The personal investment

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Today I had lunch at a new business in our community that recently opened its doors.  It is an art gallery with a lunch area in the back that is owned by some relatives of mine.  I had not been there yet and decided today was a good day to try out their menu.  The food was excellent and the art work was exceptionally nice.  My cousin came from the upstairs where he had been painting, saw me, and took me on a tour of the place.  Upstairs they have a guest room that is really nice for our historic community and a large banquet area.  He is finishing another section upstairs that will be their office.  We went outside where he showed me the old windows high up on the front of the large building that had been covered up years ago with boards.  He said he had spent three days scraping and cleaning those windows so he could paint them and restore the building to more of its original look.  Since buying the building late last year he has spent every waking moment cleaning, painting, and preparing it for its opening.  His pride was evident in his voice and in his eyes, and he should be proud.  The building, the food, and everything about their business was excellent.

This personal investment is what it takes to create a successful small business.  You cannot start a business and manage it half-hearted.  You have to go all-in or stay home.  We didn't talk about their financial investments, but I would assume they have a fairly large financial investment in this business, but he has even more of a personal investment in it.  He and his family have poured everything they have into making this business successful, and I believe it will succeed because of that personal commitment.

Compare that to what I see when I go into some smaller businesses today.  I walked into one shop recently and the person working there was sitting behind the counter talking on her cell phone. She never acknowledged by presence.  While I was there another customer came up to pay for her purchases and the employee rang her up while still talking on her phone.  About that time another customer came up with some items to purchase, so the employee finally said to the person on the phone, "Well, I HAVE to go, I have a customer."  (Emphasis mine)  I don't know what the other customer thought, but my impression was this employee was saying to her friend that she HAD to hang up because she HAD to wait on some customers.  I thought to myself that I didn't want to interfere with her social life so I wouldn't buy anything, and I left. 

There was no owner in sight.  I understand the owner cannot be present every moment, but he or she obviously had not taught this employee anything about customer service.  This was a business that needs the owner there every moment at least until he or she trains the employees about proper customer service.  Unless this owner gets more involved in the business it won't be open for long.  People have too many options and will take their business elsewhere where it will be better appreciated.

How committed to your business are you?  What are you willing to do to make it successful?  If you have a 9-5 commitment to it you may as well close up shop and find a job because that's all this is to you.  At least with a job you won't have the headaches that go along with ownership.  The successful businesses are the ones where the owner is all-in and completely committed to seeing it succeed.  I hope that describes you.