Life can really be a black hole. Things were moving along with this business when, 2 weeks before my daughter's 2nd birthday, we started working on all these projects around the house. Now, 3 1/2 months later, I'm still not done with all the projects and my business has been left in a coma. Normally I would never allow this to happen, and I highly recommend not trying this for yourself, but in this particular case it may have been the best thing for me.
When I was in school, I was a total procrastinator. Even with crucial, grade changing work I would wait until the day before and scramble to get it done. The funny thing is, this is not how I treated my business or how I have ever worked for others. I fully embrace the idea of getting things done immediately so you can go back to them and tweak them if need be or move onto the next task. My theory on why I was like that in school is it was for me and I realize now, at 41, that my self esteem was a big player then. I wasn't worth the effort so I didn't put it in. At the same time, I was working my first jobs and I was an aggressive go getter that accomplished task as quickly as they were assigned. These tasks were for other people, not myself (at least this is how I thought of them).
By taking this time off, 2 very important things have happened. One is that now I have a time limit that I must adhere to or my business is dead. The second is I could really give this whole thing some thought and I am now actually more excited and into it than I was 4 months ago. I love this business and now know it is my true passion. This type of realization doesn't come cheap but it was well worth the journey. Plus I accomplished a lot of the task, large and small, that have been looming around the house.
To sum this up, finding an employee like my teenage self is a very good thing. I worked like a driven adult and cost my employers very little. As an adult, it's good to look back on your work life objectively and see what traits you like and dislike so you know how to conduct your business going forward. As a small business owner, not beating yourself up when a stall or false start happens and letting things grow naturally can tell you a lot about what you should be doing. Going forward, I expect my business to move at the speed of light but this trial and retooling will prove to be invaluable in the long run so don't be afraid to go with the flow once in a while.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Stop Look and Listen
One thing that's not easy to do is listen. If you've ever had sales training you know that the best thing you can do is shut up and listen but this goes against the nature of a salesperson which is to talk. It's ironic that the gift of gab got you there but the gift of really being able to listen will make you successful.
So far, the way I've been attempting to get business is by pounding the pavement. I tried targeting certain types of businesses that I know really well and sent them letters followed by a phone call - not even a tiny glance let alone a nibble. I tried cold calling businesses in a particular area - even worse. When I walk into a business and present myself to the owner, I at least feel I have a fighting chance of getting past their justifiable defenses. By talking to customers face to face, I can hear what they really have to say without just hearing, "No thanks".
By really listening to what people say, I'm not only getting clues as to what I can possibly do for their business, but I am also picking up ideas that can help me and my other clients. For example, I went into 5 different businesses in a strip mall a few weeks ago. 3 of them claimed they didn't need my services and rushed me out as if talking about issues might cause them right then and there. The other two, while telling me that they didn't need my services, welcomed me in and gave me valuable information. One place was an awards shop that actually could use my help but just didn't want outside advice. Although I think she was misguided in her thinking, she did tell me about a website that has proven to be very helpful with networking. In fact, I'm recommending it to all my clients as an undiscovered avenue to promote what they can do.
The second place was a salon that really is run very well and could benefit from me but if I was the owner, I would probably pass also as it really is running very well. I had a great discussion with the owner and walked away inspired to help others. This encounter benefited me and that is absolutely as valuable as getting a client. Taking the time to listen and not just walking out after a "No" has put good stuff in my "bank".
Listening does not just give you the clues as to how to close your customer, but also can whisper clues to help your business going forward.
So far, the way I've been attempting to get business is by pounding the pavement. I tried targeting certain types of businesses that I know really well and sent them letters followed by a phone call - not even a tiny glance let alone a nibble. I tried cold calling businesses in a particular area - even worse. When I walk into a business and present myself to the owner, I at least feel I have a fighting chance of getting past their justifiable defenses. By talking to customers face to face, I can hear what they really have to say without just hearing, "No thanks".
By really listening to what people say, I'm not only getting clues as to what I can possibly do for their business, but I am also picking up ideas that can help me and my other clients. For example, I went into 5 different businesses in a strip mall a few weeks ago. 3 of them claimed they didn't need my services and rushed me out as if talking about issues might cause them right then and there. The other two, while telling me that they didn't need my services, welcomed me in and gave me valuable information. One place was an awards shop that actually could use my help but just didn't want outside advice. Although I think she was misguided in her thinking, she did tell me about a website that has proven to be very helpful with networking. In fact, I'm recommending it to all my clients as an undiscovered avenue to promote what they can do.
