How do you get your new business known?

One of the major challenges for any start-up is getting your name out there before the people.  This is especially difficult if you do not have a brick-and-mortar store.  If one opens a retail store, puts up a big sign on the front, then it is likely that people will see the name of your business as they drive by.  But, you better hope that they do more than drive by.  They better be stopping because you've got a lot of money tied up in rent, utilities, insurance, product, labor, and the other expenses of operating a business.  In our community I see a lot of small businesses open up and close in less than a year because they lacked the capital to remain open while they built their business and their business did not generate enough income to cash flow the business during that start-up.

I don't have a building with a big sign and a lot of monthly expenses.  I am starting an auction business.  I can conduct auctions on-site or I can rent a facility for a couple of days to conduct my auctions.  Like many service businesses my start-up costs are minimal.  I like that because that means there is less risk, but it also makes it more difficult to get my name out to the public.  There are dozens of auctioneers in the area in which I live, but 4-5 of them gets the majority of the auction business.  That handful have been in the business many years and enjoy top-of-the-mind awareness with people considering selling at auctions.  So what can someone like me do?

Naturally, I pass out business cards whenever possible.  I run the occasional ad in some of the surrounding papers.  And, I try to be in front of the public whenever possible.  That means I often work for some of the 4-5 auctioneers I mentioned earlier.  Sometimes I'm on the payroll, and sometimes I just jump in and help work the ring for free.  Although these are competitors of mine, they are also colleagues and are willing to recognize me and my auction business.  Any time I'm working an auction for another auctioneer they always announce who I am and that I recently received my auctioneer's license. They allow me to showcase my abilities both in the ring and with the microphone.  This past Saturday I assisted one auctioneer, and when that auction ended I went to another event where I had agreed to do a charity auction.  They only had three items to sell, but they made some money for the organization, and everybody had a good time with the music group that played before and after the auction.  Between the two events I was able to showcase my auction talents to about 300 people.

Giving away samples of your product or service may not seem like the most profitable thing to do, but it is a way to help people become aware of what you offer.  If you touch enough people with your product or service you will eventually begin to turn some of them into clients who will purchase those items or services.  This does require patience and time.  Trying to be an overnight success in any business endeavor is more likely to result in failure.  Take your time. Connect with people. Let them experience how your products or services can benefit them even if you have to give them away at the start, and eventually you'll find that your business will become known to the public.

What can small businesses learn from yard sales?

If I have some spare time on Friday or Saturday mornings I'll hit a few yard sales to find items to sell in my booths or at auction.  Sometimes one can find some amazing buys at a yard sale.  Occasionally, we'll hear a story of someone who bought a picture at a yard sale for a few dollars only to find our later it was worth thousands of dollars.  That's never happened to me, but one can always hope!

My actual experience with yard sales has been rather disappointing because of the way too many people approach them.  I was recently at a sale that was advertised to start at 8:00.  I arrived at 8:05 and they were still carrying things out.  In fact, they hadn't even set up all the tables yet.  Nothing was priced.  Most items at a yard sale are negotiable, but it's nice to have some idea of what the people want for them.  I've made it a policy that I don't buy items at a yard sale that are not marked, and I certainly didn't have time to wait for them to drag everything out of their house they were going to sell.  I left.  The sale lasted three days, and on the last day I drove past their house on my way to a meeting.  It looked like they sold very little.  Like more and more of the yard sales I attend, they did not prepare for their sale.

I usually have one yard sale each summer, and I begin preparing for it a week in advance.  I purchase my newspaper ads, clean out the garage, and begin setting up tables.  By Tuesday I am already unpacking boxes and setting items out on the tables.  By Wednesday everything is priced and clearly marked.  On Thursday I go to the bank and get the money I will use for change and make sure everything is ready.  Large items are sitting next to the garage door ready to pull out the next morning.  At 7:45 I open the garage doors and move all the big items outside, and we are open for business.  There are usually some early birds sitting in their cars ready for the doors to open, and I am ready to serve them.

I find some small businesses operating like each of the yard sales I've described.  Some are clearly not prepared for business.  They make it difficult for their customers to do business with them due to their operating hours, their credit policies, or their personnel.  They make people who want to buy from them feel like they are interrupting something the employees feel is more important.  I recently stopped in a restaurant and asked for the lunch special.  It was only 11:30, and they were already out of the special.  Not ready for business.  Such businesses often struggle to be successful and wonder why.

On the other hand there are those small businesses that are ready every day to do business with their customers.  They are prepared when their customers arrive.  Everything is set up to make their customer's buying experience a great one so they will not only come back but will tell others about their great experience.  What's the difference between the small business that is ready for business and the one that isn't?  Preparation.  The successful small business will take the time to make sure everything is ready when the doors open every day.

Lessons I'm learning from the auction business

Since getting my auctioneer's license earlier this year I have yet to list my first auction.  This is a tough area in which to break into the auction business as we have dozens of auctioneers in a small geographic area.  Despite the large numbers of auctioneers four of them dominate most of the auction business.  Everyone else is left to fight over the remaining auctions that those four do not get.  I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for several of the area auctioneers, including two of the main four, and I've learned a lot about the business that has applications for any small business.

A couple of weeks ago I worked a six hour auction for one of the primary auctioneers in the area.  I could not believe how much came out of a relatively small house that was to be sold that day.  It took six hours of hard selling, at times running two rings, to get everything sold, but at the end of the day both the seller and the buyers were pleased.  We were focused on what we were doing, and we worked hard to make the sale a pleasant experience for everyone, and we succeeded.

Contrast that with another sale I attended a few months ago.  This sale had a number of consignors with one person providing the bulk of the sale items.  The items he brought were also much more highly desirable than most of the other items we sold that night.  At the end he was not pleased with how the sale ran.  He felt too much time was spent selling less desirable items while some of his merchandise was left unsold at the end of the sale.  I would agree with his assessment.  People were allowed to spend too much time describing items with little value which not only meant that there was not time to sell everything, but people became bored and began to leave.  Fewer buyers mean less bids which means less money for everyone.

I attended an auction a few weeks ago that had a lot of desirable items for sale.  I purchased a number of them to resell in my antique and flea market booths.  The sale was conducted by an auctioneer that was engaging and who had a crew that knew what they were doing.  They moved a lot of merchandise that night, and I would think that most people left there feeling good about the sale.

The week before that auction I was asked to auctioneer at an auction house when their regular auctioneer could not make it.  When I arrived I was amazed at the poor quality of the merchandise they were going to sell that night.  Much of it was junk.  A decent crowd showed up for the sale, but few of them were bidding.  It was very hard to get more than a dollar or two for anything we sold.  We could not get a bid on several of the items.  After about an hour the owner of the auction house asked me what I thought we should do.  I responded, "I would shut it down.  Neither you nor anyone else is making any money here tonight."  That's what he did.  I've been told since that they have closed the auction house at least for the remainder of the summer.

What lessons can be learned from these various auctions?  One, regardless of what business you are in, you have to sell quality goods and services.  There are some people attending auctions looking for cheap items they can buy and resell to make a little money on, but even these folks have a threshold they won't cross.  Even junk buyers won't buy some junk!  If you cannot sell quality items or provide a quality service, you will not be successful in any business venture.

A second lesson is that you need quality people in your company.  I know many auctioneers who would have taken two or three sales to sell what we sold in that one six-hour auction.  The reason we could sell that much merchandise is because of the quality of the people that auctioneer has working for him.  I was the least experienced person there that day.  Everyone knew their role and knew what needed to be done.  The difference between satisfied clients and dissatisfied ones is often the quality of the people who work for you.

