This past year was an exciting year for us here at CablesAndKits. It was particularly exciting for me as the CFO, because we were and are so focused on metrics. As part of the executive leadership team here, I have been challenging our teams and leaders to find ways to measure their team performance as well as the company’s performance as it relates to their particular roles. There have been many interesting discussions because of this focus, and our team members are learning things about themselves and about business that they never knew before.
I would imagine that almost every company likes to know where they stand in their marketplace. It’s a valuable thing to know, right? Are you better or worse than your competitors? To be better than the next guy, do we have to do $1 million in sales or $100 million? One of the ways that we have found to measure ourselves against others is through the Inc500/5000 list. The way that the list works is this – you submit your application with general company information as well as sales numbers from the previous year and three years before that. Your growth over the three year period is calculated and compared to other companies. You are given your rank overall, your rank in your particular industry, and your rank in your region or town (for us the Atlanta area).
So.. how did CablesAndKits measure up?
CablesAndKits had an amazing year in 2008. We made the 2009 Inc5000 list with a rank of number 1258 – we had a 252.5% growth from 2005 to 2008, were ranked number 46 for growth in the Atlanta area, number 10 in Computer Hardware, and had grown from a 2 person company to a 19 person company. Exciting stuff!
By the end of 2009 when we applied for the 2010 Inc5000 list, we had grown to 33 team members – a 74% increase! We were measured on our growth from 2006 to 2009 and saw a 517% increase .. more than double our previous three year growth! This growth rate gave us a rank of 587 overall (oh so close to the top 500), number 14 in the Atlanta area and number 4 in Computer Hardware. To say that I am excited (and proud of our team) for this accomplishment doesn’t begin to tell you how I feel.
When I step back and take a look at these numbers, I am struck by one thought: we here at CablesAndKits are blessed. We are moving up in a down economy, we are able to work with awesome people who are passionate about their jobs, and we have the best customers in the world! 😉 (ok so a little sucking up never hurt right?) We like to think that our dedication to our customers and striving to be “better than the rest” is evident when you interact with us. Our passion for what we do is evident in our day-to-day work, and we like it that way. So thanks to our customers for choosing us, thanks to our team for being so amazing, and thanks to all of you who are going online right now and placing a HUGE order .. wait, what are you still doing here? Seriously, go place that order!
Signing off with a happy and content bean-counting little heart,
Christin – CFO, CablesAndKits