Forge News and Updates |
Today we heard from three Birmingham business leaders- Johnny Grimes of Wheelhouse Salon, Tony Summerville of Fleetio and McCall Hardison of FreeTextbooks. They all shared the “Key Metrics for Increasing Revenue and Profitability” in each of their respective businesses. This was followed up with a Q&A time with all three leaders. This was a FREE event- and we promise there will be more in the future!
To start us off Tony Summerville told us a little bit about Fleetio- the company he started back in 2012. Fleetio helps organizations track, analyze and improve their fleet operations. Thousands use Fleetio to manage hundreds of thousands of vehicles, equipment, parts, drivers, etc.
“The primary way to know if your business is healthy is to collect and examine your data.”
Tony discussed two key metrics when focusing on increasing revenue and profitability: your sales funnel and NPS (Net Promoter Score). When thinking of your sales funnel, understand your customer’s journey. What brought them to your website? What percentage of your visitors sign up for a newsletter, download an informational PDF, etc. What percentage of visitors click through to other pages on the website? Calculate conversion rates from step to step. Analyze what your acquisition costs are.
Tony said your NPS is the voice of your customer! This measurement is extremely valuable because every employee in the company contributes to this score. Make sure you track this score over time.
Johnny Grimes of Wheelhouse Salon shared next. Johnny and his wife Courtney are the owners of Wheelhouse Salon. Wheelhouse was established in January of 2014 and over these few short years, the company has grown from 1 location with 3 employees to 2 locations with 25 employees.
As they focus on revenue and profitability, Johnny said he first focuses on building a people-first culture where customer service is top priority. They invest in education for their staff- sending them all over the country for classes and workshops. Serve your customers well by constantly collecting and evaluating feedback. Retention is very important because ultimately retention costs less than acquisition. Explore the opportunity to increase your prices in certain areas or give strategic discounts. Oh and most importantly, Johnny said focus on having fun.
“We’re not in the hair business. We’re in the people business.”
Lastly, McCall Hardison of FreeTextbooks shared what she has learned about goal setting and tracking. McCall is the CMO for FreeTextbooks and in the last three years, FTB has grown into a nationwide brand and student network. With over 500 student reps and thousands of customers using the FreeTextbooks app, The FreeTextbooks app saves students time and money on expensive course materials.
McCall’s first word of advice: when thinking of goals, pick it and stick. In our culture, we tend to change our minds quickly and avoid failure but you should measure a goal for at least 90 days. Also, everyone is tracking something but your company should focus on what metrics specifically benefit you. Know what to measure and why. Don’t focus on one metric just because other companies do so. Big goals should have an impact on every team members’ job. Without goals, people don’t feel successful.
“Don’t let competitors be your guide- be your own guide.”
We were extremely pleased with our second Business Breakthrough Session event! Hearing from a variety of business leaders gave us a wide range of information about revenue and profitability from very different industries. We’re excited for future events and would love your input about topics and Birmingham speakers you would enjoy hearing from. Check out our Facebook page (@workatforge) for information about future events!
Our next Business Breakthrough Session is planned for Thursday, February 15 from 7:30-9:00am. Follow this link to RSVP!
Forge News and Updates |
Forge is hosting it’s very first event and we’d love for you to join us! We’re bringing in local business founders who can offer advice and tell stories about the growth of their companies.
First up, Kasey Birdsong is our keynote speaker and he is the founder of Planet Fundraiser. They raise funds for schools and nonprofits through your everyday purchases. Businesses near you choose a percentage that they’d like to donate on purchases made at their stores. You simply upload your receipts to their app- it’s as easy as that!
Next up, Cindy Martin is the Founder and President of Bham Now. They are the modern, mobile guide to Birmingham and they’re invested in making our city better! They offer digital media and advertising that is engaging. To prove it, they have over 130,000 unique visitors to their site each month.
Then Jeremy Carter who is one of the owners at Breakout Birmingham. Breakout is pure entertainment- an escape game located in Homewood with a variety of different themed rooms. Go with a small group of people and you’ll have an hour to use clues and puzzles to escape the room!
Lastly, Luke Allen is the Vice President of sales at Occupational Health Dynamics (OHD). They provide top-quality equipment and services to health care providers of occupational medicine.
We’re so excited for our first event so come scope out the Forge workspace and hear these amazing speakers share their stories.
Join us September 21 from 7:30-9:30 for breakfast! Oh and Bham Now gave us a shoutout so check it out!
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Forge News and Updates |
Our space has drastically changed in the last few weeks! If you haven’t come to visit us yet, stop by the Pizitz building and come up the mezzanine level. Here’s a few pictures to show you around our space!
When you step off the elevator, you’ll see our front desk- complete with light-up Forge letters. All of our furniture was made locally- including this amazing desk!
Next up, our front lounge area. Comfy couch and chairs make it the perfect place for a casual meeting or phone call.
You can continue walking through our doors into the kitchen! We know the kitchen is at the heart of what Forge offers our members. This is where we’ll gather for fun, community-building and networking events. Happy hours. Brunch. Cookies. All the good stuff.
All the essentials- refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher. Oh and Revelator Coffee every single day. And some light snacks because we all need those during long work days.
Next to the kitchen you’ll see a light, airy, large conference room which is available for our members to book for meetings and events. This room holds 8-10 people and you an use our TV for presentations and videos.
Outside this conference room is our printer/copy machine. We’ve unanimously decided it has proven to be the most difficult part of opening Forge. Printer woes are real.
Oh and we are in love with this painting from Wellon Bridgers. Isn’t it beautiful?!
Our small conference room is also available to our members for meetings consisting of 4-6 people. We love this space and can’t wait for more Forge members to utilize it!
As you continue walking, you’ll enter into our common space. Our members have been spreading out into this area overlooking the hustle and bustle of the food hall.
We’ve got this additional room that we lovingly refer to as the “pow wow” room. This is a non-reservable area for our members to use for video chats, small meetings or phone calls.
Last but certainly not least, the penthouse conference room. This is the largest conference room available with space for up to 14 people. It’s up on the ninth floor next to the fitness center, pool and the picturesque view of Birmingham’s skyline.
We’d love for you to stop by and check us out!
Click here to schedule a tour today!
Forge News and Updates |
The Forge Team survived (and thrived) in this first week of business!
We loved opening the doors for our founding members and celebrating this new adventure with everyone. As members continue to join our community, we are reminded of the wide variety of careers and companies in our workspace. From graphic design to marketing to podcasting, it’s truly fascinating to hear about everyone’s projects, industries and goals.
Tuesday night we celebrated with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony! And delicious snacks (from many of our friends in the food hall), drinks and the company of our Forge members and friends and family.
Can you believe these sugar cookies with the Forge logo painted on the icing? Great Lakes Bakes – they taste even better than they look. Y’all go look her up!
Delicious appetizers from Bitty’s Living Kitchen
And some treats from Fero
notice the tiny F’s on these chocolate covered strawberries
(Please don’t worry- the kids have apple juice)
Cheers to the first day of Forge!
We had to snap a picture of this group of people who had such a huge impact on the Forge space. Em Lee is the designer who spent countless hours making Forge beautiful. Ken McBride from KPS is the architect. Forrest Millsap and Garrett Millsap built our custom desk and raised countertops. Dorsey and Missy Cox built our sleek tables and chairs.
The Forge Team is so thankful for all of the love and support this week! We’ve loved giving tours and showing off the Forge space that we believe will greatly impact and grow the Birmingham community!
