SBM #84 – Go Slow to Go Fast

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A few months ago, I finally did something that I had longed to do but just never got around to it. Not quite a bucket list item, but pretty close. That something was to drive a race prepared car on a closed road course. Calabogie Motorsports offers just such a program. The road course is just a hair over 5 kms that has 20 turns and enough of a straightaway to get you to question your sanity. But at the end of the day, I couldn’t help but draw many parallels between the days activities and running a small business.

It all started because my youngest son was planning on signing up for the half day training at the track, and it only took me a couple of minutes to invite myself along. It’s funny how these things always seem like a good idea until the early morning drive to the track makes you wonder if it really was.

Now driving is something I’ve done my entire life, having spent my early days as a long haul truck driver. Getting behind any vehicle with a steering wheel is something I’m comfortable with. What gave me pause, was the fact that I’d be hurtling along in a race car at over 200 kms. That plus the fact, you never want to be that guy that embarrasses himself in front of the other 10 participants, let alone your son. That can be somebody else’s job.

Briefing session

So, as we gathered in the training room at the appointed time, we were welcomed by a couple of gentlemen that were going to review the schedule of morning activities, the characteristics of the car, track conditions that day, safety rules and the meaning of the on-track flags. This brought about the first comparison to running a small business.

Small Business Tip#1 – Briefings

How often do you take the time to gather everybody together, to define the day’s or week’s activity? How often do you remind your group of why they’re here and what we’re hoping to achieve or gain that week? How often do we set expectations in a team environment? Although we have great intentions of doing so, I suspect we don’t do it often enough.

As a result, we just assume everybody knows what to do, when to do it and what’s expected. Sadly, this lack of direction or confirmation of understanding can lead to untold number of mistakes. Implementing, short briefing sessions on a weekly or daily basis, as well as at the beginning of a major assignment can greatly reduce confusion and ensure your team is focused on the same end results. Or as the saying goes, make sure everyone is on the same page.

Track Time

After a quick introduction to our in driver trainer, we made our way out to our cars. These race prepped cars, had windows replaced where needed with Plexiglas and removed where not necessary. I can tell you getting into these vehicles is quite the process as you weave yourself around and through the roll cage, much like performing a downward dog yoga move coupled with a reverse warrior pose to end up in a snug, but less than comfortable racing seat. They make it look so effortless on tv, but I can assure you it’s not.

For the first of three on track sessions, you are a passenger as the trainer puts the car through it’s paces and shows you what’s possible. As a first time passenger in a fully prepped race car, I can confess that it’s a whole new experience. Unfortunately, the sensory overload during the ride along, really wasn’t conducive to learning anything the trainer was saying. There was just too much information to be absorbed in a very unfamiliar environment with your senses being hammered by new inputs. However, I do remember him saying that sometimes you need to go slow to go fast, which I didn’t quite understand at the time.

Small Business Tip #2 –  Teaching moments

Too often we assume people understand the objectives. We throw so much information at them and then never take the time to confirm their understanding. To be sure we ask if everybody understands and of course heads nod in agreement. This can be because they don’t want to look foolish or more often, they actually think they do understand, but it may be a completely different understanding.

Taking a few extra moments to ask specific questions about expected results or executional details to truly confirm their understanding can go a long way in avoiding missteps. The reason for this extra steps is to make sure someone hasn’t misinterpreted a critical piece of information or expectation.

My Turn

So now it’s my turn behind the wheel. The moment you push the engine start button and the V8 roars to life, you know you’re not in Kansas any longer. The sheer raw power of the engine shakes the car and is felt in every fiber of your body. Not uncontrollably mind you, but enough to make you respect it’s potential and get focused. It’s also the time when you start thinking, what the hell have I done!

Sitting behind the wheel you realize that these cars are stripped down to their bare essence. An engine, a transmission, tires, body shell and absolutely no interior padding with only a handful of gauges. That’s it, just the basics. But seriously, what else do you need? These cars are built to go fast and stick to the track.

Small Business tip #3 – Simplify

How often do we have steps or unnecessary processes to getting a job, task or assignment done, just because we think it’s necessary? Do we have efficient processes? Can we strip down the process to it’s basics in order increase our deliverables? Has anybody asked, why we do it this way or is there a better, simpler way?

