AddressTwo University Big Changes Ahead for 2014

AddressTwo University

As with any great endeavor, sometimes it is necessary to re-evaluate what’s working and what isn’t.  In addition, as sales at AddressTwo have grown, so too have my responsibilities.  So to provide the utmost support to the AddressTwo University Blog and our readers, AddressTwo has brought in Charity Kountz of Kountz Marketing Group, to help with blog management and provide more help to our A2U Authors.  A partner provider with AddressTwo for over two years, as well as an award-winning author herself, Charity’s role will be to serve as Editor-in-Chief, if you will, of the blog and to serve as a point of contact for all things blog related.  We hope you will join us in welcoming Charity!

As a reader of the AddressTwo University Blog you can expect to see regular content that is relevant, exciting, and will truly help your business thrive in 2014.  AddressTwo University Blog serves a dual purpose: providing important content and resources to our customers, partner providers, and the business community in general, while also providing a platform for small business experts to showcase their knowledge and expertise to an interested audience.

If you are interested in contributing to our community as an Author please contact Charity [email her,] space is limited and our 2014 Author enrollment period is quickly ending. 

Do you have topics you’d like to see covered in 2014?  We want to hear from you!  Email Charity and let her know what you want to see covered in 2014.

Twelve Seconds

"I will never write another book again."  Those were my exact words to Troy after having spent a year on the book tour trail with my first book, Unfunded. 

Troy had a different plan in mind for me, though.  Troy knew that the reason I didn't enjoy my first book experience was because it was just a book.  It was just a few hundred pages with ideas.  It was just my picture on a dust jacket and some signatures.  It didn't change the world.

In fact, Troy didn't want to just write books either.  Troy wanted to build a training system.  Troy interacts with AddressTwo users every day -- users who are small business owners, working hard to pursue their dreams and using AddressTwo as just one of the tools in their toolbox.  Troy wanted to give more, and he wanted to get those ideas out of my head.

Troy's vision was for small businesses to have access to training courses, conferences, coaching and peer-to-peer support all built around the fundamental concepts of business success that could be found in (you guessed it) my next book.

The book, Twelve Seconds, is just the tip of the spear for a new business venture that Troy, Chad, and I have started, together with the help of a business coach, called "Lift."  Where did we get that name?  Perhaps this short excerpt from the book itself will help explain:

"Lift is the upward force air applies to a wing, causing flight... It’s a harsh reality few entrepreneurs are willing to admit, but the truth is many small business owners aren’t struggling to achieve new heights, they’re struggling to get off the runway. Much goes into elevating a plane from the ground to thousands of feet in the air, but there is not an inch of that ascent more difficult than the first. To separate the wheels from the pavement is, for most entrepreneurs, a feat for which they are ill-equipped to succeed. They have studied flight, yet not learned lift."

AddressTwo 2013 EAC Established Business Award Winner

It was a welcomed break to the usual work week to attend the Entrepreneurship Advancement Center’s (EAC) annual Celebration Awards last Thursday.  The whole team here at AddressTwo—Chad, Troy, Steve, and I—all attended the luncheon and awards ceremony at the Monon Center in Carmel.  There were some exciting young businesses on display.  Michael Cloran’s keynote was thought provoking.  It was great to see several of our long-time customers.  And, the food was excellent.  But the best part was taking home some hardware.

At this year’s banquet, AddressTwo was recognized as the leader in the Established Business category (businesses with more than 1 employee and over $250,000 in annual sales).  As an entrepreneur, it’s always nice to receive some recognition amid the daily toils that go along with growing a small business.  But more than that, it was great to be able to share in the praise with the team who made it possible.  Troy and Chad have been the backbone of this company for so long, their achievements solidified our position as a strong leader in Indiana’s entrepreneurship scene.  And Steve, the newcomer to the team, is making great strides in taking our technology to new levels. 

It was an honor to be recognized as a finalist in the category, and a genuine thrill to hear our name called as the winner.  Thank you to the board and the judges at the EAC, and thank you to the AddressTwo team for all your hard work. 

-- Nick 

AddressTwo a Year in Review

In June of 2008, there was one customer and a web-based tool called the “Carter and Company, LLC Simple CRM for Small Business.”  In August of the same year, the product donned it’s new brand as AddressTwo.  By year’s end, 34 customers had signed up.  Revenues soared to $340 per month. 

Four years later, we sit positioned as a market leader in small business CRM.  Over 2,000 companies rely on AddressTwo for managing leads, networking and referral efforts, sales follow-up tasks, and more.  At times like this—the end of the year, holidays approaching, and yet another profitable year behind us—it’s fitting to look back… but only for a moment. 

Looking back I’m amazed at how many mistakes and wrong turns litter the landscape of this young company’s history, all the while our customers have never been more fiercely loyal nor our team so enthusiastically engaged.  But that’s what it takes to succeed.  No CEO can say “I did it perfectly.”  And for that reason, no CEO can say, “I did it alone.” 

We have not done it alone.  Our customers have been incredibly loyal, spreading the word about AddressTwo with all the gusto of evangelists.  Our network of Partner Providers and Affiliates have added tremendous growth to our business.  And most importantly, our two directors Chad and Troy have carried AddressTwo on their shoulders and adopted its mission as their own.  I owe a debt of gratitude to all who have been a part of the phenomenon that has become AddressTwo.

But as gratifying as the past four years have been, it’s the next four years that will put the name AddressTwo on every small business owner’s tongue.  We are in the process of a major new product development that will expand our capabilities exponentially—reaching far and wide into new verticals, industry specializations, and marketing channels.  By this time next year, when we look back at 2013, we will marvel at how many new CRM applications we power and how many new innovations in small business sales and marketing we have deployed. 

Four years ago, CRM was a mature market.  I am on record as saying on more than one occasion that there was no room for disruption—that AddressTwo succeeded by simply building a better mousetrap.  Today, with the perspective I now have, I am ready to admit that I was wrong.  Our team has come up with new developments that the CRM market has never seen.  The disruption is coming.  AddressTwo will lead the way. 

Happy New Year!

Nick Carter
Founder & President

AddressTwo Names BoldThink as an Authorized Partner Provider

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Indianapolis, IN, November 29, 2012 --(PR.com)-- AddressTwo announced today that BoldThink, an Indianapolis, IN–area marketing and design company, has signed an agreement to become an AddressTwo Authorized Partner Provider. The agreement will enable BoldThink to sell the AddressTwo CRM product as a part of its solution for customers, as well as make BoldThink’s expertise and creative services available to AddressTwo users in the Indianapolis area.

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