The Makeover Journeys: A Formal Management Lineup

Editor's Note

As we began putting together this edition of Springfield Business Journal, the editorial team explored what it might mean to have a business makeover. And it's not by chance that this In Focus falls within the first issue of 2010, which follows a year that presented myriad challenges to businesses across the board. Our thinking was that business leaders might want some fresh perspectives to guide them in the new year, particularly if they face challenges beyond those presented by the economy.

What our contributing writers have discovered is that there's more than one way to define a business makeover.

Local companies are on pathways of change that range from rising out of a disaster to relocating, and as their stories are brought to light, it may be that they will inspire change in other companies that want to begin makeover journeys of their own.

By any measure, 2009 has been an outstanding year for Springfield-based Intuitive Web Solutions.

Founded in 2004 by cousins Chris and Phil Reynolds, the software-design company that specializes in insurance-industry applications saw explosive growth, with revenues growing to $1.4 million this year from $415,000 in 2008.

Eryn Cantrell, IWS' chief financial officer, projects revenues will top $2 million in 2010.

"We filled the sales quota for 2010 a few months ago," said Chris Reynolds, co-owner and president of business development.

To help streamline processes and accommodate the company's rapid growth, the Reynoldses recently formalized their company's structure, creating the positions Chris Reynolds and Cantrell hold, as well as co-owner Phil Reynolds' role as president of products. Previously, the Reynoldses only called themselves owners, and as such, they were responsible for making all of the decisions for the company.

In order to take the step of creating a management structure, egos had to be checked at the door, and it also brought an end of Chris and Phil Reynolds making every decision that affected their company. Positions - and the tasks that come with them - had to be parceled out to the people who could most effectively perform them.

"We didn't have enough mental space to keep doing it all," said Cantrell, who was the first employee the Reynoldses hired and has been with IWS since 2006. Initially, Cantrell said, he was brought on board as office manager, taking on the role of operations director a year and a half later and continuing it until being named to his current position.

Phil Reynolds said they went through an assessment process to figure out their individual strengths. And although the company didn't use a specific assessment program, he said the exercise was a good learning experience. In the end, they realized it was best to focus on their strengths and let go of the rest.

While the Reynoldses didn't use job titles before, Chris Reynolds now focuses on bringing new clients on board and solidifying existing sales relationships, while Phil Reynolds is responsible for product development and Cantrell handles all financial matters.

"It's been a very healthy process to specialize," Phil Reynolds said. "If I have a question about the financials, I don't ever make a call. I go to Eryn."

The owners said that while they wanted to formalize the management structure and some of the hiring practices and employee development strategies, they didn't want to abandon the laid-back culture they had cultivated.

"One of the biggest challenges has been introducing formality without making it too stuffy," Chris Reynolds said.

The co-founders also recognized that they were going to need some help in human resources.

That help has become increasingly important as IWS grew from three employees - the Reynoldses and Cantrell - in 2006 to 21 employees today. And the company expects to employ 25 to 30 employees by the end of 2010.

To keep up with staff growth and employment issues Krisi Schell was hired last summer as human resources coordinator, one of the company's mid-level managers.

Schell said she's spent the last few months recruiting new employees, developing company policies and an employee handbook, and working on employee development strategies - "that's a major focus," she said.

The decision to formalize their management structure and hire a human resources expert was a smart one, said Mike Maples, a partner in Phoenix-based B2B CFO and counselor with the Springfield chapter of the U.S. Small Business Administration's counseling arm, Score.

Maples spent more than 20 years as a controller or CFO before becoming a partner in B2B CFO. Ten years of his career was with a Kansas City engineering firm that grew from three small offices and a few million dollars in annual revenue to 35 offices and more than $100 million annually. This experience taught him the pitfalls that rapidly growing businesses can face.

"All small companies ... started with folks who have some great ideas," Maples said. "As they get bigger, the task list just gets longer."

Though he did not work with the Reynoldses, Maples said it's important that the owners of growing companies recognize their weak spots to keep up with growth.

"Not knowing what you don't know is the most dangerous minefield to go through," he said.

The faster a company gets specialists on board - whether in finance, human relations or marketing - the more efficiently that company will be to grow, Maples said.

Now that IWS has its management structure in place, the Reynoldses and Cantrell are returning their focus to building their client base and marketing their software, BriteQuote and BriteCore, to insurance companies nationwide.

"We've decided to stop growing at a super-fast rate (and slow down to) a medium-fast rate," Chris Reynolds said.[[In-content Ad]]