The second place was a salon that really is run very well and could benefit from me but if I was the owner, I would probably pass also as it really is running very well. I had a great discussion with the owner and walked away inspired to help others. This encounter benefited me and that is absolutely as valuable as getting a client. Taking the time to listen and not just walking out after a "No" has put good stuff in my "bank".
Listening does not just give you the clues as to how to close your customer, but also can whisper clues to help your business going forward.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
classified adTuesday, February 17, 2009
Lists Lists and More Lists
So I've been trying to think about my business rather than just forge ahead. Since I don't have myself to hire, I have to try and do my service for myself. This is as challenging as I tell my customers it is. Once you start thinking about your business, 1 or 2 things get focused on and very quickly, that 1 or 2 things becomes 50. I find that making a goals list (which includes a timeline), a daily and weekly To Do list and just a general list of ideas seems to work best for me. These have to be looked at and updated every couple days in order for them to work.
Another thing this does is establish priority which is vital to any business. One thing I found was this blog was not a priority every day so I've cut back the time spent on it for now. What also surfaced regarding this blog is that it is important and should be updated at least weekly or it's just a waste of time for the reader and myself. A lot happens in a week, even at this stage where it feels like a bit of a waiting game.
When I mentioned providing my service for myself, I actually meant sitting done and writing a plan, just like I do for my customers. Not a business plan, that's done, what I mean is an action plan that I can then build my goal and To Do lists from. I'm aware that this feels like a lot of paper pushing but it's really not, I use a computer...
All joking aside, it's vital to do this paper pushing in order to create your business and fuel it's fire. The way I do it may not be the best way for you to do it. I've certainly had ways of doing this proposed to me that fell by the wayside almost as soon as the words hit my ears. Not every idea works for everybody. What I'm really getting at here is, in the beginning, it's vital to put pen to paper and really hash out every detail of what you need to do. Make this a practice and you will find a way that works for you. I've already, only a few weeks into my business, discovered 30 year old businesses that need to hear and do this just as much as the start up. This helps bring your business into focus and helps you stay the course.
Another thing this does is establish priority which is vital to any business. One thing I found was this blog was not a priority every day so I've cut back the time spent on it for now. What also surfaced regarding this blog is that it is important and should be updated at least weekly or it's just a waste of time for the reader and myself. A lot happens in a week, even at this stage where it feels like a bit of a waiting game.
When I mentioned providing my service for myself, I actually meant sitting done and writing a plan, just like I do for my customers. Not a business plan, that's done, what I mean is an action plan that I can then build my goal and To Do lists from. I'm aware that this feels like a lot of paper pushing but it's really not, I use a computer...
All joking aside, it's vital to do this paper pushing in order to create your business and fuel it's fire. The way I do it may not be the best way for you to do it. I've certainly had ways of doing this proposed to me that fell by the wayside almost as soon as the words hit my ears. Not every idea works for everybody. What I'm really getting at here is, in the beginning, it's vital to put pen to paper and really hash out every detail of what you need to do. Make this a practice and you will find a way that works for you. I've already, only a few weeks into my business, discovered 30 year old businesses that need to hear and do this just as much as the start up. This helps bring your business into focus and helps you stay the course.
Friday, February 13, 2009
I didn't forget about you.
Boy have I been busy. Each day I'm accomplishing more and more. The response has been very good so far but no money, honey. This morning Martha and I had a discussion about how much time I spend on this new venture and how to structure our week. Starting Monday, I'm working 8 to 4. I'll do this Monday through Thursday and then everything else that happens is just gravy. Stay tuned for a real update. Today is Friday and it's family time. No matter what, this is an essential element to the success of this business!
To the zoo!
To the zoo!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tomorrow is a BIG DAY
So was today. I finished one plan and wrote another. All 3 that I have written have been so vastly different. I can't wait to see what a months worth of plan's looks like. I'm hoping it doesn't look like I did 3 for free and that's all folks.
Monday, February 2, 2009
As The The said, "This Is The Day"
Today, February 2nd, 2009 is the official first day of Southgate Small Business. Until now, I have just been preparing and researching. Today I turned on the open sign (figuratively). This is a significant day in our lives around here. After our last business closed we said we would never do that again, of course 10 minutes later we were discussing what our next venture should be, but we really didn't know if we would ever do it again. And here we go again. This is much different than last time. The most obvious changes are that Cella was a retail store with multiple employees and a store front and crazy expenses from the get go. What I'm doing this time is a service business with little to no overhead, no merchandise management and the only employee is myself.