A third lesson is the importance of having a good reputation.  The best auctioneers attract the best merchandise because they have the reputation of getting top dollar on what they sell.  If someone needs to sell an estate or has good quality items to consign, they will automatically go to the person they believe will get them the most money.  Some auction houses are known as $2.00 auction houses because that seems to be what they sell a lot of merchandise for.  These companies are unlikely to get a lot of quality sales with that type of reputation.  I have decided to not do any more auctions for that last auction house I mentioned even if they do re-open because I don't want to be associated with that type of company.  These are nice, Christian people, but they do not know how to run an auction business, and I don't want to get the reputation of being a $2.00 auctioneer.

The final lesson I'll cover in this post is the importance of being a people person.  Auctioneering, like most business endeavors, is about being good with working with people.  The best auctioneers I've met have been outgoing, friendly, and honest in how they deal with people.  On the other hand, I've seen some who are petty, unfriendly, and less than honest.  Some seem to be very insensitive towards their buyers which I do not understand.  Why would any business person want to alienate the people who want to give you money?

Fortunately, I have a good job that gives me the freedom to break into this business slowly.  I hope I'm learning a lot about the business that will do me well when I do get my first auction.  If you have an estate in southern Indiana or some good quality items you want to consign at auction, get in touch with me.  I do believe you'll be pleased with my service, and you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who will work harder to make your sale a success.

How do you motivate your team members?

I just finished reading The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance [Updated & Revised] written by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.  The book is based on a ten-year study of 200,000 employees and managers in the area of how to best motivate their team members.  The results of their studies found that "the central characteristic of truly effective management - the element that shows up time and again in every great workplace - is a manager's ability to recognize employees' talents and contributions in a purposeful manner."

I think there are three kinds of leaders in the workplace today.  One group does nothing in the area of motivation and recognition.  They believe that the paycheck the employees receive each week is all the motivation they need.  A second group would like to do something in the areas of motivation and recognition but do not know how to go about it.  When they do attempt to do something it is often awkward for everyone involved and usually fails to be very motivational.  The third group is committed to providing a workplace where people's efforts are recognized and rewarded in a way that is motivational to everyone.  What is exciting about this book is that it has something to say to persons in all three groups.

Their study found that effective leaders were seen by their employees are strong in four areas: Goal setting, Communication, Trust, and Accountability.  When recognition is added to these four areas "it serves as an accelerator of employee performance and engagement."  I wished I had understood this better when I owned a small business a few years ago.

I would probably have put me in the second group.  We had good employees, but I did not intentionally recognize their extra efforts as much as I should have, and when I did it was usually somewhat awkward for them and for me.  I was never certain of what kind of recognition was appropriate.  Probably my efforts were more demotivating than they were motivating.  I have no doubt that my leadership would have been much improved if I had read this book when I had the business, and I have no doubt that our company would have been much more productive and profitable if I had properly recognized our employees in ways that would have encouraged them.

If this is an area in which you struggle you really need to read this book.  Near the end of the book you'll find 125 different ways to recognize your team members.  That information alone is worth the price of the book.  You can find out more about it or order it by clicking on the above title.

First you have to start

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

"No one aims for average.  No one sets out for status quo.  No one longs for ordinary.  But one day you wake up and ask yourself, How did I get here?"  These are the words on the inside flyleaf of Jon Acuff's book Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters.  They are words that many of us have said and might even be saying now.  We say them when we hit those transitions times in our lives.  We say them again when we wake up one day and realize that it is going to be like every other recent day, and we're just not sure we can take it anymore.  We repeat them when something triggers thoughts of unrealized dreams, and we wonder if it's now too late to make them a reality.

Most people intend to do something significant with their lives.  I doubt that there is anyone who hasn't had big dreams and had every intention of fulfilling them sometime.  Of course, that is the key word here isn't it: sometime.  Too many of us are content to live on Someday Isle.  Someday I'll start that business I always wanted to own.  Someday I'll complete that degree.  Someday I'll spend more time with our children.  Someday I'll get serious about getting our finances right.  Someday I'll focus more on exercise and healthy eating.  Someday I'll....

The problem is someday never comes, and one day we realize that the opportunities to do those things we dreamed about are behind us.  In his book, Acuff writes that fear is one of the primary reasons we don't seek to live out our dreams.  We are afraid of the unknown.  We are afraid of failure.  We are afraid of what others might think or say.  Some may even be afraid of success.  Until we address the fears that hold us back we will never live up to our capabilities or achieve the things we've dreamed of achieving.  We have to stop listening to those voices within and without that creates fear.  Acuff provides several specific things we can do to overcome that fear and move on with our lives.

Fear is what keeps people from starting that small business they've wanted to own.  For owners of small businesses, fear is what keeps them from taking it to higher levels.  We settle for normal because normal pays the bills and provides us with a regular income.  We don't want to risk that by trying to grow our business so we settle.  But, while we're settling we're also stewing inside because we know we could be doing so much more. 

I spend a lot of time working with church leaders, and many of them have settled for the ordinary as well.  In fact, it's safe to say that some have just given up.  They have been beaten down so often by having their ideas rejected by small minded people with big pocketbooks they've stopped dreaming.  They make no effort to lead their churches any more; they're content to just manage what they've got.  They have forfeited their role as prophet and leader and settle for becoming a chaplain.  In some cases, they are hospice chaplains providing care for a dying institution.

Life is too short to do work that doesn't matter.  Life is meant to be lived with purpose, and part of that purpose is to follow your dreams and to achieve everything you were created to achieve.  To do so will require some determination on your part and a plan.  Acuff's book can help you identify a plan.  After all, if you want to accomplish something the first thing you have to do is  Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters.

Raising the bar

I recently was called to be the auctioneer for a near-by auction house when their regular auctioneer had to be away for the week.  When I drove to the auction I found they had a very nice facility.  The owners were very warm and friendly.  As we talked about how they operated one of them told me that their primary problem was that people didn't want to give anything for what they bought.  I was told, "We have a lot of one-dollar bidders here."  When I began looking at what was being offered I understood why.  I personally wouldn't have given a dollar for much of what was being sold that night.  As the auction began I noticed something that I've seen at other auctions.  Better quality items were bringing some decent prices, but the people were not going to pay much for the inferior items.  I thought to myself that this is not rocket science: if you want higher prices you have to sell better quality items.

Unfortunately, the problem is that the regulars who come to this auction have been conditioned to buy things cheap.  The risk to the sellers is that even if they began to bring in higher quality items, for which they've probably paid more to get, the buyers have been taught they can buy things cheap and may not bid much to get it.  This has happened to me several times when I've sold items at an auction and they brought much less than I paid for them.  I've learned that there are some auction houses I can take only lower quality items to sell because these are what I call "$2.00 auction houses."

What needs to happen in these facilities is that they need to quit accepting low quality items and begin to raise the bar for what they are willing to sell.  With better merchandise they can afford to do more advertising to attract the buyers who are more likely to pay what the better items are worth.  In time, these auction houses will be known as the place to sell top quality goods for a fair price.  The sellers make more on what they sell, the buyers are buying top quality items at a fair price, and the auction house sees its commissions increase.  It's a win for everyone, but it's not going to happen until the auction house raises the bar and insists on only selling quality items.

This is true for any small business.  In another business I owned I had a sign where our walk-in customers could see it.  The sign read, "We sell the highest quality merchandise, offer the best service in town, and have the cheapest rates.  You may now pick two out of three."  I knew we had competitors who offered less expensive equipment than we did, but we weren't competing for that business.  We had competitors that charged less for their service work than we did.  That was OK too because we felt we offered better service than they did.  We wanted to set the bar high enough to attract what we felt would be quality customers who knew the difference between cost and value.  I still believe that is a business philosophy that works for small business owners.

