As Chairman of the Virginia Chamber’s Small Business Committee, I’m pleased to start what we expect to be a great dialog with small business leaders across the Commonwealth. We’ll be discussing everything from workforce development, tax policies, legislation, and other market changes that impact the business environment. In this initial post, I’d like to provide an introduction and open up a topic for discussion.
In 1998, I co-founded SNVC. Having retired from the Army, I had worked in another small company for two years, continuing to support our military. It did not take me long to realize that I wanted to offer excellent services to our Federal Government in a way that helped our customers solve problems using information technology while also offering employees a career where they could grow as professionals. Fast forward 14 years, and I’m proud to say that we have grown well beyond my initial expectations of 4 or 5 partners each delivering their expertise to a client. SNVC is now comprised of 110 employees. We serve both the public and private sectors. We are a business with a strong culture and focused on our client needs in a very dynamic market.
This brings me to my first topic, which is creating a higher ideal within a company. When I’m asked about why I started a business and how I made the climb from two employees to over 100, I smile. My story is not that different from most, but I am convinced that being focused on why I did it is the real key. Small businesses can take almost an infinite number of paths to success. Success for your business will be different from mine, although I am sure we share the desire to be profitable.
Higher Ideals are very powerful because they will guide decisions, influence behavior, and attract your workforce as well as your clients. To be powerful, however, they must be known and understood by every employee. Employees are often initially attracted by the company’s higher ideal, so they should share the business leader’s vision when they join. If the leader wants profits, then every employee should understand that and how to deliver them. If the owner’s vision is to create the next app that will revolutionize business, then employees should understand that, too, as well as how to enable that vision.
Not only does the higher ideal attract employees, but it also becomes a compelling reason for them to stay. Retention is key to success in that corporate knowledge and expertise is built over time. It’s part of why I wanted to provide a business where careers could be built.
Finally, higher ideals set the foundation for an organization’s core values. These become the guiding principles that shape the behavior of the workforce. As SNVC grew, I knew I needed to trust those I’d hired to make decisions and deliver our services in a way that was in accordance with our vision. We’ve done that through our onboarding and internal professional development programs. I’ve seen the power that is created when each employee drives business success.
As we face unprecedented challenges as a small business community, what will our higher ideals be? I’d like to hear yours because our Commonwealth’s economic engine depends on small business. Why did you create your business, or why did you choose to join one? Perhaps you know of a higher ideal that resonates with you now and would like to share it. Please do. I believe this will be the beginning of a great forum, where our voice has the potential to reach nearly 10,000 other small businesses across Virginia and be heard by our legislators.
In closing, here’s SNVC’s higher ideal: as a company we will insure that our clients are always successful because our business directly supports those that uphold a critical purpose of government contained within the pre-amble of the constitution; “ to provide for the common defense”.
Until next time,
Tom
