By: Paul Weber, EAG Advertising & Marketing CEO
The Kansas City Business Journal will publish this year’s list of Kansas City’s fastest-growing companies on August 10, 2018. The list has already been released, but the August 10th edition will show these companies in order of their rate of growth over a three-year period.
EAG Advertising & Marketing is included as one of the 50 Kansas City’s fastest-growing companies. We don’t know where our advertising agency will fall in the ranking, and frankly, it’s not too important to us.
Not once over the past fifteen years have we published our sales or growth numbers. As a privately held company, we believed these very important statistics should be privately held. Last fall, during a stretch of significant growth, we completed the Business Journal’s survey of Kansas City businesses and reported our results for the first time. Now, the outcome is out there for everyone to see and compare.
Internally (and humbly), we have mixed emotions about sharing our intimate sales growth knowledge with others. Not because it isn’t warranted or a wonderful accomplishment to celebrate, but because the spotlight will shine too brightly on the wrong things.
Although we accept the recognition graciously, it wouldn’t be the EAG way if we didn’t publish the reasons we are being recognized as one of Kansas City’s fastest-growing companies.
In no particular order, here is what companies do behind the scenes to create the numbers necessary to make the list:
Stay true to your brand, vision and mission.
For 15 years, we have focused on being a small business advertising and marketing agency that serves our clients as their outsourced marketing department. This has never changed, and it never will.
When employees are encouraged to grow personally and professionally, the business will follow.
We have an obligation to help our team learn, grow and lead. And, we feel an obligation to care about them as people first, employees second. That’s why EAG’s former employees from coast to coast stay in contact with us and we cheer for their success.
Be financially diligent, respectful and responsible.
Since we opened in 2003 we have paid every vendor on time, without fail even throughout the Great Recession. Even in moments of dispute, we paid the vendor and then resolved the issue. And, we are respectfully diligent in collecting money owed for our services. We’ve only had to resort to collections four times, which is astounding for a client list of 350 and 15 years in business.
Sell your services with conviction and purpose.
We are a small, local KC advertising and marketing firm, which means people play multiple roles within our company. We have never hired a sales person in the traditional sense, believing that nobody sells our services better than the people who serve our clients on a daily basis. Owners are the most passionate sales people, period.
Do the right thing, despite the cost.
It was painful, very painful, but we have stepped away from some client relationships over the years. Simply put, we could not help them grow their business. Marketing is just one piece in the complex puzzle of growing a business. If we can’t help, we admit it and step away.
Growth is not the goal, success is the goal.
Client success, employee success, community success, leadership success and many others need to succeed in order for a business to become one of the fastest-growing companies in Kansas City. When others succeed, the company’s growth naturally follows suit.
We are grateful that the Kansas City Business Journal recognizes our work and all the effort that led to our ranking as one of Kansas City’s fastest-growing companies in 2018. Now with this honor behind us, we’ll get back to work.