November 7, 2011
By Wayne Mates
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the 4 Pillar Blueprint for an Ideal Business. I mentioned my neighbor Joe who followed those principles. I don’t know if Joe realizes he uses the principles. This post demonstrates how he does.
Joe is a builder. He has been a builder for his entire working career. He has built many homes throughout the years. Now, he is a sole proprietor working smaller projects in our neighborhood and small town. Joe always seems to be busy and usually has a backlog of work to complete.
He is a superior craftsman. His work is superb. Working hard and paying attention to detail, he has perfected his craft. Quality of work is a given with Joe. Anyone who hires him knows they are going to get work that they can be proud to show off. Joe knows his work speaks for him and takes care to make sure the finished project is one he as well as the homeowner can be proud to display.
Why is Joe successful? What makes people want to hire him for their projects? Here are a few of the fundamental ways Joe stays in demand:
• Referrals- Joe does not advertise. He works on referrals. In our town, when you have a project, you ask a neighbor or friend who can do the work. He is well known at the local lumber yards, hardware stores and coffee shops. He picks up business from referrals from these sources. Joe is a fixture at our neighborhood’s annual events. He is always at the barbeque and the Christmas party. He does not talk business, but socializes. Inevitably though, someone will speak up about some of the work that Joe has recently completed. He is superb at networking without knowing it.
• Customer Service – Joe shows up when he says he will. He completed a hardwood staircase for me this year. When he came to do the estimate, he showed up at the appointed time. He started work at the agreed upon day and time. No phone calls saying it will be a few more days or worse no call and no show up.
• Integrity – Joe does what he says he will do. For the staircase, Joe gave me an estimate of the cost including materials. He also provided a caveat that if some of the wood I wanted to reuse could not be recycled into the project, it could add to the cost.
• Exceed expectations – How often to you hear companies preach this? Most of them fail to do so. Joe does not preach it, but he lives it. When he came with his completed estimate, he brought with him two samples of wood he could use. One had a higher price than the other, but he provided a choice. He set an expectation for how long the project would take. He completed the project a day before he had projected.
• Trust – Joe seldom uses a contract for his work. A handshake is more important to him and his customers than a piece of paper. Joe is very thorough in setting the expectations on projects, so the homeowner knows exactly what they are going to get. During the course of the work if there are any deviations, Joe will immediately bring the issue to his customer. Being up front and honest goes a long way for Joe. Although I would recommend that he use a contract on all projects, he prefers one only when he needs to.
Craftsmanship, honesty, integrity and customer service allow Joe to stay busy when many carpenters, handy men, plumbers and electricians are starving for work. Joe may not be aware of some of the things he does, but he does them very well.
I have another project looming and the next time I see Joe, I will ask him to come over and see what he thinks.
Filed under News, Sales and Marketing by on Nov 7th, 2011. Comment. 
November 14, 2011
By Wayne Mates
You think you are a great boss and run a great company? Your company is running well, making a profit, you and your company receive recognition, and staff loves you. Mostly, you may be doing a great job and are a terrific boss. But, it only takes a few missteps and you and your company may no longer be successful. Let’s look at a few scenarios where you, as the emperor, wear no clothes.
- Failure to Listen – Let’s see. You are the boss. As such, you have access to much more information than the people that work alongside you in your company. That knowledge also applies to vendors and contractors you use. You ignore the advice colleagues give you concerning their work, the market or things they observe. What could they possibly know that would benefit your company? After all you wouldn’t be the boss and they wouldn’t be the workers if they had any real knowledge.
What makes this situation even worse are those companies that pay lip service to what their employees think. They have feedback surveys where they ask for your opinion. Or, they have internal focus groups where problems and issues are looked at and solutions are presented. Although you “listen”, you do as you want because, in reality, their opinion doesn’t really count. This makes you a horrible boss.
- Lack of Good Planning – Oh yes, you have a plan. Each year you project revenue and expenses for the upcoming year. You assume your revenue will grow a certain amount and in order to increase it, you need to spend more money than you did in the previous year. Maybe you put more money into marketing or hire more people to sell more. But, something happens and by the end of the third quarter, you realize your plan has no basis in reality or has been built using wrong assumptions. So, you cut staff, cut every expense possible (except for your bonus) so you can meet your annual numbers. If you do this consistently, this makes you a horrible boss.
- Lack of a Plan B – What if things are not going the way you want them to? What are you going to do when things aren’t working the way you want? Do you have a plan to move quickly into new markets or hunker down to weather a storm? When sales are languishing, do you beat up on the sales staff, blame your marketing people or do you have a plan to kick up your sales? Always have a plan B to deal with the crises you will face each year. And even if you can’t foresee everything, have contingency plans always ready to implement. If you don’t, you are a horrible boss.
- Employees are a Resource – You view your workforce as a number or a number of numbers to be increased or decreased as market conditions warrant without regard for the human side of people. Just as we have capital resources, assets and liabilities, we also have human resources. Of course, you speak in terms of the contributions staff make and the hard work they do, but you are really only paying lip service. You are more concerned with how they perform, how much they are paid and the cost to your company. If you find yourself going through cycles of hiring and firing dependent on market conditions, you are a poor planner. Instead of hiring someone, consider using independent contractors for a fixed period of time. And, when market conditions change, do not renew the contractors. This will help keep your staff engaged. If you look at employees as a resource, instead of people, you are a horrible boss.