The challenge of change

Regardless of the organization, change is often one of the toughest challenges that most leaders face.  Most people don't like change, and that includes many of the leaders as well.  Change means that something becomes new, and we prefer the old and familiar.  Under the old ways of doing things everyone knows their role.  Whether you are the CEO or the janitor it's easier to function as long as things don't change because you know how to fulfill your role in that structure.  But, when things change it often means our roles change as well.  Now we face our work with caution because new things are expected of us.  However, whether we like change or not it is necessary in a rapidly changing world.  As Marshall Goldsmith entitled his book What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful.  No matter how successful your small business may be today, it will have to change if you want it to be successful tomorrow.  As I often tell people in some of my workshops, forget the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."  A better saying in the 21st century is "If it ain't broke, break it" because it will soon be obsolete anyway.  You may as well embrace change because it is here to stay for the leader who wants to be successful.  And, if you are a leader, you need to learn as much as you can about how to successfully introduce change to your organization.

One of the places I recommend you to start learning how to be a change agent is by reading John Kotter's book Leading Change, With a New Preface by the Author.  It remains in my top three leadership books and is essential reading for anyone called to be a leader.  One of the key learnings I got from reading the book is that the failure to create urgency is one of the primary reasons most change efforts fail.  When I first read that several years ago I immediately thought back to some of greatest failures I had related to changes I tried to implement and realized that I had not taken the time to create any sense of urgency in any of those efforts.  I just announced to people what changes I wanted us to make without ever explaining the why behind those changes.  I also never took the time to allow others to think about the changes and how they might benefit from them.  In my mind I understood the importance of the change and how it would positively benefit us, but I forgot that I may have spent weeks (maybe months) thinking through the change.  I seldom gave others that same time frame.  How much better might it have been if I had explained the why something needed to be changed, explained the change I wanted to see us make, and then gave people time to reflect on the change and ask whatever questions they might have had?  If I had done that many of those change efforts might have been much more successful.

Creating a sense of urgency is only one of Kotter's recommendations for the leader who wants to introduce change into his or her organization.  The book is a goldmine for anyone who needs to bring change to the organization he or she leads, and that would include anyone in a leadership capacity.  If you haven't read it I cannot emphasize too much how valuable it will be to do so if you want to successfully lead your organization.  Goldsmith's book is also helpful to anyone who isn't convinced that change is inevitable in every organization.

The leader of any organization ultimately determines the success of that organization

When John Maxwell's book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You was released he travelled the country leading workshops based on the book.  I attended one of those workshops.  The first law in the book is the Law of the Lid which teaches that everything rises and falls on leadership.  The leadership lid of the leader determines how far the organization can go.  When he finished talking on that law I never heard anything he said about the new two laws because I was trying to process what he had said about the first law.  I was also somewhat angry.

At that time I was the pastor of a small church and the owner/manager of a small business.  I was not happy with how either of those organizations were doing, and I had let both our congregation and our employees know how I felt.  I challenged each of them that if they would do more our church and our business could grow.  Maxwell was now telling me it was my fault; I was the leader and it was my leadership lid that was preventing both organizations from doing better.  The reason I was angry was that I realized he was right!

Your organization can have the best team members and the best structure available, but leadership will ultimately determine how successful your organization will be.  The decisions of the leaders will determine how productive team members will be and how well your structure will meet the needs of your team and your customers.  If your lid is a 5 you can never expect your organization to rise above a 4 because it will keep bumping up against your lid.  Also, if your lid is a 5 you will not keep team members above a 4 because people will not work for people whose leadership abilities are less than theirs.  You should also consider something else.  If your 4 leaders are hiring people they are going to hire 3s.  Can you see how this keeps pulling your organization backwards?

If you are serious about wanting your small business to grow you must be growing as a leader so you can attract other great leaders and have a more effective and productive business.  You have to stay current on what's happening in your field.  That will likely require you to read a lot more than you currently do.  It will also likely mean you'll need to attend some continuing education opportunities, and it may even mean you will need to go back to school for some specific classes.

We can blame struggling and closed businesses on many factors.  We can point our fingers at the economic situation, at laws that are oppressive to small businesses, government involvement and bureaucracy, unfair business practices by our competitors, and dozens of other problems, but the real reason our business isn't doing as well as we might like is directly related to our leadership of that business.  Raise your leadership lid and you'll raise the potential of your business.  BTW - I still think that book of Maxwell's is one of the top three leadership books of all time.

The importance of good customer service

This past weekend I had two interesting experiences in restaurants.  The first one was a restaurant that I only been to once before shortly after it opened.  The service at that time was not great and neither was the food.  I had not been back until this past Friday when I decided to give it another chance.  It had now been opened for a couple of years, and I thought it had probably improved.  I was wrong.

Although the restaurant was not very busy for lunch, the food took much longer to come out than necessary.  I had ordered a cajun chicken sandwich.  The food was bland tasting and tasted nothing like I would expect something advertised as cajun style should taste.  The server never came back until I was almost finished to ask if I would like more ice tea.  At that point I did not since I was nearly done eating and asked for my check.  Five minutes later she returned with the check.  I had watched her spend that time talking with someone who came in to pick up a carry-out order.  When the check arrived I finished my last drink of tea, pulled cash out of my billfold to cover the bill, and laid the check and money on the table.  She was there in a flash.  I hadn't seen her move that quickly the entire time I had been in the restaurant.  She had the money in her hand before I could move away from the table.  She got an 80 cent tip, and that was only because I didn't have the exact change for the bill.  She didn't even bother to ask why.

After church on Sunday my wife and I stopped at a restaurant.  As might be expected, right after church, the place was crowded.  Our server was at our table immediately to take our drink order.  She soon returned with our drinks and took our order.  She brought our salads and bread to the table.  In a few minutes she returned to refill our drinks and ask if we wanted more salad.  We asked for more bread which she said she would bring and said she would bring me some extra ice for my tea.  The manager came by to ask if our service was satisfactory, and I assured him it was.  Our food was hot and tasty, and she made sure our glasses were full.  About half-way through our meal she brought us the check and said there was no rush, but she didn't want us to have to wait on the check if we were in any hurry.  Great service, great food, and she got a 25 percent tip for her efforts.

We all know that servers are paid very low hourly wages and must depend on tips for their primary source of income.  So the question I have is why doesn't every server offer the kind of service that would generate great tips?  I'm sure the server in the first restaurant returned to the kitchen complaining about the jerk who gave her an 80 cent tip and never once asked herself why.  I also bet the server in the second restaurant could have explained it to her:  when you provide great service you receive great rewards.

Small businesses can learn a lot from servers because in many ways a server in a restaurant is a small business owner.  He or she is selling their services for a fee.  Poor servers had better learn to live on very little because that will be all they'll get for their lack of service.  Good servers will earn a good rate of return for their efforts, and great servers will do very well for themselves.  This is true for any business.

You can learn more about the importance of good customer service in my e-book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that will Close Your Small Business.  For only $4.99 it might be the best investment you will make in your business this year.

Some stores just don't get it

A few days ago my wife and I went to a local store to buy some items.  We found what we were looking for and went to the counter to pay for our purchases.  The clerk took my check for $240.00 and ran it through their approval system.  In a moment her machine spit out a ticket that said the check was for too much money.  She called a manager who said she seemed to remember something that said they couldn't take a check for more than $200.00.  At that point we picked up our check off the counter and walked out of the store tearing up the check as we left.  I told the manager that was one of the dumbest policies I had ever heard of and she responded that it wasn't their fault.  We went to another store in the same shopping center and purchased the items we wanted, and for less money.