The race car is meant to go fast and it does so without any unnecessary frills. Shouldn’t we be running the most efficient businesses we can? If something doesn’t add real value to the customer, then it shouldn’t be there. Are we asking our staff for their input or suggestions? They are the ones that work with the processes every single day, they just may have a better way.

On the track

As I pulled out onto the track, I distinctly remember that the transmission and clutch had a familiar feel. It then dawned on me that it reminded me of my uncles farm trucks of my youth. The transmission and clutch had a very positive interaction and it was all business, no frills.

Staying in the safety lane all the while accelerating in order to merge with the other vehicles, it was at this point that I realized, I didn’t remember a thing my trainer had told me. However, being connected to him via headset as he sat in the passenger seat, I started receiving a constant stream of instructions that easily matched the speed of the car as we approached 200kms per hour.

For the next 15-20 minutes we did laps around the track as I desperately tried smooth out my handling and add a little finesse to an otherwise less than stellar run. At the end of the session, we made our way in for a debriefing session with all the participants as we asked, and they answered our questions.

Small Business Tip #4 –  Status updates

How often do we gather everyone to either get or give a status update on the company or an initiative? Scheduling regular but short debriefing sessions help to identify road blocks, allow for clarification and make course corrections. Checking in regularly can solve many minor issues before they become major issues that are impossible to correct.

The last session.

This last on track session is where I had my greatest breakthrough and an “Ah ha” moment. As with most people who do these things, I felt I was a pretty good driver and understood the basic concepts of racing, such as finding the straightest line through a curve, etc. However, that easier said than done as I consistently missed apex after apex on most turns. It was frustrating and humbling.

The trainer kept telling me to brake hard to scrub speed as I entered the tightest turns. I figured I understood the concept, but time and again, I’d blow the turn. I thought I was going slow enough to hit my mark, because going any slower wasn’t cool and we’re suppose to go fast, right?

So, on one particular lap I figured I’d slow down earlier and harder and see what happened. To my amazement, the car just hunkered down and dug in. We held the line and we rocketed out of the turn, with very little corrective input required on my part after pointing the car in the right direction. The throttle was wide open, it was almost textbook, and it was confirmed by my trainer’s comment “that’s what I’m talking about” through the headset.

Small Business tip #5 – Pump the brakes

Too often we’re in a rush to get the end result. Ambition is a great quality but needs to be tempered at times. The Navy Seals apparently have a saying that says “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”. I know that sound contrary to what we believe, but it works.

Not always, but sometimes we just have to pump the brakes on an idea or initiative and stretch out the deadline. By doing so it gives us the time we need to make sure we have all the information, the right people and the capacity to handle the assignment. Whether that’s growing our business or contemplating pitching a large contract. This extra time may allow for a much smoother execution and less rework, because smooth is fast.

Go Slow to Go Fast

Going too fast can be very stressful for all involved and can set us up for mistakes. Knowing when to hammer the throttle and when to stand on the brakes is an artform in itself and I have a new found respect for professional drivers because it’s both mentally and physically draining controlling a race car at speed.

The same can be said of running your business too fast. Sometimes you just need to go slow to go fast.

I appreciate hearing your feedback to this or any of my posts. So share your thoughts below.

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #82 – Starting Over

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What if, you had the chance of starting over? What if you could reboot your business? What would you do differently? Theses are questions that I regularly ask small business owners, especially when I come across those that are struggling, stressed out and unhappy.

The answers I get range from, “I’d hire better people” to “I would not have tried to grow so fast”. Let’s not forget the commonly heard “I was happier when I got to do the stuff I liked doing”. Depending on the individual and their speciality, that could range from selling to working in the shop.

Keeping your foot to the floor

The reality of business ownership is that we are driven to build the company as fast as possible. Of course, that makes total sense as we need to generate revenue and get profitable as soon as we can, or we just don’t survive. Simple enough and it makes total sense.