So here's the big reveal for those of you who don't know anything about this. What I do is work with small business owners, managers and/or sales people to uncover and solve issues their businesses may be having. My goal is to guide them on whatever I can to help their business succeed. The whole reason my company exists is to make small businesses healthier and stronger. It's may way of helping out this country, it's economy and our families economy at the same time.
I started today by writing my first "Plan" and doing some research for my next client. I have three "Plans" that I'm am writing this week and expect to pitch before next week starts. I'm really pleased with the results of my efforts today and am confident that what I have to offer is unique and of a high quality. My goal is to really help these businesses succeed. My first plan involved basic marketing and limited PR. This is what this client needs desperately and has not done at all. I know that if he follows my advice, his business can only increase.
So here's the big reveal for those of you who don't know anything about this. What I do is work with small business owners, managers and/or sales people to uncover and solve issues their businesses may be having. My goal is to guide them on whatever I can to help their business succeed. The whole reason my company exists is to make small businesses healthier and stronger. It's may way of helping out this country, it's economy and our families economy at the same time.
I started today by writing my first "Plan" and doing some research for my next client. I have three "Plans" that I'm am writing this week and expect to pitch before next week starts. I'm really pleased with the results of my efforts today and am confident that what I have to offer is unique and of a high quality. My goal is to really help these businesses succeed. My first plan involved basic marketing and limited PR. This is what this client needs desperately and has not done at all. I know that if he follows my advice, his business can only increase.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Monday Jan 26th
This was a day of research that really paid off. I've been searching for postings about new businesses in the area and found a great resource. I also bookmarked a lot of information on local Chamber's of Commerce. One thing that was eye opening, that I would suggest doing periodically for any small business, is to Google other businesses like your own. I did local searches and wide reaching searches. I tried a number of different ways to describe what it is I do and even some things that don't but may be incorrectly searched for. What it told me was valuable, both good and bad. It led me down interesting paths and should help shape some of the ideas I'm currently working on.
I wish that the muse was with me today and I that I could have written some of the pages I need to complete before next week but as you can clearly read here, my grasp of the language and sentence structure are sorely lacking right now. Hopefully my Advocare Jingle Shot tomorrow morning will set me straight.
I wish that the muse was with me today and I that I could have written some of the pages I need to complete before next week but as you can clearly read here, my grasp of the language and sentence structure are sorely lacking right now. Hopefully my Advocare Jingle Shot tomorrow morning will set me straight.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Day That Changed My Life Forever
So, not much happened today. My daughter is teething (2 year molars - yikes!) and all of us are a little out of sorts. What I have decided to do with days like this, since getting any actual work done is not going to happen, is I will make sure to write about an experience I've had, good and bad, to hopefully give you, my loyal readers, a little insight. Check out how many commas I laid down in that last sentence. Pretty impressive from my standpoint.
Let's start this off with a fun one. We'll call this one, "The Day That Changed My Life Forever". How's that for the dramatic? So my wife, Martha, and I had been seriously talking about opening our first business. We were living in Minneapolis and I was working for Select Comfort. I was a salesman. A good one, I'm proud to say. But I digress, on this particular day I was at a sales meeting. Basically once every couple months we were all pulled into the back room of one of our stores and taught how to sell Select Comfort Beds. Generally, as with most sales meetings I've been to, out of a 5 hour meeting there was roughly 6 minutes of real information and a free lunch. After being with this company for 3 years, these meetings were a real drag and I would much rather have been at the store making money. I mostly doodled, joked around and fought off sleep. This particular day it was mostly sleep I was contending with. As far as our business went, we had an idea that we wanted to move back to Chicago and open a baby store. Martha's brother, Mike, had offered up some money as an investor but at this point we had no business plan, no name, no identity for our business. Just a kernel of an idea.
When I had left for this snoozefest of a meeting that day, Martha had told me she was going to try and find us a location. "Right", I thought. To me, this was putting the cart before the horse. Just so you know, as an entrepreneur, this is where the cart always resides. I've got a lot more stories related to that for slow days in the future. But I digress once again, I left for this meeting thinking Martha would spend a little time on the Internet, not find anything, and spend the rest of her time brainstorming about our dream. Boy was I wrong.
Right before lunch, literally as I was giving and and letting my eyes close, one of the salespeople from that location came into our meeting and interrupted Alan, our Regional Manager. They said I had an urgent phone call. I jumped awake and ran out to the desk. I was panicked. Was Martha hurt? Had something happened to my parents or her parents? Was one of our cats dead? God only knew what the crisis was but I knew it had to be bad for her to call me out of this meeting.
