Bad weather decisions

We in Oklahoma got clobbered this Christmas eve with snow. We are not used to having 8"-12" of snow ever, let alone on Christmas. The weather threw everyone's plans into disarray and many were caught in snow drifts trying to get home.

I say this not to minimize the difficulty we all had, but to make the point that as a business owner you need to inform your (prospective) customers about what is going on.

If you were forced to close early, the least you should do is to put a sign in the door, then change the answering machine for the store phone - "Due to the weather we are closed until Friday". You should also take a couple minutes to do the same for your website main page. Both of these could be done from your own home, without requiring you to drive into the store. (You do have your phone answering machine codes and website logins at hand, don't you?)

My wife and I braved the roads on Christmas day to go see a movie. When we arrived at the theater, it was closed. We had actually called the theater beforehand, and it listed the movie times and made no mention it was closed. If my wife and I had been the only ones caught, you might have argued we were just crazy to go. But during our time there at the theater, at least 10 other cars pulled in the lot, each driving up to the door trying to go to the movies. It is not outside the realm of possibility that someone might try to go see a movie on Christmas.

Don't compound the bad weather by not considering your customers!

You'll know when to Start your business

In a great article on 7 Things I learned from a Tech Incubator, the author and founder of a startup remarks, "Lesson 7: You’ll know when to start your startup when not starting it is no longer an option."

This sounds a bit strange, but he notes this was one of the best pieces of advice he received.

If you can do the things you want within the context of an existing business - why go through the heartache of running your own? But when you find that not doing it is no option, that is when you start.

By example, someone who is a musician is driven to play music. Not playing is not an option. That is a big difference than me plunking around occasionally in the front room on a guitar and a musician (talent notwithstanding!).

Now there are different motivations for why you feel you must start your business.

• Vivik Wadhu from Duke University says, "...the greatest motivation is that you are tired of working for other people."
• Maybe there is some technical problem you are consumed with, and there is no way you won't give up on it.

Whatever your motivation, if it is just "well, I will see what happens," you are liable not to be willing to put in the extra effort needed to make it happen.

Talking Around Email

In their latest posting on the 37 Signals blog, Matt remarks,
"But we kept thinking that just one more email would clear up the confusion. It was a reminder of how easy it is to waste time talking around a problem when just getting real with it can get you to consensus in a fraction of the time."

How many times do we use sending an email as a means of contacting someone? Wait until 5:05pm and watch all the email come in...with messages like "Tried to call and could not reach you - will call tomorrow" or "where are we on the McGillicuty project?"

Remember: an email is not "talking to someone". Pick up the phone or better yet, go solve the problem rather than sending another email. Another email won't clear up the confusion.

PS: sorry about the lack of posts the last week or two - I got a wicked cold last week and basically missed the entire week. Back to work today! Thank goodness for antibiotics that still work.

Good business ideas

"Is this a good business idea?"

It is a question we are often asked after discussing a business with a prospect.

The answer is often difficult, not because we want to avoid disappointing the prospect, but that we don't know whether it would work or not.

If a town does not have a certain type of business, does that mean there is not a big enough market for that business (and so it would not stay in business) or does it mean no one has tried it?

I would hazard there are people right now running successful businesses, who if they had brought me that very business idea, I would have recommended against it.

So if you are looking for me to peer into the future, I cannot.

What I can say is that the questions I ask, the issues I recommend you research and the items you have to discover on your own, will be ones whose answer will make your business more successful, and you more capable.

Many people try to learn a foreign language or a musical instrument; most fail. But if you ask me whether it is a good idea to try to do so - I can only give you insight into what it would be like, not what it will be for you.

If over the holiday(s), you get inspired or come up with an idea for a business, come on by and let's discuss it. You might discover that it is a good idea and one you want to pursue or that on investigation, it is not one you want to pursue.

Either way, have a nice Thanksgiving!

Retailing Management, Spring 2010

I will be teaching at Oklahoma State University this Spring semester, Marketing 3613 Retailing Management. We will be discussing many different topics relevant to small business management and ownership. If you are a student at OSU, I recommend signing up. And if you are interested in auditing the class (taking it for no credit), let me know!

Car Wash

I was in Oklahoma City last week for a meeting, and in the underground parking garage I noticed two stalls had been converted to car wash stations. If you wanted you could pay to have them wash your car while you had it sitting in the garage and you were in the building.

Their stations looked to have a hose hooked into the fire sprinkler water system (the floors already have drainage.)

I have seen car washes and oil change at airport parking (Fine in Tulsa does this), but I had never seen it in a nondescript parking garage in downtown.

Shows there is always a way for a creative business idea to get started.

Getting Your Work Done

In the book, The Five Disfunctions of a Team, p148, the conversation turns on a VP who is always helping out however he can to the group, but in the process is not getting his responsibilities done.

The result is the president of the company saying, "I want all of you challenging each other about what you are doing, how you are spending your time and whether you are making enough progress."

As an entrepreneur, I know you have a bias for action: "get it done!" is your mantra. But it is important to be sure you are doing what you need to do, not what needs to be done.

This can be hard for someone who comes up from the ranks; a baker often finds it easier to bake than to manage the bakery.

Still, start your week or day or even hour(!) by asking yourself what is the most important thing to do, not the most urgent. Be sure your employees also recognize the difference. This will make you more productive and also allow you to release some of those duties you dread, but feel you have to do (or no one else will).