What’s the Value of Your Company at It’s Core?

Creativity, collaboration, sustainability, community… what’s important to you?

Every company’s founders have specific values they believe in, and it’s common for many startups to take it a step further and purposefully instill those values within their business and daily operations. Values make up the core of these companies’ identities and that works to the companies’ advantage; one of the most crucial connections for any business, but especially for startups, is the company-client relationship. A secure set of values establishes strong relationships within the organization — and a shared set of values is a key step in establishing trust between a company and its client.

 

Many Rev companies choose a life of entrepreneurship so they can focus on their core values. We caught up with three Members — Yasamin Miller Group, Think Topography and SEEDs Sustainability Consulting ­ — who not only define their core values clearly, but strive to work with clients who share those values. For these startups, the benefit of working with clients who emphasize similar beliefs and the strength of the relationships that develop as a result are worth the time it takes to establish such connections.

Think Typography aims to work with clients who share the same creative curiosity and who are just as dedicated to implementing innovative ideas as the Think team. Think Typography helps clients develop solutions to business challenges using a range of tactics such as website development, brand management, software development and program implementation. Co-founders Megan Pugh and Greg Kops defined their company values as partnership, collaboration, creativity, curiosity and mastery. These shared values drew the pair to work together after they had collaborated on smaller side projects and they’ve now integrated them into Think Typography’s relationships with clients.

“We value partnership and collaboration — engaging with clients this way is an example of that,” Megan said. In fact, working with instead of for clients changes the whole dynamic of Think Typography’s client-company relationships.

“[Working with clients] creates a one-of-a-kind creative experience that only happens when you’re working with people you resonate with,” said Greg.

The result of that client-company relationship is solutions tailored to the client’s needs and a sense of ownership over the process, which provides a sense of security for the client.

Yasamin Miller, founder of Yasamin Miller Group (YMG), places a strong emphasis on giving back to the community and supporting others. While her business doesn’t appear to be a social venture at first glance, she says that she has intentionally teamed with talented professionals who have a socially conscious focus in order to make an impact through her work with survey research.

When considering potential partners and clients, Yasamin believes “there are many people in this world who have so much to contribute to society, and all they need is that chance.”

Helping those who are less fortunate matters to this founder because she was once in their position. As an immigrant to the United States, Yasamin benefitted from the generosity of others who reached out to give her a chance to succeed.

“Giving someone a life-changing opportunity is very important to me. Since [survey researchers] must work with other organizations, I choose to work with those who share my values and principles. The rewards are immeasurable.”

Karen Olson-Ramanujan, Creator of SEEDs Sustainable Consulting, shares her passion for sustainability and regeneration with clients helping them to uncover and share those values with others

YMG also believes in directly sharing their success. The company’s developers have established a scholarship fund in South America that benefits economically disadvantaged youths in rural communities. Through the program, the scholars are offered STEM training, internships, and even full-time jobs. Yasamin is proud of her team for stepping up to help, noting that “even as an early-stage start-up, giving has an incredibly positive multiplier effect.”

SEEDs training emphasizes three permaculture ethics: earth care, people care and fair share. Karryn said she finds that most of her clients already share these values and finds that when working with them “[there is] a wonderful synergy that we have because we are on the same page.”

Collaborating with clients who are equally passionate about building sustainable systems and businesses allows Karryn to establish stronger relationships with clients. Both parties share a mission to work for something larger than themselves, building a sense of camaraderie.

“I want to work with clients who manifest and live those ethics,” Karryn said. “[My clients and I are] adamant about the importance of sharing a surplus and designing our landscapes and businesses so we can redistribute [resources] to folks who don’t have access.”

Karryn has structured her consulting program to accommodate her clients value of mentorship and guidance. Her style of consulting departs from the usual permaculture consulting paradigm because she coaches clients through the design process rather than coming in as an expert and giving them a design to follow.

In her experiences, Karryn said she’s discovered that women, in particular, have a strong desire to learn business development practices to build self-sustaining businesses. Her  response to their interest was to create Regenepreneurs, an online training program that helps women develop regenerative businesses with opportunities for growth. Karryn and her clients build upon a shared passion for regenerative and sustainable growth to create mutual success.

Sharing values with your clients is not only helpful for building relationships, it’s also helpful for business development. According to Remindermedia.com, clients are more likely to work with businesses that share their values and they are more likely to refer those businesses to others in their network. If a company is aligned with respectful values and socially significant causes, clients will be more inclined to work with it because of its impression on the surrounding community.

 

To learn more about Rev Members and their values, visit the Members Page on the Rev website.