When I came home I sent an e-mail to the company's main office describing our experience.  I told them what I told the manager, that was a dumb policy.  At a time when retail stores need to find ways to attract customers and make their buying easier and more enjoyable, this company decided to make it difficult for their customers to do business with them.  Not surprisingly, nearly a week later the company has not responded to my complaint.

Like many retail stores, this company spends a lot of money on advertising, and many of their products have been marked down to sell.  Why bother?  Why spend the money to get people into the store when store policies make it difficult for them to give the company their money?

Maybe I'm just more sensitive to this problem because when I had a business many of our policies weren't particularly consumer-friendly.  In fact, I included an entire chapter about that mistake in my book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that Will Close Your Small Business.  Our hours were for the convenience of our employees, not our customers.  For many years we continued the practice of previous owners in not offering credit card options for payment.  We did not offer a wide enough selection of products from which our customers could choose.  The book covers these issues and others. 

I learned from those mistakes, but many small businesses still have not.  The store that had a limit on the size of check is one of a small chain that is unlikely to get much bigger if they do not change their policies and become more consumer-friendly.  And to be so arrogant as to not even respond back to a complaint from a customer is an even greater mistake than the check limit.

How long has it been since you've reviewed your customer service policies?  Do they make it easier for your customers to do business with your company or harder?  Are they easily understood by both employee and customers alike?  How do you view customer complaints?  Are they recognized as being the potential benefit to your company that they are, or are they a nuisance that wastes valuable time?  Does your company have a policy that requires that every complaint be answered within 24 hours?

This extended recession has helped close the doors of many small businesses.  In my opinion, if and when this recession ever ends, small businesses will continue to struggle to be profitable.  The ones who succeed will be the ones that have made it easy for people to do business with them.  Those that struggle, and perhaps eventually close, will point their fingers at any number of problems, but most of those fingers won't be pointing at their own store policies that doomed their businesses.  These will be the stores that just never understood the importance of customer service.  They just never got it.

Showcase your talents

In my last post I discussed the challenges of getting started in a new business.  Advertising and networking are only two ways to get your name out.  While both are important, a third way should not be overlooked.  Showcase your talent while working with others in your field.  This may not be possible for everyone, but for some entrepreneurs this can be a very effective way of demonstrating your talents while learning on-the-job skills.

Since getting my auctioneer's license I have worked for three different auctioneers in the area.  All of these are future competitors, and they realize that, but they are also willing to let me showcase my abilities on their stage.  One of the principle auctioneers in our area allows me to work the ring for him and do about an hour's worth of bid-calling at each auction.  I receive no pay for this work, but I am getting great emperience in a real-world setting, and he introduces me at each auction as a new auctioneer so people know that I am open for business.  He has also hired me for an up-coming large auction he has scheduled.  Another primary auctioneer in our area has hired me for two auctions.  At one I was a ringman and at the other I was the cashier.  I had never done cashier work outside of auctioneer school so this was an opportunity to learn how to deal with the challenges of this aspect of the business.  An auction house recently opened in our area, and they've asked me to do help work their ring and I've done bid-calling there once.  They recently gave me a lead on an individual who contacted them wanting to sell some merchandise.  When I went to view it and talk with this individual she indicated she was now thinking of selling everything at auction.  I went back to the owners of this auction house, told them she was considering an auction, and asked them to contact her.  They told me to take the auction if I wanted, but I didn't feel that was fair to them and said I would be more comfortable if they signed it.  I didn't think it would be right to get a lead from them for one thing and then take away an auction from them in the process. 

Each of these are potential competitors, and the time will come when we will compete for people's business, but they are also colleagues.  I have good relationships with each of these people, and they know I will be fair in my dealings with them.  Because of that they are willing to give me a platform on which I can both showcase my abilities and hone my craft.

Depending on the business you want to start, this can be a great way for you to be real-world experience and show people what you can do.  That experience is worth more than a few dollars so don't think you have to be paid for that work.  I've done charity auctions and worked for free for other auctioneers, and I look at it as an investment in my future success in this business.  If you find people who are willing to help you in this manner be sure to give them your best efforts and be fair in your dealings with them.  And, in the future when you are successful, don't forget those who helped you and pass it on to someone else starting out.

Getting your name out

One of the challenges of starting a new business is getting your name out in the community.  You can purchase newspaper ads, but many people, especially younger people no longer read the newspaper.  Social media is good, but it is limited by the number of people you have in your networks and how willing they are to pass your information on to their networks.  Perhaps, one of the best ways of getting started is taking advantage of opportunities to network with others and tell them the story of your business.

It is difficult to crack into the auctioneer business in my area.  There are about 4-5 auctioneers who do that vast majority of auctions and dozens of other auctioneers ready to scoop up the remainder of the auctions.  I've ran ads in all of the newspapers in the surrounding counties and numerous people have told me they've seen those ads.  Unfortunately, none of them have resulted in any business.

Last night I had the opportunity to showcase my auction skills in front of about 100 people as I did a charity auction for a church.  They were having a dessert auction to raise money for the youth camp many churches use each summer.  In about one hour we had raised over $1,400.00 and had a lot of fun doing so.  People who had known me in one role had the chance to see me in a different role.  Of course, my hope is that if they need the services of an auctioneer they will give me a call.

A couple of months ago a friend asked me to speak at their local Rotary meeting about my reasons for becoming an auctioneer and the process it takes.  A couple of dozen business leaders were in attendance, and my friend told me later that my message was very well received.

These types of events are much more personal that anything else you can do.  It gives you the opportunity to meet people, learn their names, pass out business cards, and make a connection that can't be done through any other marketing you may do.  Too many people starting a new business put up a sign, sit by the phone, and wonder why it never rings.  You've got to go to the people; not wait for them to come to you.  You need a compelling story to tell them about your company, why you started it, and what value it will bring to those who use your business.  Quite frankly, that often takes time so it's important that you take a long-term perspective.

I always caution people to not quit their day job until their new business really takes off.  Regardless of how good your product or service is, it will likely take people some time to discover you, and you need a stable income to provide for your family.  I have a good position so I can be comfortable waiting until the auction business takes off.  If I never do an auction it won't impact our way of life, and that is a very good position to be in.  No worries.  No fear.  I can afford to network, do charity events, and get my name out to the public, and I'm confident that eventually this will lead to a growing auction business.

Leadership and air traffic controllers

I seldom fly so the delays at our nation's airports this week have not bothered me, but it has been amusing to listen to the gloom and doom reported by the media about the delays and how the sequester has brought our nation's air travel to a crisis.  As I understand it, 10 percent of the air traffic controllers are furloughed each day which represents around 1,000 people.  As a retired union worker I don't like lay-offs for anyone because they hurt the average worker and his or her family, and I really don't like it when such lay-offs are used for political purposes.  These are people that are being hurt, and they don't deserve to be punished because our nation's leaders are incapable of leading.

Both sides accuse the other of being responsible for the air travel problems, and for once both sides are right.  Republicans and Democrats are both responsible.  Congress and the White House are both responsible.  The air travel problems are the result of a complete leadership failure on the part of both Republicans and Democrats and Congress and the White House.  But, I would also place this problem on the back of the American people because we voted these people into office, and we continue to vote such people into office even though they demonstrate time and again they are incapable of leading.  We have people sitting in Congress for years who have never demonstrated one ounce of leadership ability, and yet they continue to be re-elected.  President Obama's first term should have demonstrated that everything his primary opponents said about him was correct.  He is not a leader, but he was re-elected, and he continues to stumble through one crisis after another.  As was once said, a nation deserves the government it gets, so while we can certainly blame our national leaders we also need to take a good look in the mirror to see who is ultimately responsible for the people who sits in those positions.