When I picked up the phone, Martha said, "I found it".
"Found what", I asked.
"Our store", she said. "It's what I've been drawing as a perfect store"
She faxed the blueprints over to me and sure enough, it was exactly what she had been describing to me. It had two store fronts with lots of windows. It had a large room for furniture with an smaller room off it for strollers and bedding. It had a large main room for clothes, toys, gifts and all the other stuff we crammed in there over the course of 3 years. I guess I just blew the ending, we ended up getting the space and at the time, it seemed perfect. The reality that hit us later was it was $10,000 a month in rent and the utilities alone averaged $2,500 a month. This was way too much for first time store owners and pretty quickly we knew it but we were stuck with a 5 year lease and my horrible money handling.
To finish up the original story, I went back into that meeting and was no longer tired. I don't think I blinked for the next 3 hours. I knew from that moment forward, my life would never be the same. And it hasn't. That was the beginning of the most wonderful, painful, joyful, stressful, terrifying, exhilarating time of our lives and now I know, that it was just the beginning.
Let's start this off with a fun one. We'll call this one, "The Day That Changed My Life Forever". How's that for the dramatic? So my wife, Martha, and I had been seriously talking about opening our first business. We were living in Minneapolis and I was working for Select Comfort. I was a salesman. A good one, I'm proud to say. But I digress, on this particular day I was at a sales meeting. Basically once every couple months we were all pulled into the back room of one of our stores and taught how to sell Select Comfort Beds. Generally, as with most sales meetings I've been to, out of a 5 hour meeting there was roughly 6 minutes of real information and a free lunch. After being with this company for 3 years, these meetings were a real drag and I would much rather have been at the store making money. I mostly doodled, joked around and fought off sleep. This particular day it was mostly sleep I was contending with. As far as our business went, we had an idea that we wanted to move back to Chicago and open a baby store. Martha's brother, Mike, had offered up some money as an investor but at this point we had no business plan, no name, no identity for our business. Just a kernel of an idea.
When I had left for this snoozefest of a meeting that day, Martha had told me she was going to try and find us a location. "Right", I thought. To me, this was putting the cart before the horse. Just so you know, as an entrepreneur, this is where the cart always resides. I've got a lot more stories related to that for slow days in the future. But I digress once again, I left for this meeting thinking Martha would spend a little time on the Internet, not find anything, and spend the rest of her time brainstorming about our dream. Boy was I wrong.
Right before lunch, literally as I was giving and and letting my eyes close, one of the salespeople from that location came into our meeting and interrupted Alan, our Regional Manager. They said I had an urgent phone call. I jumped awake and ran out to the desk. I was panicked. Was Martha hurt? Had something happened to my parents or her parents? Was one of our cats dead? God only knew what the crisis was but I knew it had to be bad for her to call me out of this meeting.
When I picked up the phone, Martha said, "I found it".
"Found what", I asked.
"Our store", she said. "It's what I've been drawing as a perfect store"
She faxed the blueprints over to me and sure enough, it was exactly what she had been describing to me. It had two store fronts with lots of windows. It had a large room for furniture with an smaller room off it for strollers and bedding. It had a large main room for clothes, toys, gifts and all the other stuff we crammed in there over the course of 3 years. I guess I just blew the ending, we ended up getting the space and at the time, it seemed perfect. The reality that hit us later was it was $10,000 a month in rent and the utilities alone averaged $2,500 a month. This was way too much for first time store owners and pretty quickly we knew it but we were stuck with a 5 year lease and my horrible money handling.
To finish up the original story, I went back into that meeting and was no longer tired. I don't think I blinked for the next 3 hours. I knew from that moment forward, my life would never be the same. And it hasn't. That was the beginning of the most wonderful, painful, joyful, stressful, terrifying, exhilarating time of our lives and now I know, that it was just the beginning.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Day 9 - Lots of effort, little to show
I spent most of my day today looking at SBA, State of IL, IRS and lead generator websites. It was really a research day which is necessary even though it can be the most boring part of this process. To counteract this I did one of my favorite activities which is trying and create a logo which can help solidify my brand. Unfortunately, what I ultimately came up with was 90% perspiration, 10% lame. There is a kernel of an idea there but what I have to show seems generic and forced. Two words I am never associated with. Just waiting for that 10% inspiration!