Where the problem arises for many, is that they just keep their foot to floor, to steal a metaphor, and don’t back off once they hit that threshold of profitability. For others, the bigger they get, the less money they seem to make. At some point, they reach that tipping point whereby they’re just tired of chasing what seems to be an elusive goal and now feel trapped in a future of their own making.

So why is that? Well the answer is pretty simple. Everything we read, see or hear regarding entrepreneurial success is about growing your business. Everything is sensationalised. Rarely do we hear about the thousands upon thousands successful small business owners who are quite content with the size of their businesses and are not looking expand other than by organic growth. But they exist, they’re successful and they’re happy.

If you’re not growing, you’re dying!

I too wanted to build that empire. I was also caught up in the grow your business mentality, where the mantra “if you’re not growing, you’re dying” was the battle cry of the day. There’s a small bit of truth in that statement, in that your revenues should be growing annually, if nothing more than to keep up with inflation. But as with most of these statements, they’re always taken to the extreme, which put undue stress on an owner and their ability to keep up. For example, the current buzz words are that you need to “10x” your business or grow it 10 times the current size. Really? Why?

It took a while for me to ignore the hype and focus on what’s was important to me. What I came to realize was that I wasn’t prepared to make the personal sacrifices required to grow the company at all costs. My family and quality of life were my priorities.

That’s not to say I didn’t have any drive or ambition. On the contrary, but I was no longer in a rush and I came to enjoy the measured approach to growth, where I could have some degree of control over it. Put another way, I subscribed to the notion that “the journey is the destination”. Once I realized what was important to me, I found my level or balance if you wish.

You don’t have to ask for permission

So, when I hear the answers to the question – What would you do differently? I usually ask, what’s stopping you? Which usually stops the individual in their tracks. They really don’t have an answer. Oh, they say things like, I’ve got too much invested, or I can’t just fire these people. To which I respond, you can do whatever you want. Who’s stopping you and why can’t you?

Seriously, we have the control. We don’t have to ask permission of anyone. As owners we are not infallible. We make mistakes. We make mistakes in hiring. We make mistakes in our strategic planning. We make mistakes in the products or services we offer. We are human and no one has a crystal ball. Yet too many of us get trapped by past decisions. So, what’s stopping us from changing? Is it ego? I believe that’s part of it. Is it pride? Yup I believe that also part of it. However, I believe the biggest issue is fear. Fear that we might make the same mistake all over again. That’s certainly a risk, but frankly it’s a small risk because you’re far more knowledgeable than you used to be, and you now know what you don’t like. The alternative of course is to do nothing, and I can pretty much guarantee you’ll continue to be miserable.

The beauty about starting over is you already have a business, so you’re not really starting over. It’s more of a makeover and it doesn’t have to happen all at once. However, you do need a plan because without one, you risk ending up right back where you started. What that plan looks like varies by individual.

Don’t get paralyzed

Yes, this process can seem a little overwhelming, so you need to make sure you don’t get paralyzed with all the decisions you need to make. So, the first thing you need do, if you’re looking to morph your business into the one you want, is to make a list of everything you want to change. Be tough and list everything and everybody. The objective of making the list is not just to get organized, but to break down everything you want to do into bite sized pieces. This will make the whole process more manageable and also help feel like you’re making progress as you check off the items.

Now rank the items from urgent to less urgent. Don’t forget to include your own personal improvements on this list, because you’ll also need to do things differently than you have. Next, just start with the first item. Remember, some things can be done immediately, and some may take a little longer.

A common example I run into is having to let someone go. You’ve most likely been contemplating dismissing the individual for quite some time. You’ve probably been putting it off because you’re hoping that they’ll improve or, more likely, it’s because you just hate doing the deed. But the truth is that deep down inside, you know it’ll never work, so why wait any longer? To use the Nike slogan “Just Do It!”. Although you may not enjoy the process, the sooner it’s done, the sooner it’ll be in your rearview mirror and you won’t be stressing over it.

Leadership

This whole process is about leadership. It’s about taking charge of your destiny, your future. Sometimes you lead from the front, sometimes you lead from the rear. This is one of those times you need to lead from the front, and you do so by taking action. No more hesitation. This is about your life and your happiness.

