Recently I attended the 2009 Inc. 500|5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. My company, Bit-Wizards Custom Software Solutions, was honored this year by making the Inc. 5000 List in the top third ranking in at 1617 with 198% growth in revenue over a three-year period. Having never attended the Inc. 500|5000 Conference and Awards Ceremony before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To say the Conference and Awards Ceremony were phenomenal is an understatement.

When I donned my tuxedo and walked into an awards ceremony and gala that rivaled the grandeur of the Oscars or Emmy awards, I became fully aware of the magnitude of our small company’s achievement. While the celebration of our achievement, after 10 years in business, is one of my proudest moments as a business owner, I took away so much more from the Conference, speakers, and mingling with my fellow business owners and entrepreneurs.

The environment was electric. Being an honoree from number 1 to number 5000 sparked a sense of camaraderie and fellowship that opened doors to make everyone potential business partners. We had made the list, after all. In today’s economic climate, that was an achievement. We belonged to a remarkable club of those who had thrived and continue to thrive despite an economic downturn. We all must be doing something right. Everyone was eager to learn, collaborate, and find new ways to do business.

The conference had a lineup of world-class speakers like Tony Heirsh, CEO of Zappos.com; Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great and How the Mighty Have Fallen; Barry Grisswell, CEO of Principal Financial Group; Jill Blashack Strahan, Founder and CEO of Tastefully Simple and Bob Williamson Founder and former Chairman and CEO of Horizon Software International. These speakers, along with fellow entrepreneurs like Joe Zenas of Thinkwell Design and Production and Dan Gigante, Partner of clevermethod, imparted some “nuggets of wisdom” that I want to share.

2009 Inc 500|5000 Conference Speakers

1. Business success is not accomplished by luck or being in the right place at the right time.
According to Jim Collins, renowned author and professor, many people believe that successful businesses were simply in the right place at the right time or just lucky. Jim has evaluated over 9000 successful and failed businesses says, in fact, it was not just luck. What was evident from his studies was that all of the successes had consistent principles or traits that contributed to their success, and those that failed had consistent principles or traits that contributed to their failure. What I took from Jim’s dynamic and compelling speech was that success was not a matter of chance, but rather a result of the relentless pursuit of following solid positive business practices.

2. Ruthless persistence will eventually pay off.
Four years ago, when I went on the first date with my wife, Kimberly, her good friend, Tracy, told me, “Be persistent. Be ruthlessly persistent.” As a business owner, this was not a concept that was new to me. Jill Blashack Strahan, Founder and CEO of Tastefully Simple, made this point in her address to conference attendees:Set your dream and your business goals and do not let anything or anyone stand in your way to fulfilling those goals. Times may get tough, but be persistent and persevere. Things will not always go as you want. When they go wrong, remember that advice. I cannot begin to count the number of times I considered giving up on Bit-Wizards, only to reevaluate our course, pull myself up and trudge forward. It is only through ruthless persistence that we have remained in business for 10 years. And, you’ll notice that Kimberly is now my wife. Being “ruthlessly persistent” certainly paid off there!

3. Corporate culture is everything to sustain a thriving company.
Tony Heirsh, CEO of Zappos.com, reflected on the downfall of his first successful business. He had concentrated on building the business, but forgot to develop a corporate culture. By the time he realized it, it was too late. When he started Zappos.com, he began with the “Corporate Culture” first. That culture is reflected in everything their business does. With Bit-Wizards, corporate culture has been the guiding force behind our business. Having worked for other people, Louis, Co-Founder of Bit-Wizards, and I realized that salary and money were not our primary motivating factors. Environment and corporate culture were more important. Most people are motivated by being a part of something larger than themselves. We want our employees to identify with the company and have a personal stake in its success or failure. This doesn’t happen without establishing a positive corporate culture. With a nod to Tony’s advice, we try to make sure our corporate culture is reflected in everything we do. We hope—and it is our experience—that such dedication to our corporate culture’s principles will be evident in the services we provide to our customers. This, in turn, will support growth and stability for both Bit-Wizards and our customers.