This air traffic problem is a manufactured crisis designed to make Congress look bad.  First, we had the White House tours eliminated due to the sequester.  How childish was that?  Then it was announced that military fly-overs would be eliminated from large public events because of the sequester.  Who cares?  Why should the public pay for that anyway?  If the organizers of these events want military fly-overs let them pay for them.  But, by impacting air traffic the White House found a way to inflict pain on a lot of people as well as on the airlines and airports.  As this post is being written, Congress is working on a plan that would allow money to be channeled from other funds to keep the air traffic controllers on their post, but the White House has already claimed this is only a temporary fix and doesn't resolve the budget crisis our nation faces.

In 1981 President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers who refused to end their strike and return to work.  It wasn't 1,000 people being furloughed one day a week; about 10,000 people lost their jobs in  one day because they refused to work.  Within a day or two salaried supervisors and military air traffic controllers manned the control towers and air traffic returned to near normal.  What was the difference between then and now?  Leadership.  Our nation had a president that was not afraid to take a stand and make a decision without wasting time blaming other people for his problems.  Was he criticised for his actions? Absolutely, but to President Reason such criticism was a small price to pay compared to the price the nation was paying over the air traffic controller strike.  There were also no more illegal public servant strikes during his term of office because people knew they would not be tolerated.

Yesterday, a person made an interesting comment after the George Bush library opened.  Despite all the criticism of President Bush's presidency, some of it deserved, one thing could be said about him.  He never blamed other people for his problems.  He did not spend time looking for a scapegoat to blame.  He was the President of the United States and he took responsibility for the decisions he made, and he was not afraid to make a decision.

As the owner of a small business, you must demonstrate leadership if you want your team to follow you.  If you want to inspire confidence in your leadership then you must lead and not waste time looking for others to blame for your problems.  You've got to walk through the door first if you want others to follow you.  I once worked for a boss who always talked about what "he" did when things went well, and when things didn't go well he would talk about what "we" did.  That is how a boss talks and acts.  Don't be that guy.  Be a leader, not a boss.  If you are supposed to be the leader, then lead, and if you can't lead then step aside and let someone who can have that position.  Your company will do much better if you'll do that. 

So would our country.

Acting like a normal human being is not a bad way to do business

A few years ago I was the keynote speaker at a leadership conference.  I was scheduled to speak twice and lead three workshops during the three day event.  There were a number of excellent speakers for the plenary sessions, and I was honored to begin the event with my first message.  On the final day I found my seat to hear the person scheduled to speak before me when one of the organizers came to me thanking me for being there and being so good to work with.  I thought he was just being gracious until he said that one of the comments he was hearing from a lot of the attendees was how much they appreciated me attending the sessions when I was not scheduled to speak.  He said that most of their previous keynote speakers only attended the sessions where they were scheduled to speak and spent the rest of their time in their rooms.  I never dreamed that people were noticing that I was at all the sessions and had even less of an idea that they were talking about that.  The fact was that I felt that I could learn from each of the speakers at that conference (and I did) and had no desire to miss any of the plenary sessions.  They were scheduled apart from the workshops I was leading so there was no reason not to attend the larger group meetings.  Besides, I felt that since I was being paid to be there I had somewhat of an obligation to my hosts to be available to the people who were attending the conference, and who can do that if they remain holed up in a motel room?

I had forgot about that until I began reading Jon Acuff's new book Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters.  In one chapter he talks about how people who want to be awesome in what they do should not be jerks.  He relates a number of backstage conversations he's had with various organizers who have told him about some of the speakers and musicians they've worked with who were jerks.  They show up, do the minimum their contract requires, often treat people rather poorly, and retreat to the privacy of their rooms.  Reading that reminded me of the conversation I had with the organizers of the event referred to above.  It also reminded me of a large outdoor Christian concert I attended several years ago.

The concert featured some of the top names in contemporary Christian music.  It was being held in a large outdoor facility in a nearby city.  The individual who was the main attraction was one of my favorite Christian performers so some friends of mine bought me a ticket and went with me to this event.  The day was going great until it was announced the main attraction would not be performing.  It seemed he was upset that the stage was not the size he had requested so he was refusing to sing.  Up to that day I had purchased every cassette he made; I never purchased another one.  It had been a long time since I had been so disappointed in a human being.

It doesn't matter if you are a speaker, a musician, or a small business owner, it's OK to act like a normal human being.  It's OK to be nice to people.  I get tired of trying to do business with people who act like they are doing me a favor taking my money.  I was in a business recently and saw the sign "No public restrooms."  I left, not because I needed to use the restroom but because I see a sign like that and think "Jerk!  What if a mother comes in with a small child that needs a restroom NOW?  Are you going to send her away with her kid dribbling down the sidewalk?  According to that sign you are, so you don't need my business."  My wife and I walked into a local store some months ago.  the owner never left the security of her little cubicle, but she never took her eyes off of us while we were in the store.  She also never spoke a word although we were the only people in the store.  I think I understand why we were the only ones there and why that business soon closed. 

I have owned a business and know how difficult some people can be to satisfy.  Some you will never please.  They are jerks, but that doesn't mean you have to be one.  This doesn't mean you have to let people walk over you.  There may be times you have to stand firm, but even then you can be nice about it.  I have often said that I do not want to be the person who needs to apologize.

One of my first speaking engagements was for an organization that contacted me several months before the scheduled event.  I would lead three conferences over the course of a week in three different cities.  We agreed upon the fee and that they would cover all my expenses.  We shared several communications before the event.  About three weeks before the first conference I received an e-mail telling me that they had made the decision that they would cover my expenses only up to a certain limit, one that I knew would be surpassed.  My first thought was to cancel my appearance when they refused to reconsider.  However, I did not do that.  A lot of publicity had gone into promoting the three conferences I would be leading for them.  I felt if I refused to appear the people who planned to attend would not be told the reason for my decision and would be upset with me.  I went as planned, gave them the best presentations I could give, and covered the expenses they would not pay with the fee I earned.  I also will not speak for that organization again.

You can be a jerk once and get by with it, but eventually it will destroy your credibility as a business owner and eventually it will cost you.  In business, as in all areas of life, the Golden Rule is still the best way to conduct yourself.  If we would all strive to treat one another as we would like to be treated the world would be a better place, and you would probably find your business would be more profitable.

The rise and fall of a small business

Approximately 20 years ago a relative passed away and we assumed ownership of a small business he owned.  Even though we received offers from individuals interested in purchasing the business I decided to keep it.  It had a long history in our community, was profitable, and had great employees who wanted to remain.  Like many Americans I had long desired to own my own business, and this looked like the perfect opportunity.  The problem was I had no experience as a business owner nor did I understand the technology of the business.  Due to the experience of our employees I knew the tech part would be covered, and I felt I could learn the nuts and bolts of running a small business.

The first several years it was everything I had hoped it would be.  Sales were good, profits were solid, we were banking money and moving forward very well.  I made management mistakes during that time, but our level of profitability enabled us to cover those. However, when the economy began to weaken our sales slowed down dramatically.  Our clients would have us repair equipment that normally would have been replaced in an effort to protect their finances.  We started going through our savings rather quickly to cover costs.  Year after year we lost money.  I stopped taking a salary hoping that would allow us to survive the economic recession, but no one understood just how deep this recession was at that time or how long it would take to recover.  My inexperience led to more mistakes which cost us more money, money we could no longer afford to lose.  Although I learned from those mistakes they were costly to the business.

