GreenCup Digital turns five this March, and we’re taking this milestone as no small feat. It’s well known that 20% of small businesses fail within the first year, and by the end of the fifth year, about half fail. With these statistics in mind, we are rather proud of how far we’ve come!
So how did we do it? While the wild ride feels like a blur, I attribute our success to growing our team and helping our clients.
Growing Our Team
It may be hard to believe, but GreenCup Digital started with just three team members: a web designer, an SEO specialist, and a copywriter. Today we have 15 team members, adding social media strategists, graphic designers, and project managers, to name a few. The GreenCup Digital team is a group of unique, creative, incredibly talented people who are passionate about what they do and ensure our clients get the very best, and I can’t thank them enough for that. I credit the company’s growth to everyone on the team, but I would be remiss not to call out one person, especially.
When I purchased the company, Kendra Higgins was a web designer for GreenCup with an extensive background in inbound marketing. When we started working together, I quickly saw we made a good team, and Kendra and I set about envisioning how we could grow the company together. Today, Kendra is the Director of Client Experience and Marketing for GreenCup Digital. If you have worked with us, you have benefited from her wealth of knowledge about all things digital marketing. Whether for a longtime client or a new business owner getting a free consultation, Kendra has an incredible talent for foreseeing the best way to help small businesses use their limited resources to enhance their digital marketing efforts. I am grateful for my professional and personal relationship with Kendra and will not hesitate to give her much of the credit for GreenCup Digital’s tremendous success.
Helping Our Clients
For the last five years, GreenCup Digital’s mission has been to help our clients realize the potential of their online presence as a partner in their digital marketing efforts. As a small business ourselves, we know how hard it can be to wear all the hats. We’ve uniquely positioned GreenCup Digital to help guide our client’s digital marketing efforts while alleviating them of the tasks they don’t have time for or simply don’t want to do. As our tagline says, “You didn’t get into business to mess with the internet, but we did.”
Some clients have quickly become old friends. Eastbrook Homes is a prime example, starting as a website support client and evolving into blogging, SEO, digital marketing support, and even a brand-new, award-winning website. Working with Eastbook Homes over the years has truly been a pleasure, and our team, who works so diligently for them, can attest that it’s not just another project for us – we truly feel like an extension of the Eastbrook Homes marketing team.
But we don’t just work with marketing departments, GreenCup Digital also works directly with small business owners working to grow their businesses. Bricks Station has redefined the experience at a gas station and expanded throughout the Greater Grand Rapids community. When owners Brad & Nick needed assistance adding new locations and making a mobile-responsive website, GreenCup Digital was happy to assist. Now, our team is on standby for the occasional menu update, and hopefully more locations, as we cheer on their success.
Helping our clients doesn’t stop at traditional digital marketing services. When Dr. Liz White took on the new title of owner of an established dental practice, GreenCup Digital stepped up to assist with a digital marketing audit to help her prioritize tasks as part of the transition. While we started with a digital marketing audit, it evolved into helping with the renaming of the business, creating new branding, website development, and ongoing support. Polished Dental Care is on its way to becoming a household name!
While I could continue raving about all of our clients, their successful businesses, and their impact on the community, these few examples illustrate how GreenCup Digital truly helps our clients realize the potential of their online presence as a partner. And, while sure we execute digital marketing tasks, we also educate our clients to understand the everchanging digital landscape by helping them prioritize those tasks for maximum impact in a way that best fits their budget.
GreenCup Digital’s History
While we may be turning 5, the business itself is really 11 years old. No, GreenCup wasn’t born on a leap year, and we’re not that bad at math. The company was actually founded as GreenCup Design in 2012 by Veronica Kirin, who listed the business for sale in 2018. At that time, I had been building my own digital marketing business for about a year and searching for an established business to acquire. After meeting Veronica and learning about her company, it felt like it was meant to be. Everything I thought I wanted my business to be was laid out before me, including a portfolio of remarkable clients, outstanding team members, and a proven process of serving them both. After the purchase was final, I wanted to make the business my own, including adding social media management and content marketing services, among others. We weren’t just designing websites anymore, the goal was to become a full-service digital marketing agency, and we needed a name to reflect that. Veronica had her reasons for naming the company “GreenCup,” and as a coffee lover and a proud Michigan State University alum (Go Green!), I was happy to keep that part but switched out “Design” for “Digital” to better reflect the services we provide our clients.
What Our Future Holds
So what’s next? While the team has propelled success with our clients, the foundation for this growth is partially due to adopting the EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) model. I’d like to give a special thanks to our EOS Implementor, Barb Reimbold, for guiding Kendra and me to become better leaders to support our growing team. As our EOS journey continues, our long-term goal is to get a referral from every client and every client from a referral. We plan to do this by continuing to grow our small but specialized team as a trusted partner for our clients, under a full umbrella of digital marketing. By focusing on building relationships and referrals, I know our future at GreenCup Digital is bright!
We hope you follow along with us on Facebook and Instagram to see what other plans we have up our sleeves for the future.
Cheers to five years and, hopefully, many more! ?