For example, I work with a number contractors in various trades. Many of them miss being “on the tools” as they like to say. For them it’s therapeutic and gets them away from the day-to-day running of the company. Unfortunately for most, their toolbelts are just hanging on the wall collecting dust. So, what I recommend to these individuals is to just schedule a few days a month where they strap on their toolbelts and go work on the job site. It’s that simple.

Do you miss the customer interaction because you’re too busy doing administrative duties? Then just schedule a couple of days to visit clients. The upside to getting out is that you may just discover missed opportunities with your existing customers.

Getting your business to align with your needs is easier than you think, because you have the power to make the changes you want. It just takes the sincere desire to make changes. If your goals have changed from when you first started, that’s ok, they’re your goals. You don’t need anybody’s permission to adjust course. If you do, I give you permission.

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #81 – Burnout

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Burnout is one of the leading causes of small business failures. The thing about burnout is that it usually gets justified as just hard work. Of course, entrepreneur knows that being self employed is going to require sacrifices and therefore, burning the candle at both ends is the price of admission to a better life. To that I say, yes and no.

Yes, because there is a price to pay for getting into business. No, because it shouldn’t become a way of life and this is the problem. Too many entrepreneurs never transition from startup up mode. What is startup mode? It’s when you’re doing everything. You’re the chief cook and bottle washer. Your empire consists of a staff of one, you! It’s all you. It’s what the vast majority of small business owners go through when they launch their businesses.

Unfortunately, startup mode becomes a trap that many never escape and can lead to burnout. What really should happen is at the first opportunity, you need to find a way to off load some of the duties and responsibilities. Whether that be hiring a part-time person or finding a virtual assistant of some sort, you need to start elevating your role at the earliest possible moment. Ideally, you should get some help the first day you hang out your shingle. I’m serious this can’t happen soon enough.

When I started my first company, The Sales Support Company, I was just like everybody else and I wasn’t afraid of hard work. The business needed to be national in scope as soon as possible, for it to really work. Fortunately, at that time, I had a partner. So, even though the workload got distributed pretty evenly. It still required that we put in long days. But that’s what we’re supposed to do, right?

After about four years, the partner was losing interest and needless to say, I was starting to shoulder more of the workload and decision making. Before long, it was evident this chapter was coming to an end, so I bought him out. So, what went from a little bit more work, turned into a doubling of my workload.

Suffice to say with a staff of 150 working coast-to-coast, the days grew much longer. Weekends became just two more days to get the work done. This went on for almost another four years before I decided that I’d had enough, and it was time to move on and I disposed of the company. It wasn’t until a few month later that I realized that towards the end I had hit the wall and was facing burnout.

Of course, my entrepreneurial journey was far from over, as I was committed to making my next endeavour a success. However, I wasn’t going to do so if it required the same level of work, nor was I prepared to risk that zombie like effect that comes from burnout. I had learned my lesson and I wasn’t about to let history repeat itself. I wanted to create an environment where nobody took work home, especially me, and that nobody needed to worked weekends.

This commitment, to normalizing the work hours, became a critical operating premise for the 17 years that I owned The Marketing Resource Group. Making this a cornerstone of the business, it then forced me to rethink how it was going operate as working longer hours was not an option. I decide that I needed to focus on three things if this was going to work.

1. Is it necessary?

As the business got off the ground, we questioned everything we were planning to offer in terms of client support or reporting. We asked the simple question – Does anybody care about it? It may be a nice to do, but if the client didn’t care, why should we waist our time on it. It’s easier not to offer something than to offer it and then try to take it away. We would regularly ask the client if they needed any other information, but what we found out was they were satisfied with what we were providing because it already exceeded what they had expected.

2. Can we automate this?

I must admit that I had limited technical abilities, but if I was going to drive this initiative forward, I needed to lead from the front. The sad part was of the two employees I had at the time, I was the most tech savvy, which wasn’t saying much. So, I took it upon myself to prepare all the databases and entries screens and automating all the reporting. As the years went on though, this activity was transitioned to others with a mandate that we use off the shelf software, so that we didn’t need high priced programmers.