Many small businesses have failed during this recession, and most will blame those failures on the economy.  While there may be a measure of truth in that it is also true that many small businesses continue to do well during this downturn.  It is also true that businesses fail during more prosperous times.  It is not the economy that is solely at fault for the failure of small businesses, it is how those businesses are managed during those times that make the difference.  Good economic times will cover up a lot of management mistakes, but slow economic times magnify the mistakes we make in leading our businesses and make those mistakes much more costly to the company.

I learned a lot about leading a small business from the mistakes I made and from resources I began to gather about leadership and small businesses.  Unfortunately, I did not learn them in time to save our company.  It eventually closed.  All the hard assets and our property were sold at auction for pennies on the dollar.  Fortunately, we made enough to pay off all our bills but there was precious little beyond that to show for 15 years of running a small business.  The first few years of owning our business was a dream come true; the last few years was a nightmare trying to find ways to keep it open.  It was an especially painful time for me in many ways.

Coming out of that experience I decided to write a book that would help other small business owners avoid the mistakes I made that could cost them their business.  Because the experience was so recent and painful it did not take a long time to write this particular book, certainly not as long as the other books I've written relating to pastoral ministry.  Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that will Close Your Small Business is available for NOOK devices.  In the book I detail several of the decisions that I made for our company that turned out to be wrong and led to its downfall.  If you avoided even just one of the mistakes I discuss in the book it could save your company thousands of dollars.

Avoid the nightmare of seeing your small business close.  Don't spend sleepless nights wondering if the decisions you need to make are the right ones.  Avoid having to tell long-time employees they no longer have a job due to your closing the company.  Do not live through the horror of watching others drive off with your inventory and equipment after an auction leaving you with bills to pay with no money coming in.  Learn from my mistakes and you may avoid making them yourself. 

How many options are there?

One mindset that often limits our success in any endeavor is to think that we must choose between two options.  As a church leader and as a business owner I would have people ask, "Do you think we should do this or that?" referring to two possible ways of addressing a situation.  Unfortunately, I seldom explored other options and suggested they take one of the options they suggested.  Had we spent more time examining the situation and thinking about other possibilities we may have identified a much better solution.

We need to automatically assume there are more than two solutions to any challenge.  There may not be, but our organizations would often be better served if we at least began with that assumption and spent some time brainstorming what those options might be.  How much better would it be if we could identify seven or eight possible ways to address the issues that challenge us?  We would have a much better chance of identifying the best possible way of dealing with it.

The flip side of this, however, can also be a problem.  We don't want to spend so much time analyzing a situation and pursuing different ways of responding to it that we suffer "analysis paralysis."  If I am on a ship that develops a major leak I am going to do whatever I have to in order to immediately slow down the amount of water coming into the ship.  We can spend time later deciding how to best correct the problem permanently and how to prevent future leaks.  Right now we just to make sure the ship doesn't sink.  If a major event threatens our business we need to throw an immediate fix on it and then take time to study how it happened and determine the best permanent fix.  Fortunately, most of our challenges are not so threatening or immediate, and they allow us the freedom to consider various options before dealing with them.

One of my favorite coaching questions that I use with my clients is, "That's one option; what are some others?"  It's a question you can use to self-coach or to ask members of your team when they come to you with issues.  Refuse to allow yourself to settle for one or two options to any challenge.  Intentionally see if you can find at least ten possible ways to address every issue.  Even if you don't get to ten you'll probably identify more than one or two, and that will make it more likely that you'll find the best solution to your problem.

Home grown leadership

One of the many findings in Jason Jennings' book Think Big, Act Small: How America's Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive was that "The companies that do the best job of consistently growing revenues grow their own leaders.  Period!"  They do not hire their top people from outside the company but hire the people from within who have already proven themselves capable and who have bought into the company culture.  Such home-grown talent often results in long-term growth for the company.  Although such growth may be slow it is steady and certainly preferable to the hiring of someone outside the company who comes in with a magical formula that will produce quick results for a quarter or two but in the meantime destroys the culture of the business.  One of the things this means for owners and managers of small businesses is they must constantly be producing quality leaders within their organizations if they want their business to grow.

Jennings studied companies that had double-digit growth in revenues and profits between 1995 and 2005.  What was fascinating to me in reading the book was how each of these companies were doing pretty much the same things such as developing leaders within their organizations.  When someone in the corner office was ready to retire they already had people in the pipeline to replace them.  When the company was ready to expand and open new stores they had people ready to manage them.  There was little concern about whether or not this person would fit in with the company's culture because they had already been operating within that culture for a number of years.  There was also little doubt they could handle the position they were being offered because they had been groomed for that position and had already proven they were ready for it.

The book shares a number of ways a business can identify and develop future leaders, but we'll only address two of them in this post.  Once an individual has been identified as a potential future leader it is essential that this person is constantly evaluated and coached.  He or she must be given broad responsibilities and cross-trained in various aspects of the business followed by regular evaluations and coaching.  An annual performance review isn't enough.  It's also not enough to just evaluate performance.  Attitudes and behaviors must also be looked at.  A business committed to integrity will be just as focused on the values of the potential leader as it will on his or her results.

A second thing businesses must do if they want to successfully grow talent is to make people want to stay.  Many businesses talk about how they value their team members but actually treat them as commodities and not people.  It's very hard to raise talent from within a business if it has high employee turn-over.  If a business wants people to stay they must show by their actions how they value those individuals.  The business must help their team members become excited about the growth and long-term prospects of the company and be shown how they can benefit from that growth.  Jennings illustrates in his book how several of the companies he studied does that, and the actions these companies took are doable for most small businesses.

Few things a leader does is more important than identifying and developing future leaders for the business.  It takes a commitment of time and resources, but when it's done right it will pay huge benefits in the future.

The right mindset for a small business owner

I recently finished a powerful book written by Rabbi Daniel Lapin called Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money.  Lapin is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who has spent many years studying the qualities that have made Jewish people excel in business, and he has written this book to make these principles available to everyone regardless of their faith tradition.  As a Christian minister I found his insights into some of the Old Testament texts illuminating, and as a business person I found his application of those texts inspiring. 

Thanks to recent events business owners and successful people have often been painted as greedy, dishonest people who cheat and lie to rob poor people of their possessions.  Watch almost any program on television, any movie that depicts business owners, or watch the national news and see how many times business people are portrayed in that light.  The idea of an honorable wealthy business person is foreign to most people's thinking.  This false mindset of business people has even made some successful people feel guilty for their success.

Lapin writes that every dollar that is earned is a "certificate of appreciation" from one's customers.  This is true whether one works on a factory assembly line, owns a small mom-and-pop business on main street in a small town, or is a CEO of a large multi-national organization.  Everyone who earns a living has a customer, and the money that is earned is the result of satisfying that customer.  Lapin writes, "If you did not rob or steal from anyone to obtain that dollar, if you neither defrauded anyone nor persuaded your government to seize it from a fellow citizen and give it to you, then you could only have obtained that dollar in one other way - you must have pleased someone else."  There is nothing shameful about that nor is there any reason to feel guilty because you have become successful.

This is the mindset we need to instill in people, not the negative ones that attempt to demean business leaders and other wealthy individuals.  You need to understand this blog is not written by a wealthy person.  I am the typical middle-class American who has worked hard all his life to join the middle class, but I appreciate wealthy businesspeople.  No poor person ever gave me a job that allowed me to provide for my family.   When we seek gifts for charities and other worthwhile endeavors do we ask the poor or the wealthy for those funds?  Studies find that the wealthy give vast sums of money to charities, their churches, and other worthwhile needs.  Business owners give to their communities, to their churches, to other endeavors.  They provide employment that allows people to earn an honest living and support their families.  They provide goods and services that people need.  Lapin assures us there is dignity in business for all these reasons and more.

