As sole owner of EXCEL Management Systems Inc., Curtis
Jewell couldn’t be happier.
“I’ve been married three times, and having a business partner is
like being married,” he says. “I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life,
and I’m very comfortable managing what I decide to take on. I
don’t need partners for money because I believe in a light debt as
opposed to investors.”
Jewell also serves as president and CEO of his Columbus-based
company, which provides systems engineering and management
services to federal, state and local government agencies, as well as
commercial clients. The company reported $13.5 million in 2006
revenue.
Smart Business spoke with Jewell about managing his company
through smart debt and doing what’s right for his staff and customers.
Q: How can other executives grow their company the way you’ve
grown yours?
Unmitigated gall. I’m not an IT genius, and I run an organization
of 120 people where about 110 of them are IT geniuses. That’s the
unmitigated gall.
I’ve done it on smart debt. I love debt. If you have a good relationship with a bank and a good healthy line of credit because
you’re creditworthy and have a good banking record, you’re able
to borrow what you need when you need it. You pay it back, and
you have no obligations and no diluting of your profits.
After almost 18 years in the business, I can finance any debt need
out of my own resources, as opposed to having to draw on my
large line of credit that I almost never need. I may borrow from the
bank only because my money may be working in a better way than
to disturb it for some business purpose.
I’ve grown the company through aggressive sales and marketing.
I try to get in with the customers early in the budget-planning
process and track their goals and what they’re going to want in
terms of technology over the next year or two. By the time they put
out a request for proposal, I’m well aware of their need, and I’ve
already begun planning to respond to it.
Q: How can companies create long-term customer relationships?
Give more than you take. As long as you’re doing that, and you’re
open and honest and everything’s on the table, everybody appreciates that. If you’re always looking out for their best interest, why
would a client want you to leave him?
Q: How can business leaders create an atmosphere of responsiveness?
You just care about that customer. We operate with a partner network of companies across the country that respond on our behalf.
If that partner company can’t do it, I’ll fly someone out there who
can.
That costs me, and I’ll probably lose all my profit, but I’ll do it to
make sure it gets done right. You do what it takes to make sure
your client is OK.
Q: How do you communicate that to your staff?
That’s what people need to understand; their first client is their
staff. I support my staff so they have no reason not to deliver the
best of who they are to my client. It just goes down the line, and
it’s widespread.
We are building a company and getting well compensated for it.
We’re not just working together; we really like each other because
we’re satisfied. Nothing creates a better relationship and enjoyment for people when they know they’re delivering great service
and are appreciated by their client.
Q: How do you reward your employees?
We thank them for providing that level of service on behalf of the
organization. Sometimes we remember it when their raise comes
back around, but I make it a point not to have money be the only
way we say thank you. It’s a bad precedent.
People need to know it’s OK to do things right and not always
expect to get money from it. I don’t believe in that.
Give your people incentive to do their best. I bring on people of
such quality that they own their area of the business. They’re not
micromanaged. They get incentives, and they’re paid high scale to
bring them in. Once they start to see the growth, it’s shared. Don’t
shortchange the key people that make your operation successful.
Q: What can prevent a company from growing?
A lot of company owners don’t even know how to read their
financial statements to manage their organization to profitability.
You’ve got to know what you’re doing from day to day or month to
month.
Don’t just set a budget. You’ve got to see if you’re keeping to the
budget, if you need to adjust it or if you’re spending too much in
any one category. If you’re not aware, and you don’t know what
those things mean and how to take action on them, your company
could be doing something far different than what you thought.
HOW TO REACH: EXCEL Management Systems Inc., (614) 224-4007 or www.emsi.com