3. Delegate as much as I could. 

I recently read that when the leader start to delegate everything, it’s a sign that they’re bored. I think that’s a load of crap. Leaders shouldn’t be doing. They should spend most of their time teaching and being available to help their staff. With any remaining time strategizing or in customer contact. By delegating as much as possible it forced me to better explain my expectations and the steps required to complete the assignment.

These three things, along with other smaller initiatives, allowed me to go home at the same times as everyone else most evenings. Eventually, I was able to be the last in, in the mornings and first out most days. Which is the exact opposite of most business owners.

What’s really strange is that as business owners we have the right to set the parameters within which we want to operate. We have that freedom. But too often we don’t even give it a second thought. We think we must do like every other owner and work our butts off. When you consider that freedom is one of our primary goals for going into business, few ever achieve it.

For me, setting my work parameters made me a much better leader and manager, and I never faced burnout again.

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #73- Incentives, the Owners Dilemma

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Small business owners are faced with a myriad of challenges every single day. If it isn’t sales, then it’s receivables and if it isn’t receivables, it’s operations. Add to this the hundreds of thoughts they are juggling trying to sustain their enterprises. Always at the top of their worry list is how to keep their staff focused and motivated.

Unlike much larger corporations, small business owners usually don’t have the financial resources to implement sophisticated incentive programs. A big part of the problem in smaller organizations is that the employees usually wear more than one hat or have overlapping responsibilities.

Of course, we can argue that this isn’t efficient or effective, but it’s the way it is in so many owner operated companies. Compounding the situation is that most owners are not skilled in human resources, as their expertise tends to lie in other areas of the company, such as manufacturing or sales.

So, in order to offer up any type of solution we must first look into the mind of the entrepreneur to understand why creating meaningful performance initiatives can be so challenging.

Time

Time is a precious resource for everyone but even more so for an owner. With a finite number of hours in a day, week or month, the typical owner must prioritize where they are going to spend their time. Inevitably, any and all activities that contribute to generating or maintaining short term revenues are usually contenders for the top spot.

Even though we could argue that a well executed incentive program could provide significant operational gains, the reality is that scoping out a plan requires time that so many owners just don’t have. If the truth be known, most owners would rather focus their attention on other priorities under the guise that they’ll get to it soon.

Money

With any incentive program, there is an expectation on behalf of the employee that there will be a payoff for doing more or doing it better. This has been ingrained into our psyche since we could first walk in the form of allowances, rewards for good behaviour or achievements. Right or wrong, there is an expectation.

What few people realize is that owners are conflicted in taking care of their personal needs versus paying some form of bonus to their staff. You see, a great number of owners are not paying themselves an acceptable wage putting the company and staff ahead of their needs. This sacrifice usually transcends the workplace as it puts tremendous pressure on the owners family life. If you don’t think so, try telling your spouse that there isn’t enough money to take a paycheque again this month all the while paying out a performance bonus to the staff.

Type of Rewards

Again, the business owner is challenged in how to reward individuals because revenue and profitability if far more volatile in smaller organizations. So, even if they can afford it in the short term, there’s a potential that it can’t be sustained over the long haul and therefore, it’s just easier to do nothing.

But instead of doing nothing, the simplest way I found is to structure any incentive program as a project with clear start and end dates. That way they don’t become expected and gives you tremendous flexibility to create incentives based on the needs of the organization at any given time.

So, what are the solutions for a small business owner? How can they affordably launch an incentive program that satisfies all the stakeholders?

Keep It Simple

Ideally any program should start small. The owner needs to know what they can handle. Many get overly sophisticated in designing their programs and don’t consider how they are going to capture the information, let alone monitor it.

Make the objectives clear and straight forward. An example would be – to reduce the after sales service calls by 20% or increase billable hours by 4%. These examples are simple and measurable. Because implementing a program and then not being able to properly measure it is a recipe for disaster and a waste of time. Plus, there is a huge risk that it will likely cause ill-feelings when nothing ever comes of it.

Get Creative

The default idea for most people is that an incentive needs to be a monetary reward. In keeping with my previous comments this becomes a challenge for the business owner. Fortunately, people covet other things that may have far more value than money. Such as, offering time off in lieu of a cash related compensation will be far more valuable to many employees.

