INSTANT MBA: Get In Business With The Right People

Today's advice comes from our interview with Josh Golden, founder and CEO of Table XI:

"We are as much our customers' customers as they are ours. I make an effort to adopt all of my customers' core products. Partially because you need to understand their function to serve them well. But more importantly, it's to develop a relationship. You create so much goodwill with a customer by actually understanding what they do, connecting them to others, and finding ways to help — independent of your own monetary gain."

When PechaKucha, a public presentation group, approached Table XI to work on its website, Table XI didn't immediately jump into development and systems integration. Instead, they decided to do their own research to get a better idea of what Pecha Kucha's site needed to serve its users more effectively. Golden attributes his company's steady talent growth to its ability to build and maintain customer relationships.

"If you're not getting repeat business from your customers, you are not going to continue your business. Plain and simple. Our client intake is very focused on making sure we work with the right organizations. During our first call, we score inbound leads. We have a candid conversation about what we can accomplish. We aren't afraid to tell the organization if we aren't a good fit. Can we provide value to them? It is sometimes hit-or-miss, but getting into business with the right people is extremely important."