In the last four years, Emily Goodstein has built a successful, growing, values-focused business and she has learned more than a few lessons along the way. Emily is the Founder and CEO of Greater Good Strategy, which has grown from a one-woman shop into a team of more than 60 digital marketing and fundraising experts along with a badass 4-woman executive team specializing in research, fundraising strategy, content creation, graphic design, digital analysis, and more. Emily shared with us some of the key ingredients to her success as an entrepreneur and business owner. They’re lessons that every leader can learn from.

First, it’s important to understand that no one has a straight path to success. There are detours along the way, and each of those detours teaches a person something – and the value of those lessons is revealed in surprising ways. In Emily’s career there were successes and some bumps along the way – jobs that helped her grow and some that were not a great fit. Almost a decade ago, Emily found herself at a crossroads and decided to go all-in on building a career as an independent marketing consultant.

During that time, she identified key spaces in the market that had tremendous growth opportunities that were aligned with her values. Greater Good Strategy was born, and four years later, it has grown into a successful business helping non-profits and other mission-driven organizations do good, a leader in the industry.

Second, Emily had a clear vision about the kind of company she wanted to create. She envisioned a place where folks are encouraged to show up as their full selves. She knew it had to be proudly women-led, wear its politics on its sleeve, and only work with organizations the team would donate to themselves. Emily’s commitment to social justice and working for “good for the world” organizations is rooted in her Jewish values. From her work advocating for access to a full range of reproductive healthcare to the missions of the clients she serves at GGS, the concept of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – is ever-present.

“We help organizations and good for the world companies thrive online. We believe in the power of technology and people, we root for the underdog,” says Emily.

GGS consultants are people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities. Some of the Greater Good Strategy team are single parents and digital nomads, and others are forging a new life in a new city. Emily herself is a new mom navigating each day as a parent with a full-time job. The company offers flexibility so that its team members can do their work in the way that works best for them. Emily supports team members’ advancement to project leaders and is a mentor to the team leading by example. She is a leader who guides others toward success.

Emily’s third lesson: emotional intelligence is vital for professional success. A leader with high emotional intelligence understands the importance of building trustful relationships with their team members.  For Emily, this means she sets clear, ambitious goals and achieves them by bringing her team on board and ensuring everyone is energized by the opportunities ahead of them. Sheis also a serial connector of people. She has a rare ability to connect genuinely with people and, in turn, connect those people into her more extensive network. Her business is built on the strength of her team and the strength of those personal connections.

Fourth, building a successful business requires flexibility, especially once the pandemic hit. On the one hand, Greater Good Strategy had already been a fully remote workplace, which meant there was no adjustment to the tools required for remote work. On the other hand, clients were hit hard during the transition, so Emily and the GGS team jumped right into action, offering twice-weekly office hours, free webinars, and COVID-19 communication and strategy ideas to the non-profit community. Despite these disruptions, the firm’s client list has grown by 200%.

“The last few years have been hard in 1,001 ways, but building a company that not only survived the pandemic, but grew and thrived — all while never straying from those core beliefs — is a stunning achievement,” said Emily.

Being flexible also means always learning and innovating. The world of digital marketing is constantly changing as new audiences move online and the space becomes even more saturated with content. It’s a misconception that digital communication is just for start-ups or millennial brands and critical for hundred-year-old institutions. Greater Good Strategy prides itself on working with all types of organizations and finds some of its greatest success in translating the work of legacy organizations into sharply focused digital marketing messages that reach existing audiences and introduce these organizations to new populations.

Putting these lessons into action has lead Greater Good Strategy to incredible success over the last several years. Still, there are so many more organizations doing good who could use support to scale up fundraising and make an impact with their digital marketing efforts.

“I want to triple the size of the business in the next five years while laying the foundation for long-term sustainable growth. I would also like for Greater Good Strategy to become a BCorp and commit a larger amount of our agency’s resources to mentorship,” explains Emily about what’s next. “I want to build Greater Good Strategy into a business that is sustainable in the long term. Entrepreneurs are challenged to grow a new business but true leadership is also building structures and culture for continued success.”

From a foundation of a welcoming and progressive culture, strong emotional connections, and the flexibility to recognize that the best laid plans sometimes need to change, the vision for the next five years is set. For Emily and the Greater Good Strategy team, that ultimately means more  good-for-the-world brands and organizations taking their digital strategy from good to greater — and more clients who make the world better daily.