For instance, someone with children who would prefer a day off with pay that they can use when the school board has a PD day. What about the individual who has elderly parents that they need to assist with appointments? Even the single person would enjoy an extended weekend without having to dip into their vacation pool.

How is this any different from cash to the entrepreneur? Since salaries are usually a fixed expense, giving someone a day off, isn’t costing the entrepreneur anymore money.

Getting a little imaginative when trying to create an incentive is not that difficult. It just requires a little thought. But whatever plan you put into place, you must follow through or you risk turning an incentive into a disincentive.

Copyright ©Greg Weatherdon

 

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #70 – My Kodak Moment

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In its heyday, the Kodak company used the following tagline in their advertising: “Make it a Kodak Moment!” This phrase was used when taking a picture of someone at a particular moment that will never be forgotten. It even made its way into everyday use to highlight anything good or embarrassing that happened to an individual, even when it wasn’t captured on film.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced our fair share of Kodak Moments in our lives, so I want to share one of mine that will be forever burned into my memory. It was an expensive sales lesson about being overly confident, that I’ll never forget. This event unfolded when I had my first company, The Sales Support Company. As a quick backgrounder, we provided retail merchandising services for the major consumer packaged goods companies, whereby we performed a myriad of services for our clients that ranged from new product introductions to regular sales coverage and even in-store display building.

Camera of choice

This last item, in-store display building usually required us to take a picture of each display as proof of performance. This was a pretty common practice in those days and these photos would ultimately be submitted to the client. Like pretty much everyone in the industry, our camera of choice was Polaroid. It’s ability to produce an instant picture that could be immediately catalogued with all the necessary information made it attractive unlike traditional film which required waiting until the whole roll was used and then developed.

Although we had a pretty impressive roster of clients, most of which were global players, we still wanted more. One such prospect was the Kodak Company, which at the time was one of the worlds largest photographic film companies. When you consider that in those days film was sold in thousands upon thousands of retailers that ranged from the local corner store to department stores. This was an ideal client for our services.

Over a number of years, I had tried multiple times to get an appointment with their senior sales personnel only to be rebuffed. However, over time, we did manage to execute a few small regional projects but certainly not on the scale we had hoped. These small projects had happened only because we had developed a working relationship with the local sales representative. Over time though, the impact of our performance on these small projects began to get noticed at higher levels of the organization.

Perseverance

As luck or perseverance would have it, we were finally invited into the inner sanctum of Kodak’s head office to pitch our services. This was monumental. For the record, Kodak was a very conservative company and for them to even contemplate outsourcing some of their retail sales/merchandising services was an enormous opportunity.

I don’t quite remember how many hours I had put in preparing for the presentation, but I do know it was significant. Aside from the general overview of our company, I also prepared summaries of performance with other similar sized organizations as well as a summary of our performance on the numerous small Kodak initiatives. The time spent on this was well worth it, as it could result in a six or seven figure annual contract.

At this point in the company’s evolution, we were no longer trying to prove our concept, as we, along with some competitors, had firmly established the viability of an outsourced sales and merchandising force to the industry players. So, needless to say, I had developed a high degree of confidence in our ability to win over Kodak, much as I had with other clients.

As I entered the board room at my scheduled time, I was taken aback to find 10-12 very senior managers sitting around the table. Typically, a presentation of this nature would only involve 3-4 managers at most companies, but apparently, Kodak worked differently. Although surprising to see such a gathering, this didn’t really phase me as I had presented our services often enough and was feeling confident and in hindsight possibly a little too relaxed.

I knew all was lost

The presentation unfolded as usual with all major questions and objections handled deftly. As we moved into the Q & A session of the presentation, I was feeling pretty good and possibly a little cocky at this point, as I felt I was winning them over. Questions continued to be asked and I continued to answer them confidently. Then came a perfectly natural and expected question that ultimately derailed any hope we had in ever getting them as a client.

The question was simply, “How would you quantify or authenticate the merchandising activities or display building reported by your field force?” As soon as I heard the question, I knew I had the answer and without missing a beat, I answered it with three little words that before I had finished uttering them, I knew all was lost. What were those three little words? “We take Polaroids!” The silence was deafening.

