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Posts Tagged ‘success’

By: Stephen Novak

I remember when starting a new business was as easy as…

1. The IDEA.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade.
3. Mix it up in a pitcher with water, sugar, and ice.
4. Put up a card table by a busy sidewalk.
5. Painting a sign that reads, “ICE COLD LEMONADE .35 CENTS A GLASS”.
6. Smile and say hello to people. 
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get too watered down from the ice melting.

Come to think of it…starting a business today requires very similar steps.  Just on a larger scale.  Let’s look at some key points compared to our theoretical lemonade stand.

1. The idea  =  the visualization stage. This is usually the most exciting part.  One can explore the possibilities of taking a raw gut feeling and transforming a dream into something innovative, rare, and successful.  Enjoy this stage but don’t linger in it – once an idea is revealed, it quickly starts to accumulate dust and lose its luster.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade, sugar, water and ice  =  The acquisition of the materials and concepts that lay out the building blocks of the product or service that you want to sell.  This may require financing: please read one my earlier posts “Starting a small business” (July, 30^th 2011) for more information on this topic.
3. Mix it in a pitcher  =  the manufacturing, making, or developing your product or service.  This is the nuts-and-bolts of your operation.  If you are predominantly a service oriented business, how you do what you do is more important than what you do. It’s your know-how and skill that will differentiate you from your competition.  If you will provide a product, will you manufacture it yourself or have it built for you?  What will be unique about its nomenclature?
4. Put up a card table where people can see you  =  the location of your business.  This could be a standard brick and mortar or web based site.The U.S. Small Business Administration has an excellent page that discusses this topic in great detail.  http://www.sba.gov/content/tips-choosing-business-location
5. Paining a sign  =  advertising.  This is your declaration to the masses: who you are, what you are about, and what you can do for them.  This proclamation could be as subtle as a handing out business cards, or as obvious as a flying around in a blimp with your name plastered all over the side.  There are literally thousands of new and innovative ways to get you name out there.  Explore.  Have fun.    
6. Smile and say hello to people  =  customer service.  This involves hiring, training, and holding accountable qualified customer service artists.  Without a proper customer focused business strategy, you will be out of business in no time.
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get watered down  =  Quality control.  This may be one of the most overlooked areas of any small business.  Big businesses have processes like Six Sigma in place to measure and improve their products or processes.  It may not be practical or cost effective for a small business to have a whole quality control department; however, it must be the responsibility of everyone in your business to make sure that by the time your product or service contacts the customer, it represents what you need it to. Any business must continually ensure that the products or services that they are offering exceed their customers’ expectations.

So we’ve had the vision, got the startup cash, created our product or service, picked our location and got the word out…whew…that was hard work.  I think I’ll have a glass of that lemonade now.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

Work Hard – A strong work ethic is the foundation from which anything worthwhile is built.  If you are a slacker…Stay home.  You’ll just get in the way of someone who is truly trying to get something done.  If you just want to trade time for money, that’s fine…, I guess…but don’t expect any true level of success.  The old saying, “Work smart, not hard” is fine as well; as long as we understand that we still have to put in the time and do more than the minimum requirements of a profession in order to excel at that profession.  While cream usually rises to the top without any effort, it’s usually beaten up and churned into butter.

Do the job right – Whatever the task, do it right the first time, every time.  And while I try not to deal in absolutes, doing poor work will absolutely kill your business.  Have or establish a well-designed, functional, measurable quality control process.  Never accept substandard or even mediocre products or performance.  Everyone makes mistakes; However, It’s how you manage those mistakes that will differentiate you from your competition.  Make sure that you have the proper tools to accomplish the job.  Make sure that you or your personnel are properly trained to complete the job.  This area, if not mastered will turn Mr. “Good enough” into Mr. “Out of business.”  

Have Integrity and Honor – Simply stated – Integrity is what you do when no one is looking.  A person with good integrity: keeps promises, is truthful, consistent, and not interested in the Quick-fix. They know that they aren’t perfect but strive for constant improvement.   