The book provides 10 commandments for making money, but it is not a "get rich quick" book.  It explores centuries of the Jewish mindset regarding money and business based upon teachings from the Bible and the "Oral Torah."  Lapin writes, "Deep within traditional Jewish culture lies the conviction that the only real way to achieve wealth is to attend diligently to the needs of others and to conduct oneself in an honorable and trustworthy fashion."  The 10 commandments found in the book help flesh out aspects of that conviction.

I appreciated the book and recommend it for several reasons.  One, it reminds the reader that honest businesspeople should be honored and respected for their contributions to our society.  Secondly, it gives interesting insights into Jewish beliefs and customs, and, thirdly, it presents some foundational concepts that one needs to believe in if he or she is to enjoy financial success.

Indecision will cripple your business

Image courtesy of  FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Every day leaders are confronted with a variety of decisions they have to make.  Hopefully, your employees have been trained and are empowered to make many of the decisions that need to be made, but there will be those decisions that only you as the owner or manager can make.  The most successful leaders will not postpone making those decisions.  A study conducted by the Harvard Business School once asked "What are the top characteristics of high achievers?"  The persons being asked gave a wide variety of answers, but the top response was the ability to act quickly.  They recognized that leaders who can make quick decisions and act on those decisions were going to be the most successful in their fields.  Those who procrastinate in making the tough decisions would enjoy much less success.

This does not mean that these quick decisions were always the correct ones.  Sometimes these decisions were not the best that could have been made, and occasionally they were completely wrong.  But, the decisions led to actions, and if the actions didn't produce the desired results then new decisions could be made.  In either case, the best solution would be discovered more quickly through not putting off making a tough decision.

These decisions were also not made without input.  Leaders know to acquire as much information as possible before making an important decision, but not to delay that decision until they have every iota of information that might impact the decision.  Leaders never have all the information they need, but they often can't wait until that information is available before making a decision.  If new information becomes available later that would lead to a different decision then the initial decision can be altered.  I once sat in on a meeting when a question was raised about a decision that had been made by a board two years earlier.  One person in the room reminded everyone in the room of the earlier decision when another person responded that decisions can be changed when new information became available.  Few decisions should be written in stone.  Especially in the times in which we now live, decisions made two years earlier should not be seen as Gospel.  They may have been the right decision at the time, but as new information becomes available or things change, then those decisions need to be examined and changed if needed.

When leaders refuse to make necessary decisions they create doubt in the minds of their team members.  These team members wonder who is running the organization and what will happen if their leaders become incapable of making important decisions.  There is a great scene in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean films when, near the end of the movie, two pirate ships go on either side of a British ship and begin firing.  Throughout the movie the commander of the British ship was arrogant in his leadership, but as these pirate ships made a maneuver he never expected he suddenly became frozen and incapable of responding.  The subordinate officer kept demanding an order which never came until the subordinate office assumed control and ordered the men to abandon ship.  The pirate ships kept firing on the British ship as the commander slowly walked across his ship until it finally blew up and sank taking the commander with it.

In business we will always have pirates firing at us.  People will do things we never expected.  New challenges will continually confront us.  Some of these challenges will offer opportunities for our businesses to grow; others will threaten to sink us if we do not react quickly.  In either case, decisions will have to be made, and you as the leader will be responsible for making them.

Network to build your business

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A few years ago a friend asked me to speak to the local Rotary Club about the auction business I had recently started.  My schedule was clear that evening so I agreed.  Despite bad weather a nice group of people were there representing various businesses in our community.  I kept my presentation to about 20 minutes, but I was surprised by their questions that lasted about 30 more minutes.  There was much about the auction business they did not know which led to some very good questions about the details that are involved in having an auction.  It was a great opportunity to showcase my knowledge and my desire to operate a quality auction business that will treat people with respect.  It was also a chance to build relationships with persons I had never met before.  We ate together, we laughed and joked with one another, and by the end of the evening I think we all felt very comfortable with each other. 

The day after that meeting I thought back to the fifteen years I owned a previous business.  Not once did I ever speak to any group about our business nor did I ever join any of the organizations in our community.  We sat back waiting for people to walk into our business, ran an occasional newspaper ad or radio spot, and depended on word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied customers.  I have to wonder how much better could we have done if I had networked with other leaders in our community so they could get to know me on a personal level and get to know more about our company.

Given the option, people will do business with persons they know and trust.  Networking allows others to get to know you on a more personal level.  Networking is more than working a room and passing out business cards; it's about getting to know people and letting them know you.  It's building personal relationships with other people.  It's about building top-of-mind-awareness through relationships.

Are you a member of any of the local service organizations in your community?  Don't misunderstand...you don't join these groups just to get business for your company.  You join to help make a difference in people's lives.  Many of these groups do some great work in their communities, and that is why you want to be a part of that.  However, as you serve alongside others in the organization you are building relationships that may well result in increased business.  Anyway you look at it, that is a win-win situation.  You benefit from the increased business, and your community benefits by your involvement in the organization.

What would you do if someone asked you to present a talk to one of the groups in your community?  For many people, their number one fear in life is to have to stand before a group of people and give a talk.  I've been in ministry for over 35 years so that is not a fear of mine, but I have seen people freeze when they've been asked to speak to a group.  As a business leader you need to conquer that fear because such opportunities are a great way to network with other people and present information about your business they may not have known.  It puts a human face and story on your company that is more appealing than any logo or slogan.

Look for networking opportunities.  I think you'll find they will help grow your business.

To learn about other mistakes I made in my previous business be sure to read my e-book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions That Will Close Your Small Business.

Your online presence needs to be updated regularly

I scan or read well over three dozen blogs each day.  The posts that I find helpful I put on Twitter so others can be directed to the author's site so they can read them if they want to.  One of the things I don't understand is why the people who create these blogs may go for months without ever adding a new message.  Recently, I removed several of the blogs I had been following because nothing new had been published on them in five to six months.  Many of these were business-related blogs that I assume were created to attract people to those businesses.  I don't think most people will find them very attractive.

Since starting this blog a few months ago I try to post on it at least once a week, usually Monday.  Once in awhile I don't do it simply because of my schedule.  I have another blog that is focused on ministry and church leadership.  Because that is my primary focus and the field in which my day job is located I try to post on that blog at least four times a week.  In addition, I post around 15 articles on my Twitter account each business day with a link that directs the reader to the site where they will find the article.  Half of those articles are related to ministry and the other half are focused on small business.  I do this because I want my readers to find fresh information from some of the best thinkers in these two areas of life.  Since my Twitter account links to my Facebook account, those who just follow me on FB are able to be directed to those articles as well.  I continue to struggle getting large numbers of people following my posts; I can't imagine how difficult it is for those blogs that are only updated 3-4 times a year to attract regular followers.

What makes this even sadder is that I have found the articles on these blogs to be quite good.  The authors are people who have something worthwhile to say, and usually a product or service to market, but they are turning away some of their potential clients due to the lack of blog maintenance.

Small businesses and ministries need a presence on social media.  A web site and/or blog (I think both are best.) are becoming more essential to get their messages out to persons who need to know about them.  But, if these are not going to be updated regularly these sites can become more of a detriment than an asset.  Stale messages send a negative signal to your potential clients that you don't want to send.  It tells people that you don't have a lot to say about your product or service or you just don't care to give them the information they might need to do business with you.