Whatever goodwill I had generated or convincing argument I had put forth, I was done. Competition in the film category was fierce and Kodak was the leader in those days and just arrogant enough to let you know. So being stupid enough to mention a competitor’s product by name was not one of my brightest moves.

Yes, it was an innocent mistake, as Polaroid was the generic name for any instant developing film much like Kleenex is for facial tissue, but they certainly did not take it that way. I did try to lighten the mood a little but to no avail. It was clearly evident that there was very little chance of regaining any lost ground as the questions dried up and a meeting was concluded.

It was like a ground ball trickling through your legs

I’ve never forgotten this Kodak Moment. Being over confident and letting your guard down when so much is on the line, is a rookie mistake. It was a hard learned and expensive lesson much like letting an easy ground ball trickle through your legs that allows the winning run for the other team to make it home.

To make matters worse, was that we had opened their eyes to the potential of outsourcing this area by executing those smaller projects on a local level. The business eventually went to a competitor and the size and scope of the assignment was as I had thought.

From that point on, I always tried to add a small preamble before answering a question like “Being able to quantify the display activity is something we all care about…”. By doing so, it gave my brain a couple of seconds to consider my answer instead of blurting out something stupid like “We take Polaroids!”

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2018

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Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #53 – Focus

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Many entrepreneurs’ struggles can be traced to their inability to bring focus to their business. It is said that if you try to be great at everything, you’ll end up being good at nothing. I like to use the example of sunlight to explain the power of focus.

The Power of Focus

Most day our world is full of sunlight and even on the hottest of days there’s little risk of it setting anything on fire. But take that same sunlight and let it pass through a magnifying glass held at just the right angle and within seconds you can create a flame. Then, if properly stoked, it can become a raging inferno. That’s the power of focus and by applying the principles of focus to your business can take a mediocre enterprise and turn it into one that is highly profitable and sustainable.

Not That Popular

Bringing focus is easier than most realize and can applied to many areas of your business but none are more important than sales and marketing. The first step is to identify your most profitable products and services and then rank them. You’ll most likely discover that upwards of 80% of your revenue is coming from approximately 20% of your services or products. This is key. Far too often we waste time and energy on our slow moving products. One of the reasons we do this is that they offer higher margins but also because we hate admitting we made a mistake. However, in many instances these more profitable products are just not that popular.

Now, do the same with your customers. You need to determine, their purchase frequency and order size. Chances are that you’ll find an interesting overlap of your most profitable products and type of customers.

Now here comes the hard part. Ideally you should look to lose or reduce your activity opposite these low volume or unprofitable products. Next, stop chasing those non-profitable customers and focus all your attention on those products, services and customers that are making you money.

For example, if you discover that the most profitable customers are those with 10-20 employees, then that size of company becomes your focus. Clearly, you have something they want, otherwise they wouldn’t be your biggest market. Can you have a secondary target market? Of course, but in most cases, you’ll never exhaust the primary list.

Outliers

Meanwhile, if non-targeted customers want to avail themselves of your business, that’s okay and you should gladly accept their business. But point is you shouldn’t be chasing them, let them come to you, they are outliers. Focus on those individuals or companies where you’ve already experienced a higher level of success and spend all your sales and marketing efforts accordingly.

Narrowing your focus helps you to become an industry specialist or even an expert. The deeper you go in your target market the higher your reputation will soar and the more in demand you become.

Light a fire under your business by narrowing your focus.

You may also enjoy The 80/20 Rule

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2017

Sign up above to receive email notification of the latest update to this blog.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM # 11 – Passion

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Entrepreneurship is currently all the rage. It’s the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s the magic elixir that will fix everyone’s problems and so many people are spending hours daydreaming about the life they will enjoy once they get into business.

Unfortunately for the uninitiated, going into business is very hard work and for the most part the reality of being in business doesn’t come anywhere near your dreams.

So if you’re bound and determined that being a business owner is on your horizon, you need to have one important ingredient- Passion.

Passion vs Excitement

Now don’t confusion true passion with excitement. Passion is your secret sauce, your silver bullet. Passion will keep you going when all hope has vanished. Passion is that internal flame that keeps burning long after you would have normally packed it in and quit, excitement won’t do any of that.