To me, honor is the inner respect and high self esteem that you will gain from good integrity.  Shame is what you will experience with poor integrity. 

Possess Good Character – Closely tied with integrity and honor, your character is the values, beliefs, and nature of who you are.  Make sure that each one of those core values are firmly rooted in goodness and decency.  If your moral compass can’t point due north, you will never achieve meaningful success.

In his book: “Winners Never Cheat” successful businessman and author, Jon Huntsman Sr. challenges us to think about the kind of person that you want to do business with…then…be that person.  Huntsman writes, “The rationale that you have to cheat to stay competitive is a powerful lure. Moral bankruptcy is the inevitable conclusion.”

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

There is NO magic bullet that will save your business. It has always boiled down to people working hard and taking proactive steps every day to separate their business and themselves from the average businessman or the average employee.
Honestly ask yourself, what are YOU doing to make YOUR business successful? And, if what you’re doing ain’t working – DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!! If you are running your business and selling your products/services the same way you did last year – you’re already a year behind!!!
1. Provide exceptional customer service every time. That’s one area where, I think, most of us would say “Hey Steve, We do a great job with customer service…our customers love us.” Really? Then why do only 8% of customers, when surveyed, agree? I challenge you to test this by having a friend, spouse, or someone you trust visit your business and report back to you. This will offer a unique customer point of view. This person should be unknown to your staff and willing to provide a candid assessment of how they were treated and how they felt about the overall transaction. Get them to comment on store cleanliness and, most importantly, would they return.
2. Make sure the frontend and backend of your business works like a well-oiled machine: Are the front counter and the service desk communicating the same message to your customers? Are your outside sales reps following through with logistics to make sure that the order went out on time? The owners and management must have the same bumper to bumper vision as the rest of the staff as to how a successful business looks and performs.
3. Cherish your loyal customers: Your return customers are your bread-and-butter. They are your greatest source of success. Because you have already established a good relationship with them, they usually take the least amount of effort to retain. Use that to your advantage (Not “Take Advantage Of”). They will more than likely come back to you if you ask them. Ask them to refer you to their friends.
4. Review your processes weekly: Continue to monitor your processes and/or procedures constantly. Make Adjustments if necessary. If any of your processes interfere with customer interaction or hinder your ability to build a relationship with customers – ELIMINATE THEM! If you have a customer focused business strategy that employs customer friendly processes or procedures, Follow them. If one/all of you have fallen off of the wagon and aren’t executing these processes and/or procedures correctly, get back on board!!! Help each other for continued growth. Each store should be agile enough to “juke” and “flex” to whatever is thrown at you. If you are having difficulty closing the sale…hand it off. If you overhear a poor phone presentation…offer to review the call or run scenarios to improve performance for the next call. If someone is having an off day, help them through it.
5. Reduce expenses: Everyone must be involved in eliminating waste: unproductive overtime, poorly maintained equipment, the A/C set on high all of the time, lights left on in vacant rooms, all lead to wasted dollars. Sometimes harder decisions must be made. If you are an owner or manager, you have to look at removing unproductive personnel. And, as an owner or manager, are YOU productive?
6. Don’t wait for customers to come to you: Roll up your sleeves – Swallow your pride – Get some courage and GET OUT THERE AND GROW YOUR CUSTOMER BASE!!! Meeting potential customers (And they are ALL potential customers) face to face will create a much more profound and lasting impression than any other form of advertising – Provided that you look and act as a professional.
7. Communicate with all of your customers: Ask questions. Find out what your customers truly want. Nurture those relationships. Ask for feedback often. We are all in this economy together – customers, owners, managers, and employees – and we will get ourselves to the other side together.
If you fail to thank your customers or invite them back, If you’re not a People Person or can’t find any value in relationships, if you fail to reduce expenses or continue to follow failed processes, or are too embarrassed to hold up a Picket (curb) sign if you are slow, or simply won’t carry out, at least, the basic things listed above then… prepare to fail!!!
Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.