Attending Denver Startup Week put something in perspective for me (shoutout to those who worked so hard and to those who contributed so much to give our community of startups such an incredible opportunity to get smarter). This intangible thing that had been shrouded in a cloud of gratitude, humility, and good times since being hired by FluentStream came into focus during a content marketing session led by the proven mega-geniuses, Brian Clark and Doyle Albee.

What it boils down to: FluentStream gives a damn. That is how we add value.

What that means for my peers and me is huge: we want to contribute and develop our talents in the most meaningful way and we are dedicated to FluentStream because FluentStream is dedicated to us. This contributes to the next, significantly more important, point.

What giving a damn means for FluentStream’s customers is groundbreaking. My new thought mentor Sonia Simone nailed it down when she masterfully defined village businesses.

FluentStream is a business that exists because of the dedication we inspire from our customers. We are small enough to be impacted by the personalities of our leaders and by the quirks of our customers. We make decisions everyday about what to provide and how to provide it based on our intuition about what our customers need and want- and based on direct input from said customers. We know our customers by name and when they need something, they know who to call- directly, of course. Our sales team doesn’t need to push- they know that businesses will make smart decisions and their role is to present FluentStream’s mission and vision honestly and to allow businesses to see how they specifically would benefit from implementing our service. We feel nourished and developed as contributors and, as such, provide meaningful results for the customers we get to help.

Giving a damn means building relationships at every point of contact. It means loving our customers and loving doing what we do for our customers. It means being irrevocably engaged with our customers- their missions, their visions, and their people.