
I’m not really big on self-promotion or self-congratulations — especially here in my column. However, I'm quite pleased to “admit” that one of the companies I work for has made Inc. magazine's fastest growing companies in America list.
So, what does it take to make the list? While it’s not Inc.’s criteria, I’ll tell you from my perspective what you and your company need to do to get there.
But before I do, let me tell you a bit about the company in question. The Fresh Diet was founded in 2005 in classic entrepreneurial style — in the kitchen of CEO Zalmi Duchman with Executive Chef Yosef Schwartz. The company creates gourmet meals that are healthy, portion controlled and delicious (Chef Yos is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef). The meals are prepared fresh and hand-delivered to clients’ homes every day.
For this luxury (or is it?), customers dish out about $35 a day (most order a month's worth of Fresh Diet meals at a time — about $1,100).
So, how can your company follow in The Fresh Diet's footsteps and make Inc.'s 500 list? Here are seven ways how:

Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.