting inbound email from press, investors, etc. rather than me doing all the outreach, I knew we were doing something right.

What processes or procedures have you implemented that have helped grow your company?
Every few months, we hold a 24-hour Hackathon. This is basically an all-day frenzy of code, caffeine and camaraderie that really helped build our company culture.

What is most rewarding about running your business?
You get the full bird’s eye view of your organization. When things go wrong, I know exactly why and I can act quickly to fix them. There’s also nothing quite like seeing your vision come into reality — it’s probably the most rewarding experience you can imagine.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
Everything takes two times as long as you think it will. When you don’t plan conservatively, this can throw everything out of whack. I’ve generally solved this by multiplying whatever estimates people give me by two for my own planning purposes.

If you were starting over today, what would you do differently?
Focus on one thing and do that well. For too long our efforts were stretched across multiple projects and this was a recipe for disaster until we corrected it.

What advice do you have for other business owners?
Just go for it. Stop worrying yourself into paralysis and start working on your business. My biggest strength as an entrepreneur, as my aunt says, is that I “never think not to.”

Please list any favorite books, tools or resources (software, website, etc.) you would recommend for others:
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut is one of my favorite books.

Fetchnotes is obviously my favorite business tool! Some other favorites include Podio, Open Web Analytics, Sparrow Mail and Google Apps.

What is something that people might be surprised to learn about you?
I’m actually still a student at the University of Michigan.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
If anyone wants to reach out to me for anything — even if you just want to say hi — feel free to email me at alex@fetchnotes.com.