4. Fanatical customer service will keep you in business.
Tony Heirsh had another wonderful “nugget of wisdom”: Be known for some trait and engrain it in your corporate culture. Zappos.com is known for fanatical customer service. The one fact that all businesses have in common is that customers are the reason we exist. Customers are the consumers of our product or service. Every business should be known for fanatical customer service. Customers appreciate it and they will be more inclined to be loyal. When you do fall short, as articulated by David Neeleman of Jet Blue, admit it, learn from it, and make amends to the customer. It might not be popular with the Board of Directors or the shareholders, but it will pay dividends in customer loyalty—and it will have a positive effect on your bottom line.

5. How you face adversity determines your fate.
In their talks to the Conference attendees, Barry Grisswell, Jill Blashack Strahan and Bob Williamson all told heart-wrenching stories of both personal and professional adversity. In evaluating their stories, I realized that how you react to adversity determines your fate. Some people may choose to wallow in self-pity. Others realize that companies facing difficult times can come back. The road back may mean laying people off or having a period of negative growth. But the truly great people evaluate the situation and choose to face the adversity and persevere.

6. Even with success, be humble.
Jim Collins noted that one trait of CEOs of successful companies was that they were humble, even in the wake of their company’s success. CEOs of companies that found success but later failed tended to become arrogant in the wake of their success. They had a sense that they had arrived and that nothing could knock them down. CEOs of successful companies that became truly great were humble and were more apt to be thoughtful and not become complacent. They were constantly reevaluating what they did and felt they could do better.

7. Be fearless, take risks.
Joe Zenas, CEO of Thinkwell Design Production, said, “You have to be willing to take the risk. My advice to anyone who is starting their own business is to be fearless.” People who are “risk adverse” have no business owning a business. Without risk there is no chance of success. Does that mean blindly putting your company at risk? Emphatically speaking, NO! Carefully calculating risk and weighing the outcomes is essential to a successful business. When risks pay off, learn from your successes. When they don’t, learn from your failures. Without risk, your business will stagnate.

8. Fear is healthy.
A healthy dose of fear will keep you on your toes. While this may seem to negate the “take risks” advice, fear of failure will keep you constantly evaluating your business and decisions. Even with success, you can still fail. Every time I face my fears, it makes me think through my business decisions. Whether it’s evaluating cash flow and making payroll or embarking on a new marketing plan, I confront my fears and doing so helps me make better decisions.

As I flew home from D.C. and began to reflect on the Conference, I realized that not all the “nuggets of wisdom” I learned from the Conference were new to me. They were, in fact, principles that we had been unknowingly following since Louis and I founded Bit-Wizards in 2000. It is with this affirmation of our practices that I realized the great value of the Inc. 5000 Conference. These practices fused with the new things I learned helped me set a plan for the future. It made me realize many of the principles we were following were contributing to our success. This gave me renewed hope and optimism to make our future.

At one point during the Conference, attendees were asked: How many of you will remain the same or grow during the next year? There was a sea of hands that encompassed nearly every attendee. Next question: How many of you will make the Inc. 5000 List next year? Again, virtually every attendee raised a hand. In today’s economic climate, you have to ask: Is this the unbridled optimism associated with entrepreneurs or the acumen of a group of business owners who have adopted sound principles that help create success? I believe it’s the latter. Surviving and growing a business in an economy in the throes of a recession is not a matter of chance. It’s accomplished only by adopting sound business strategies. I know we will make the 5000 List in 2010 and, before 2012; Bit-Wizards will make the 500 List. Unbridled optimism? A little, perhaps. After all, I had to be optimistic to even start this business. But, more realistically, it is belief in the path we have chosen. We will accomplish our goal by following the principles I learned in this year’s Conference.

Pictures from the Inc 500|5000 Conference