Periodically, you will be faced with some of these situations during the course of guiding your business. Recognizing when you are potentially sliding toward one of these scenarios, stop and look at your options. Choose work options that will keep you from being the horrible boss. Select the ones that will not only endear you to your staff as a leader, but will also lead your company to success.
Filed under Hiring and Managing People, News by on Nov 14th, 2011. Comment.
November 21, 2011
By Wayne Mates
I originally wrote this post well over a year ago. Since then, it has become the most read post on my blog. I have no idea why. However, since it is so popular, I am reposting it today. Enjoy!
A few blogs back I wrote about the “5 Personality Traits of an Entrepreneur”. Today, we will start exploring each trait in more detail. We will start with extraversion.
We said that studies had shown that people who scored high on tests for extraversion are more likely to become entrepreneurs. Other studies showed that there is a 50% probability that extraversion is inherited. Does that mean that people who are introverted or neutral will not become or make good entrepreneurs? No!! Only those extroverts are biased towards being entrepreneurs!
Why is being an extrovert important? To most people, it is pretty obvious. Extraversion is associated with the characteristics of sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and ambition (Buick and Mart, 1991). Extroverts have a tendency to engage in conversation, asking questions, theorizing and coming to conclusions. These attributes are necessary for interactions with customers, staff, vendors and potential or current investors. Extraversion is necessary to sell! Who are some successful extroverts? The self-promoters, people like P.T. Barnum, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Lee Iacocca and Meg Whitman, all wanting to sell their vision.
When I first started Voice Mail USA in the late 80’s, virtually no one had heard of voicemail. Larger businesses used switchboard operators and small business used answering machines. Messages were taken on duplicate message pads and kept at the front desk where you would go to pick up your messages. I had the dubious task of educating a skeptical business community on the virtues of voicemail before I could even begin to sell the hardware or services.
Before I launched the business, I did my due diligence marketing research. I contacted 100 businesses of different sizes and set appointments to talk about voicemail. I wasn’t selling. I was exploring whether voicemail was a viable concept. There was enough interest to move forward.
If I had been an introvert, I would never have made the first phone call to gather the research I needed. I would not have been comfortable talking about a new concept. The business would not have been launched. I like to think I was a visionary and a pioneer. In truth, I was just an extrovert satisfying my curiosity.
But, not all successful business people are extroverts. There are examples of introverts who made it big. Two of the biggest were Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Their passion lay in inventing and solving problems. Once they had their products, they were able to attract backers and extroverts to help them become successful.
If you are not an extrovert, your road to success will be more difficult. But don’t walk away if you are not extroverted. You may have a fabulous idea or product and will only need to find an extrovert to help you create your business!!
Filed under News by on Nov 21st, 2011. Comment.
November 28, 2011
By Wayne Mates
This question was posed to me by a reader who wonders when he should start his business. He knows what he wants to do and has the ability to self fund the operation. He ponders the pros and cons of waiting until the economy gets “better” or going for it now.
Let’s look at a few things.
- Black Friday – All the statistics I have seen indicate this has been a very successful start to this season’s shopping. 226 million shoppers visited retail and online sites from Thursday thru Sunday spending a record $52.4 billion, a 16.4% increase over last year. Online retail alone is up 26% from last year. These figures do not include Cyber Monday which is trending to exceed expectations as I write this. The American consumer, responsible for 70% of spending, appears to be loosening the purse strings. Increased consumer spending will lead to increased business spending as well.
- Small Business Saturday – This is a marketing promotion started by American Express in 2010 to promote use of their credit cards. It has focused consumers on the value of small business and the difference of products available between small business and the big box stores. Even the president got on board visiting a small bookstore. I have not seen numbers but you can be pretty sure the sales to small business because of the promotion has risen this year.
- Unemployment – The current unemployment rate in the U. S. is 9% and has hovered around that mark for several months. It is down from a high of just over 10% in October, 2009. More people working means more money will be spent.
- Growing Economy – For the third quarter of 2011, the Gross Domestic Product of the U.S. increased at an annual rate of 2.0%. Any positive number looks good. But, the average growth of the economy since 1947 has been 3.28%. Right now it looks very sluggish.
- European Euro Crisis – Is the European monetary system likely to unravel? Who knows? Today, the leaders of European countries are trying to resolve a number of issues to maintain the Euro as the currency of Europe. I won’t get into the details in this post as that is a really, really long dissertation of its own. If the Euro nations go back to their own currencies, the U.S. economy will be affected as 20% of our production is exported to European countries.
- The Housing Market – Short sales and foreclosures abound and foreclosures are on the increase. Short sighted individuals who used their property as an ATM in the early to mid 2000’s are either underwater or being foreclosed upon. Others that lost their jobs and income have lost their homes as well. Until the housing prices stabilize, the housing market will remain in turmoil.
Sooo, is this a good time to start a business? If you look at the factors above, you might conclude the economic risks warrant caution. I, on the other hand, would argue this is an ideal time to start a business. In next week’s post, I will give you all the reasons why this is an ideal time to hang out your shingle or start that factory.
Filed under News, Start Up by on Nov 28th, 2011. 1 Comment.
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