Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
What's wrong with this picture?
I don't think this one needs explanation. What do you see? I think this store owner needed to use one of our circle check sheets!
Are you open?
Happy Mothers Day to me! Today, while I was having a nice hot bath while the family went to get me my coffee, a Trucker Management moment presented itself. Not to me, but to my hubby. He went to a different Starbucks then usual (that's where the problem started) and pulled into the drive thru, waited for about 10 minutes and no one came. So he pulled around front and finally found the hours on the door, which if he squinted just right it looked like they open at 7, but it was only 6:55am so he went to get gas first then would get coffee. He came back at 7:10 but still no one around. So he thought maybe they were just getting a late start and waited for another 10 minutes and still nothing. Finally he got out of the car to go read the 14 point font on the door for the hours and it didn't open until 7:30! So, he left and went to our usual store. The funny thing is, is that we use this exact example in Trucker Management. Most people need to know your hours when they're in the car. So test your hour sign, can be seen from the road, parking lot or car? Is it posted at your drive thru? Not to mention, that today it's the mothers who had to be up before 730 that really needed a coffee!
Be a good driver!
Yesterday I presented a workshop in Barrie Ontario on networking. Driving there and back (and getting lost in the middle) I was on the road for 8 hours. Not a lot of excitement along the way, but one road sign did stick out and made me think about our book. I didn't have my camera and even in today's world of technology I can't seem to track down an image of it to share, but it said "Be a good driver, check your truck daily."
That fits so perfectly with the analogy we use in the book. "Be a good business owner, check your business (inside and out) daily." When was the last time you did a circle check or looked down at your dashboard?
That fits so perfectly with the analogy we use in the book. "Be a good business owner, check your business (inside and out) daily." When was the last time you did a circle check or looked down at your dashboard?
Over planning can be Overkill
We always talk about (and even write about in Trucker Management) that planning, from business planning to contingency planning, is key to small business success - and it is. At the same time however, there comes a time when enough is enough and it's time to stop planning and start doing.
A Junior Chamber chapter this year experienced how over planning can be overkill. JCI provides tools and templates for the individual chapter to complete a yearly business plan. The challenge is that the organization has a pretty diverse mission and a vague target market (only defined by age). In one city, the JC's may look like a business networking association, in another a community club and in another a social group. The other challenge is that the Board of Directors completely changes over every year, so the plan starts from scratch every year. Every chapter struggles with trying to be everything to everyone. So, this chapter we're talking about, spent many months planning who they were, who their target market was and what programming would occur. Then when the President had to leave half way through the year, the new board had to go back into planning mode before the first plan was complete. For 7 months the chapter was planning what it would be doing for the year, even though the year was almost over.
In September, the chapter realized enough is enough and that the planning phase had actually deterred members from attending and joining. So in September they DID something, not just talked about it. The talk on the town the last few weeks had much and improved.
A good quote to sum this up is:
Ready. Fire. Aim.
is better than
Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim. Aim. Aim...
A Junior Chamber chapter this year experienced how over planning can be overkill. JCI provides tools and templates for the individual chapter to complete a yearly business plan. The challenge is that the organization has a pretty diverse mission and a vague target market (only defined by age). In one city, the JC's may look like a business networking association, in another a community club and in another a social group. The other challenge is that the Board of Directors completely changes over every year, so the plan starts from scratch every year. Every chapter struggles with trying to be everything to everyone. So, this chapter we're talking about, spent many months planning who they were, who their target market was and what programming would occur. Then when the President had to leave half way through the year, the new board had to go back into planning mode before the first plan was complete. For 7 months the chapter was planning what it would be doing for the year, even though the year was almost over.
In September, the chapter realized enough is enough and that the planning phase had actually deterred members from attending and joining. So in September they DID something, not just talked about it. The talk on the town the last few weeks had much and improved.
A good quote to sum this up is:
Ready. Fire. Aim.
is better than
Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim. Aim. Aim...
The Quiet Try-It Method
Twice in the last month I've come across 2 businesses using the 'quiet try-it' method of launching their business. Now, coming from a marketing background, I'm used to the 'go big or go home' approach with big grand openings and big media announcements. So at first I wasn't totally into the idea of the quiet approach, but I'm always up for something new, and was happily surprised.
The first business was a very unique service offering in Kingston, a hair salon catering only to children. The quiet approach for them actually worked to drum up interest in this 'secret' new business with an invite only event. It got people murmuring about it all over town. And when the moment was right she then did a big grand opening.
The second business was a restuarant - a world where everything that can go wrong during a grand opening - DOES! By using the quiet method it gave them menu feedback, an opportunity to work out the kinks in the kitchen and create some revenue before the official launch.
This is like a pre-opening circle check, not just of the premise but of the actually service as well. Well Done!
The first business was a very unique service offering in Kingston, a hair salon catering only to children. The quiet approach for them actually worked to drum up interest in this 'secret' new business with an invite only event. It got people murmuring about it all over town. And when the moment was right she then did a big grand opening.
The second business was a restuarant - a world where everything that can go wrong during a grand opening - DOES! By using the quiet method it gave them menu feedback, an opportunity to work out the kinks in the kitchen and create some revenue before the official launch.
This is like a pre-opening circle check, not just of the premise but of the actually service as well. Well Done!
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