I have seen church websites that have not been updated in three or four years.  Their previous pastor is still listed on the church staff page.  If that information is wrong then I can't assume I can trust their service times either.  This has actually kept me from visiting some churches.  Some businesses don't do much better.  Dated information about the company or the product or service doesn't impress potential clients, and it's important to know that the first image some people will make about your company will come from you social media sites.  Create the wrong impression online and you will drive potential business to your competitors.

Businesses have two options.  Either pay someone to manage your site or do it in-house, but your sites must be maintained and updated on a regular basis.  In today's environment your online presence may be a major portion of your marketing depending on the target audience you are going for.  As such, it should be seen as an investment, not an expense.  You are investing money and time in an effort to reach new clients and to encourage your current clientele to do more business with you.  Make your online sites a priority in your planning.  Don't ignore or "forget" them.  They can be a rich source of revenue if they are properly maintained.

Confidence is key to success

A few years ago I decided to get my auctioneer's license. Although I was working full-time I knew I was getting close to retiring (for the second time) and wanted something else to do. I took the 80 hours of training our state requires and took the exam which I passed. A few days later I got my license in the mail.

The next Friday evening I went to an auction conducted by a friend of mine.  As soon as I walked in the building he asked if I could help out in the ring as he was short-handed that night.  After a couple of hours of ring work he asked if I would relieve him for a few minutes and take over the bid-calling.  That was my first time to call bids at an actual auction.  We ended each of our class sessions at the auction school I attended practicing bid calling, but this was my first time to be taking bids from actual buyers.  I can assure you it was not the same!  That few minutes turned into almost an hour before he returned to the microphone for the remainder of the auction.

I learned three things that evening.  One, I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.  Two, it is harder than it looks like.  Three, I can do this.  That hour behind the microphone gave me confidence that I can be an auctioneer.  Yes, I messed up a couple of times.  (Once I had a $15.00 bid for an item and started asking for $10.00.  We all laughed because everyone knew it was my first time.)  But, that was OK because it taught me that messing up isn't the end of the world.

In anything we try to do in this life confidence is an important key to success.  This is especially true for the entrepreneur starting a new business.  You may have been a technician in the field of your new business or perhaps you've spent years in school learning the nuts and bolts of running a company.  Despite that background you don't KNOW you can do it until you are actually the person in charge.  When the microphone is handed to you, when you are the one responsible for making the final decisions that will determine the direction your business will go, when the employees are dependent upon your judgment for their livelihood then you will find out whether or not you can do this.

For most entrepreneurs it is often best to start part-time until your new endeavor is showing steady profits and growth before completely leaving your old position.  Anyone starting something new will make mistakes, but when you are not totally dependent on that one source of income those mistakes are less deadly.  As your business grows you will become more confident in your ability to manage it.  Perhaps the day will come when you will decide to invest yourself fully in your new business, or, like me, you may see this as something that will remain something you do part-time as a fun diversion.  Either way, as you build confidence it will become much more enjoyable and profitable.

If you want to read what has to be the textbook on entrepreneurship and how to properly start a new business you must read EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches by Dave Ramsey.  An important piece of confidence is learning what you need to know to be successful, and this book will give you the tools you need to start and run your own business.

You must first develop the leader within you.

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In my e-book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that Will Close Your Small Business I discuss numerous mistakes I made running our small company.  Although I learned a lot from those mistakes, there were enough of them that they eventually proved fatal to the business.  I wrote the book to not only warn the reader to avoid those mistakes but to share the important lessons I learned along the way.  As I begin a new auction business I hope to remember the lessons I learned so I can have a much more productive business this time.

If someone was to sum up all the mistakes I made into one core mistake it would have to be the lack of leadership I provided the business.  When we got the business it had nearly thirty years of successful operation in our community, but with new ownership came new leadership needs which I failed to provide.  All of the various mistakes I cover in the book were merely symptoms of the core problem of a lack of leadership on my part.

John Maxwell insists that "The key to success in any endeavor is the ability to lead others successfully."  Furthermore, he teaches that everything rises and falls on leadership.  I believe he is right on target.  No organization will rise any higher than the lid of its leadership.  As the president of our company I put the lid on how effective our business could be with the leadership I provided, and that turned out to be a very low lid.

Regardless of where your personal leadership lid is right now, it can be raised.  While I do believe some people are born to be leaders, I also believe that leadership can be learned, and that everyone can learn to be a better leader than he or she is right now.  The challenge is that leadership growth is hard work.  It requires much self-discipline.  It requires that one identifies a clear vision of where the company is to go and the steps it will take to get there.  Priorities must be set that will enable that vision to be achieved.  A leader must learn how to solve problems, deal with constant change, work with people who can sometimes be difficult and help develop them into persons who believe in the vision you've set forth.  Everyday he or she must step away from the urgent in order to focus on the most important priorities of the day.  It can get overwhelming, especially when you realize that you will never reach the finish line as long as you are in the leadership role in your organization.  Achieving your vision only means you get to celebrate one day and then it is time to start over with a new vision if you want your business to continue to move forward.

Leading a company is not easy, but the most difficult aspect of leadership is leading yourself.  A leader must always be in a learning mode.  He or she must keep up with the technical changes occurring in the business.  The leader must pay attention to changes in the culture.  You don't want to be the last company still making buggy whips.  Leaders must focus on the needs of their customers and their team members.  Leaders have to control their attitudes when things don't go the way they planned.  There are many things we cannot control regarding our businesses, but we can always control our attitudes.  Staying focused and optimistic isn't easy, but it is necessary, and for some people with certain personalities (like me) it can be a real struggle.

As the head of your business, you must always be growing in your leadership abilities.  That means you have to be a life-long learner of leadership, of people, of culture, and of your business.  You have no choice but to read the current journals, books, and articles relating to what you do.  You have to invest time and money in attending workshops and vendor meetings.  The more you grow as a leader the more confidence you will have in leading, and the more willing others will be to follow your leadership.

For more on this vital subject I recommend you read John Maxwell's book Developing the Leader Within You.  As you apply the recommendations you'll find in this book you will find that you will grow as a leader and your organization will grow alongside you.

Starting right

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A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I had received my auctioneer's license and was preparing to start an auction business.  Today I met with my attorney to discuss how I should structure the business.  He advised me to create a Limited Liability Company (LLC) that would help protect our personal assets in case there were problems in the future.  It costs very little to set up an LLC and it provides a lot of protection.  He suggested that if I wanted to save money I could do it myself online as it wasn't that difficult, but when I asked what he would charge me to do it I found out it wasn't much more.  I asked him to do it.

I'm all about saving money, and like most small business start-ups I don't have a lot of money to put into this endeavor.  However, I think there is value in knowing that the foundation for the company is being laid correctly.  I could save money by doing my own dentistry too, but I doubt it would be worth it.  I want this company to be set up correctly so why not pay someone who has been trained for this kind of work to do it, especially when it is such a minimal amount?

One of the mistakes I made in my previous company was that I tried to save money in places I shouldn't.  Penny wise and pound foolish I believe the old proverb calls it.  I want this new business to be started right so I've asked my attorney to do the paperwork for the LLC to ensure it is done correctly.  I began today pricing liability insurance.  When the state approves the LLC I will set up two bank accounts for the business: one for business operations and the other for an escrow account as required by state law.  I have started printing business cards and brochures and began handing them out to close friends.  Later this week I will order contract forms and other paperwork needed in the auction business so when I am ready to launch the business I will have everything ready to start. 

And it will be right from the start.  I will not make the mistake again of trying to cut corners that should not be cut in an effort to save a few dollars.  I learned that lesson from my first business.  If you want to know what other lessons I learned from losing that business be sure to read my e-book Mistakes: Avoiding the Wrong Decisions that Will Close Your Small Business.