Building my brand is one of the most, if not the most, important piece to the puzzle. It is your identifier. It's the image in people's heads when the thought of you comes up. If executed to it's fullest, your brand should be the image in people's heads whenever they think of your particular business. Time to start sketching.
Building my brand is one of the most, if not the most, important piece to the puzzle. It is your identifier. It's the image in people's heads when the thought of you comes up. If executed to it's fullest, your brand should be the image in people's heads whenever they think of your particular business. Time to start sketching.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Starting Week 2 with a BANG!
Today has been really productive. I started the day with a daunting "To do" list and actually accomplished most of it. I am confident that I will be ready to kick this off officially at the end of the month. Can't wait for tomorrow!
Today's accomplishments are; I wrote the Owner's Questionnaire, Employee Assessment Form, Service and Fees Form, revision of Mission Statement, Basic Process Outline. Once the writing started, there was no stopping it. The key thing to take out of this is just start working on something, it doesn't matter which "To Do" it is, and the accomplishments will come quickly. I guess tomorrow I'll have to revise and add to my To Do list.
Today's accomplishments are; I wrote the Owner's Questionnaire, Employee Assessment Form, Service and Fees Form, revision of Mission Statement, Basic Process Outline. Once the writing started, there was no stopping it. The key thing to take out of this is just start working on something, it doesn't matter which "To Do" it is, and the accomplishments will come quickly. I guess tomorrow I'll have to revise and add to my To Do list.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The end of the first week and all is well
Today was extremely productive for such a short time to work. I wrote my employee questionnaire, I wrote a large to do list and I tuned up the Mission Statement to the point that I will almost post it. Today is Tuesday and since last Thursday, not much has happened aside from general note taking and web surfing. Remaining positive and disciplined to work some each day is going to pay off. We've worked out a schedule around here that allows me to work 6 to 8 hours 3 days a week plus an hour here and there when I'm not doing projects around the house. This will drastically change when things get rolling (hopefully February or March at the latest) but for now this is pleasant for the whole family. My niece Katherine and her husband Adam were over Saturday and we discussed this venture for the first time. Katherine had some great ideas, Adam just wanted to play video games. I get that. He'll be interested when things actually happen. Katherine worked for us at Cella and can tell when real things are happening so she's definitely more into it. Can't wait for tomorrow - 6 hours at least to work!
One last thing... Today was Barrack Obama's inauguration. We opened out store, Cella, just before the 2000 election of GWB. When the questionable Florida voting took the headlines and the general distrust of those in power really took hold, months before 9/11, we saw our business drop off and the general spending habits of the customer get very shaky. 9/11 didn't do anybody any favors either. We did barely survive for the next couple years but the way the government interacted with us changed for the worse and something had changed within the American psyche. I pray that Obama's Presidency brings this country back to what it was. Be fearless, have hope and embrace change. This in no way is supposed to reflect my political views, it is only here to mark this point in time and what I am feeling about this very moment.
One last thing... Today was Barrack Obama's inauguration. We opened out store, Cella, just before the 2000 election of GWB. When the questionable Florida voting took the headlines and the general distrust of those in power really took hold, months before 9/11, we saw our business drop off and the general spending habits of the customer get very shaky. 9/11 didn't do anybody any favors either. We did barely survive for the next couple years but the way the government interacted with us changed for the worse and something had changed within the American psyche. I pray that Obama's Presidency brings this country back to what it was. Be fearless, have hope and embrace change. This in no way is supposed to reflect my political views, it is only here to mark this point in time and what I am feeling about this very moment.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A slow start - Day 2
Today was not very productive as far as keeping to my "To Do List" but let's face it, starting a business that is really just selling a concept instead of goods is 90% thought, 10% sweat (at least in the beginning). I spent my time today searching for relevant things on the Internet; i.e. lead generators, SBA information and so on. I tried to write more of the business plan but the words just simply weren't flowing. Tomorrow is another day and regardless of today's slow start, we are on track according to my time table.
Keep in mind, goals are vital to your success but they are only goals and should not be road blocks when other ideas present themselves. Keep the goals and just be sure to roll over your "To Do List".
Keep in mind, goals are vital to your success but they are only goals and should not be road blocks when other ideas present themselves. Keep the goals and just be sure to roll over your "To Do List".
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Day one
About a week ago, Martha (my wife) came up with the idea that I should get back on that horse and start another business. Today was the first official day of that venture. I ordered business cards, set up this blog and bought 2 domain names. Things are rolling...
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