Recently around Kingston I saw examples of both great and poor first impressions that small businesses offered to anyone who happened to come across them.
First, the poor one. I saw a driver's ed car, complete with full company logos, roof sign, etc., driving around town, with a student inside on a lesson, with a badly DENTED DOOR. My first impression of this company in its ability to teach proper driving to its students was, obviously, not a good one! If I had kids, I'd be making a mental note NOT to take them to that company for their drivers ed!
The second one, which I thought showed the company was paying proper attention to its potential customers, was Source for Sports in downtown Kingston. Their large front windows were full of flyers showcasing various promotions, and in order to make them easier to see, they had put large sheets of white paper behind them on all of the windows. This made it much easier to read the information on them, so that their energy and money invested in these promotional efforts weren't wasted from them being too hard to read. But, more importantly to me, it showed me that this was a business "paying attention" to how it does business. They are aware enough of the circumstances and physical enviornment through which passersby will view the windows, that they knew those window items would be hard to see unless they had a background behind them.
In "Trucker Management", we talk about this idea of "paying attention" in your business, ensuring you take the time to view your premises as others will view them, so that you can anticipate needs like this. Doing so will show people at a glance that you are attentive to all aspects of your small business, and therefore they will be more eager to do business with you, believing you can properly care for their needs as customers.
Which of these two would you want your first impression to be like?
It's Done - well, kind of!
The manuscript of the Trucker Management is printed and now in the hands of our content review panel members. They have two weeks to provide feedback before it goes to the editor.
A lot of late nights last week reminded me what it was like being an entrepreneur, but the warm fuzzy feeling I got this am when I opened the box of the completed manuscripts reminded me why I love being an entrepreneur!
A lot of late nights last week reminded me what it was like being an entrepreneur, but the warm fuzzy feeling I got this am when I opened the box of the completed manuscripts reminded me why I love being an entrepreneur!
Inspiration to perform - from shoes to cars!
We were fortunate last week to attend a keynote address by Krista Green, Founder and CEO of Organized for Life Canada (www.organizedforlife.ca), and Author of "Get Noticed, Be Remembered". She included a story about how a reporter once asked Michael Jordan about why he wore a brand new pair of Nike shoes for each game. Aside from the charitable benefits that arose from him autographing and donating each pair, she inquired about if he didn't still think that it was a bit of an excessive indulgence, or perhaps a bit of a "spoiled athlete" demand.
He replied that whenever he puts on a brand new pair of Nikes, they make him feel like he can run and jump faster and higher than anyone else. And so, when his livelihood is based on him out-running and out-jumping everyone else, why wouldn't he make sure he gets that rush of invincibility before every single time he gets called upon to work? His performance as an athlete shows that it worked!
What are your own pair of Nikes to help inspire you to optimum performance in your business each day? What gives you that rush and confidence to be your best? For me, I would have to say it is my car. When I leased this car a year ago, a brand new model with only 27 kms on it when I picked it up from the dealership, I indulged a bit and got the leather seats, sunroof, and "Z" model (I think that just means it goes faster) of the car I wanted. At the time, I certainly wasn't thinking about how it could help my performance in my business in the future - in fact, it was more the opposite. My rationale at the time was that I deserved this for what I had already done.
But what I have come to find out is that it gives me that same kind of boost of confidence and energy just like Jordan's shoes. I love the way my car looks, I love how it drives, and love what it says (at least what I think it says!) about me as a competent and successful business person in driving a brand new car with some of those little "extras". I get a little boost each and every time I get in and out of it. Here's to hoping you find your own pair of Nikes!
He replied that whenever he puts on a brand new pair of Nikes, they make him feel like he can run and jump faster and higher than anyone else. And so, when his livelihood is based on him out-running and out-jumping everyone else, why wouldn't he make sure he gets that rush of invincibility before every single time he gets called upon to work? His performance as an athlete shows that it worked!
What are your own pair of Nikes to help inspire you to optimum performance in your business each day? What gives you that rush and confidence to be your best? For me, I would have to say it is my car. When I leased this car a year ago, a brand new model with only 27 kms on it when I picked it up from the dealership, I indulged a bit and got the leather seats, sunroof, and "Z" model (I think that just means it goes faster) of the car I wanted. At the time, I certainly wasn't thinking about how it could help my performance in my business in the future - in fact, it was more the opposite. My rationale at the time was that I deserved this for what I had already done.