Believe me when I say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with dreaming about being in business. I’ve started thousands of businesses in my mind and the beauty is, it cost you nothing, so go ahead and dream. But if you’re going to turn your dream into reality, just make sure you choose the right dream and that you’re passionate about it.

 

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #6 – What Made Us Successful?

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At one time or another, many owners are faced with a business that has stalled out, and often it’s a simple matter of a sluggish economy and with a little patience things recover and growth resumes.

Look under the hood

For others though, their business has just plateaued and are at a loss as to how to regain their rhythm and push through to next level. When this happens, the first place I look is under the hood of the business. Is it structurally sound with the right people in place to go to the next level? In other words is the company ready, willing and able?

In many situations all the elements are in place. I then turn to the owner and ask “What made you successful?” “What did you do when you first started out to generate business?” Was it networking, participating in associations, cold calling and how much of that do you do now?

What typically happens is that we get so busy servicing customers and making money that we stop doing those things that made us successful in the first place.

So when you find yourself with a stalled business, ask yourself “What made us successful?”

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

 

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

 

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #3 – Just Because You’re Struggling, Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing

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Going into business is easy, running a business is hard and until we get in it we don’t realize how very hard it is. Oh sure we talk a good game by telling people that we know it will be difficult but that the hard work will pay off in the long run. The reality is, we haven’t got the foggiest idea of what lays ahead.

For those of us who have made it with most of sanity in tack, it is said that, much like childbirth, that if we knew how hard it was going to be, we would probably never have attempted it.

Entrepreneurship is the loneliest job

I constantly tell people that being self-employed is one of the loneliest jobs in the world. Just ask any entrepreneur who they talk to about their business issues and most will tell you they don’t. The internal dialogue alone will drive you crazy. Let alone the constant self-doubt that needs to be managed. And by the way, it’s okay if you don’t have all the answers, you’re no different than the rest of us. My advice is simple, do your best, learn from your mistakes and hang on until you make, because it’s worth the ride.

So just because you’re struggling, it doesn’t mean you’re failing- we’ve all been there.

 

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

 

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Sign up above to receive email notification

of the latest update to this blog.

 

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

SBM #2 – Idea Validation

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Listen on Apple Podcast
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Listen on Google Podcast

Validating your idea, is one of the best pieces of advice I can give start-ups as well as existing business owners. This one item should be at the top of your to do list if you’re considering starting a new business or thinking of adding a new product or service to your existing operation.

You may think it’s a great idea and all your friends and family nod their heads in agreement, but frankly they don’t matter. The only opinion that counts is those people you want as customers. It’s their opinion that matters, so get out in front of them during the concept stage, to see if there is any interest, would they willing to buy and at what price?

The upside to this exercise is that you may find out they like it and they may even give you an idea to improve it prior to you making a large irreversible investment. The downside of course is that may not see any value in it and tell you they wouldn’t be a buyer. In fact that may be an upside, when you consider how much time, effort, money and grief you’ll save by not pursuing it.

This way you’ll live to fight another day.

I’m Greg Weatherdon and this has been your Small Business Minute.

Copyright © Greg Weatherdon 2015

 

If you found this helpful, Tweet, Like or tell a friend.

Sign up above to receive email notification

of the latest update to this blog.

 

 

 

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

You shouldn’t be the hardest working person in your company.

Many small business owners find that even after the struggling start-up years, they’re working too many hours and still managing every aspect of their businesses.

Greg Weatherdon has been there, done that. As an entrepreneur, he learned not only how to get a business to the point of running smoothly, but also how to reduce the number of hours he worked, delegate more responsibility to his employees, and take longer vacations while his business chugged along like a well-oiled machine. And now he is providing the secret to success.

Do you suffer from any of the following?

1. Business ownership isn’t living up to the dream.
2. Endless workdays.
3. You can’t find good people.
4. Profits are less than expected.
5. You can never take a vacation.

You’re not alone. But there is a solution. As Greg demonstrates, with some time and effort, you really can Get More Life Out Of Your Business.

Get More LIFE Out of Your Business

ORDER HERE

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