3 Tips to Get Your Company Ranked on the Inc. 5000, from Henry Camacho, Serial Entrepreneur

Getting ranked on The Inc. 5000 is every American entrepreneur’s dream. The list of America’s fastest-growing private companies has the ability to make a company and its owner(s) nationally and globally recognized. That makes it a very coveted thing among entrepreneurs. Making it there is not easy, but it is not as hard as you might think if you are relentlessly focused on execution. Many new businesses have made it over the years. One of them is Henry Camacho’s Med Aesthetics Group.

Venturing out on his own in 2014, Camacho was ready to make it launch his own company. He knew he wanted to provide more value to business owners that did not have the marketing expertise that was available to enterprise class programs. His vision saw him turn down opportunities from the likes of Disney and Hulu in order to launch a medical marketing company. While the decision was a risky one, it paid off. Camacho started and built his company, and in 2018 he made it onto the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. Here are some of Camacho’s tips that can get your company ranked on the list as well. 

Start, Own and Run the Company by Putting Your Clients First

This is the most basic, but important tip. The Inc. 5000 list is all about privately owned companies. Being the owner of the company means that your company is completely independent  and not a subsidiary or another bigger company’s division. There are many ways you can come to own a company. You can acquire one that is already in business or even start from scratch and grow it.

Camacho started his and in three years it was already in the coveted list. The good thing is there is no limit to the times you can get listed as long as you are in top 5000 for each year. Your company must also be based in the United States for it to be eligible. 

As simple as it sounds, most people get lost in the planning phase and sometimes, it’s just a thought that never comes to fruition. Jump in and get started. The only way you are guaranteed never to make it on the Inc. 5000 is to never start. Remember, your launch will never be perfect and you’re going to need to learn your way through and get burned a few times in order to be a weathered leader managing a multi-million dollar company. With each loss comes growth and lessons, Camacho notes and adds that he found it was crucial to surround himself with positive influences as he was growing his company. 

Being committed to each and every client when you are starting off pays huge dividends if you can learn how to replicate your services or products as you grow. All companies that are ranked on the Inc. 5000 have a product or service that clients want to buy and keep investing in over an extended period of time. 

Make Growth Your Goal

After starting a business the first thing you need to ensure is that it is not only bringing in new revenue but also retaining or mining your existing clients for revenue as well. Track every dollar your company makes from day one and make sure that it grows from there. The name of the list itself tells you that it’s all about growth.  If your business is not growing it is dying. There is no way that a business will make it to the list if it is registering losses. There is a set requirement annual growth needed to be eligible for getting to the list. However, growth doesn’t necessarily mean new sales revenue. Your existing client base can be a significant source of revenue. Ideally, as you grow you are generating revenue from existing customers of up to 80%.

You don’t have to be a multi-billion dollar company to make the list. In fact, very many multi-billion dollar companies don’t get there even if at one point they had been. As mentioned earlier it’s about your growth; specifically, a three year consecutive  growth. That means that if you want to make it into 2020’s list, you only need a financial statement dating back from 2016. It also means that if you start a company today, you can make the 2023 list. If you’re focused on this, write it down. You’ve often heard that people that write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them. This isn’t any different.

Setting quarterly targets and breaking them down into monthly targets works. You want to be aggressive yet realistic and make the goals attainable at the monthly level so your teams don’t feel overwhelmed.

Apply

Now that you own a company based in the United States and registered a three year growth it is time to take the application. The process in itself is not a hard task. You only ought to have made the cut. If you have, you can also take advantage of the moment and apply for other local awards. With such growth, it is a given that you will scoop some awards from local and national newspapers.

To make it to the 2020 list you have to have started getting revenue by March 31st of 2016. Another factor is that your annual revenue for the same year should not be less than $1,000,000. Since the whole idea is about growth, your company’s revenue for 2019 should not be less than that of 2016. Infact, your annual revenue for 2019 must be over $2,000,000. Make sure your revenue is documented and that your tax filings are completed in order to have your growth verified. Remember, it’s not real if it’s not reported to the IRS. If you have trouble keeping track of finances, make sure you have a solid bookkeeper, CPA or master Quickbooks.

Getting on the list means that you will get exposure in national, local and industry media. You also receive a dedicated company profile on Inc.com which gives you and your business credibility, a stronger sales momentum and many more sales advantages. Make sure you make the most of it and good luck.