But what I have come to find out is that it gives me that same kind of boost of confidence and energy just like Jordan's shoes. I love the way my car looks, I love how it drives, and love what it says (at least what I think it says!) about me as a competent and successful business person in driving a brand new car with some of those little "extras". I get a little boost each and every time I get in and out of it. Here's to hoping you find your own pair of Nikes!
Word of Caution: 'Definitely' Circle Check Your Blog!
Well - you caught us! We didn't spellcheck one of our posts and we heard about it! We now have 22 people offering us editing services for our book. (Don't worry we've hired a professional team to edit and proofread the book so there won't be glaring mistakes like on the blog!) We should have heeded our own advice, it's a good lesson learned - CIRCLE CHECK YOUR BLOG ENTRIES!
The good news is that we know you read it! (Maybe that was our intention really). Thanks for the feedback, we've made the correction, and will be more careful in the future, so please stay tuned.
The good news is that we know you read it! (Maybe that was our intention really). Thanks for the feedback, we've made the correction, and will be more careful in the future, so please stay tuned.
Circle Check City Challenge
While we were in Toronto, Lindsey and I were in a small, independent bead shop on Queen St (called Arton Beads). (Lindsey for far more time than I!), and in my quick Circle Check of their space, I was impressed by the ways in which they made their relatively tiny space "exceptional" in a lot of ways.
Prices were very clearly marked on all items, specials and discounts were clearly communicated on signs throughout the store, and there were reminders to use your PST exemption and store rewards card for savings. For a non-beader like myself, the store appeared well organized so that items would be easy to find, even if it was a bit "institutional" or "functional" in its feel (in contrast to the more "inspiring" or "creative" decor of a competitor across the street - signs of the different markets they each pursue). The cash register in the back corner even had a sign over it that literally said "Yes, you can pay here."
That got me thinking about if this seemingly high quality of communication and "easiness" of doing business that their space offered to customers was the norm for small businesses in the hyper-competitive markets of a big city like Toronto as a "baseline" for the city, or was this business an exceptional anomaly? And, how would small businesses in other, perhaps less intensive competitive environments in smaller centres compare?
So, as a result, the Circle Check City Challenge has been born!
As we begin to travel to other cities more and more for our training sessions and in support of our book launch over the remainder of this year, we will be doing or own Circle Checks of random small businesses in different places, and posting our findings here. We are anxious to learn about how small businesses in different competitive environments are performing in designing and maintaining their physical space, and leveraging it for the maximum benefit in their businesses.
Stay tuned for the results!
Prices were very clearly marked on all items, specials and discounts were clearly communicated on signs throughout the store, and there were reminders to use your PST exemption and store rewards card for savings. For a non-beader like myself, the store appeared well organized so that items would be easy to find, even if it was a bit "institutional" or "functional" in its feel (in contrast to the more "inspiring" or "creative" decor of a competitor across the street - signs of the different markets they each pursue). The cash register in the back corner even had a sign over it that literally said "Yes, you can pay here."
That got me thinking about if this seemingly high quality of communication and "easiness" of doing business that their space offered to customers was the norm for small businesses in the hyper-competitive markets of a big city like Toronto as a "baseline" for the city, or was this business an exceptional anomaly? And, how would small businesses in other, perhaps less intensive competitive environments in smaller centres compare?
So, as a result, the Circle Check City Challenge has been born!
As we begin to travel to other cities more and more for our training sessions and in support of our book launch over the remainder of this year, we will be doing or own Circle Checks of random small businesses in different places, and posting our findings here. We are anxious to learn about how small businesses in different competitive environments are performing in designing and maintaining their physical space, and leveraging it for the maximum benefit in their businesses.
Stay tuned for the results!
The Subway Stations in Toronto - definitely not exceptional!
Matt and I ventured to Toronto on Friday for an e-Publishing workshop and couldn't help but do a circle check everywhere we went - including the subway station. For you Torontonians, you have probably become so accustomed to it that you don't even notice the physical surroundings, but for an outsider like me, it was barely 'comfortable' let alone 'exceptional'. In our book, Trucker Management, we talk about the difference between a business that makes it comfortable for their customers vs a business that makes it exceptional. So back to my day, the reality and what it could have been better.
