SBJ: What has been key to your recent growth? Mark Steiner: For us, our scale is so gigantic. Being a company that is nationwide right now – and thinking about going international sometime in the next year or two – it’s been focusing. Our biggest challenge as a bootstrap company was being able to get that out. We want to be the first thought when you are planning an event. That’s happened.
SBJ: What has the company’s growth enabled you to do? Steiner: We can hire more; that’s obvious and key. We have been able to accomplish a great deal with what I would say are limited resources. We haven’t gotten venture capital, so we can’t just go out and hire willy-nilly. We’ve grown within our means. Whereas we could probably use five more programmers, we can hire one or two. If we stay at pace with what our leadership can manage, it’s probably better that we don’t run out and hire five people.
SBJ: What are your top issues when it comes to managing growth? Steiner: It is making sure we continue to live within our means. I have come to appreciate we may not have super deep pockets, but I have done my best to make sure I never push us too far to the limits. We could be in some danger zone where we have taken on too much. For us, I’ve made it my goal to never have more dollars going out than we have coming in. What I’ve come to understand is that’s not an uncommon practice with a lot of businesses. Our most recent report, for each $1 we spend, we have $6 coming in.
SBJ: Is your fast growth sustainable? Steiner: I’ll take what I get. I really will. There is a very faithful approach I have to this. I believe we are doing good stuff, and we have this amazing team. I believe so much in the product we have created and the service we provide. There is the potential there for this continued growth. If that’s what’s to come, then we are going to do it. If it plateaus and we go to a more gradual growth, that is fine too. I just don’t want to go backwards. For what we do, our audience is unending. There is no reason to stagnate.
SBJ: Have your goals changed as business has taken off? Steiner: I’ve been called to be more specific. My goal still is to create a $100 million company, but that stuff doesn’t motivate a lot of people. I grabbed the number out of the air. At that time, I’m reading tech magazines. There were articles about companies that sold for X amount of millions, but there was this special emphasis on companies who sold for $100 million or more. I thought, that is the category I want to be in. It’s a very specific, very niche category, so it shouldn’t be that hard. In those ways, we are the industry leader. What’s changed is understanding most of my team could care less about $100 million. They just don’t think that way. That’s me as the dreamer. My team cares about what their part is, what they can take ownership of. Do they feel valued and have purpose? I understand that now.
A relocation to Nixa from Republic and a rebranding occurred for Aspen Elevated Health; Kuick Noodles LLC opened; and Phelps County Bank launched a new southwest Springfield branch.