When I got into the subway, as a newbie, I had no idea where to start. Did I need to find the appropriate subway station or do they all meet in the same place? There were some maps around on the walls that helped me, but there was only one person working in the booth and the line-up was at least 15 people long. I saw a machine marked "tokens", so I put the money in and out popped a token. The only problem was, I didn't know what to do with the token. Did I still need to wait in the line and give it to the person? Or did this token work in the drop spots in the turnstiles? I was also still apprehensive about putting my money in, entering, and then realizing I was in the wrong spot with no way out. Everyone around me was going so fast. I didn't see a smile or a person that looked approachable for support. So on I went. When I got to the platform (I was at Union Station) there were two sides, with two trains going different directions. Thank goodness one of them was the Yonge Train and where I was going to was on Yonge. If not, I may have ended up on some other adventure I guess. At the end of the journey, I arrived in one piece - and fairly quickly too.
So how could the TTC have made my journey exceptional? Here's some ideas:
When I got into the subway, as a newbie, I had no idea where to start. Did I need to find the appropriate subway station or do they all meet in the same place? There were some maps around on the walls that helped me, but there was only one person working in the booth and the line-up was at least 15 people long. I saw a machine marked "tokens", so I put the money in and out popped a token. The only problem was, I didn't know what to do with the token. Did I still need to wait in the line and give it to the person? Or did this token work in the drop spots in the turnstiles? I was also still apprehensive about putting my money in, entering, and then realizing I was in the wrong spot with no way out. Everyone around me was going so fast. I didn't see a smile or a person that looked approachable for support. So on I went. When I got to the platform (I was at Union Station) there were two sides, with two trains going different directions. Thank goodness one of them was the Yonge Train and where I was going to was on Yonge. If not, I may have ended up on some other adventure I guess. At the end of the journey, I arrived in one piece - and fairly quickly too.
So how could the TTC have made my journey exceptional? Here's some ideas:
- a big sign that says 'New to the TTC: here's some tips'
- having ambassadors in the crowd seeking out and helping 'newbies' like me
- providing better signage like 'you are here'
- audio messages reviewing the steps of using the TTC
- and maybe even more proactive and having information available on the train so that I could have read it ahead of time and being organized and prepared on arrival
Just what the heck are they talking about?
To orient you a little bit in our approach to small business management, perhaps a brief explanation of our forthcoming book would be helpful, to make you more familiar with our “lingo”.
We developed Trucker Management to allow busy entrepreneurs to efficiently address both the small daily details and the long-term considerations of their businesses simultaneously. It establishes easy-to-implement routines and provides specific practical tools for use by the small business owner to “drive” their business towards success, similar to the long-established tools and proven practices used by truckers to drive their complex rigs towards their destinations through busy and unpredictable environments.
“Trucker Management”, both the book and the approach, consists of three main sections, each mirroring a tool or resource that truckers have available to help them reach their destinations.
The “Small Business Circle Check” ™ is the daily, objective physical inspection small business owners should undertake of their premises, both outside and inside, to monitor their maintenance and the ways in which they add value to the business overall.
Your “Small Business Dashboard” ™ consists of a number of gauges or instruments to better let you continually monitor the various human, competitive, financial and other aspects of your small business. Reading it regularly will keep you constantly informed about the state of your business and its components.
“Small Business Mechanics” ™ are the means through which you then actually implement action and undertake change, steering, accelerating or braking on your journey in business.
Hopefully these brief descriptions might help make future posts make sense!
We developed Trucker Management to allow busy entrepreneurs to efficiently address both the small daily details and the long-term considerations of their businesses simultaneously. It establishes easy-to-implement routines and provides specific practical tools for use by the small business owner to “drive” their business towards success, similar to the long-established tools and proven practices used by truckers to drive their complex rigs towards their destinations through busy and unpredictable environments.
“Trucker Management”, both the book and the approach, consists of three main sections, each mirroring a tool or resource that truckers have available to help them reach their destinations.
The “Small Business Circle Check” ™ is the daily, objective physical inspection small business owners should undertake of their premises, both outside and inside, to monitor their maintenance and the ways in which they add value to the business overall.
Your “Small Business Dashboard” ™ consists of a number of gauges or instruments to better let you continually monitor the various human, competitive, financial and other aspects of your small business. Reading it regularly will keep you constantly informed about the state of your business and its components.
“Small Business Mechanics” ™ are the means through which you then actually implement action and undertake change, steering, accelerating or braking on your journey in business.
Hopefully these brief descriptions might help make future posts make sense!
Welcome!
Hello and thanks for checking out our little online "soapbox".
We are a pair of career entrepreneurs whose personal and professional passions centre around helping other small business owners become successful. We know from our own experiences how challenging and intimidating it can be to declare yourself an "entrepreneur" and start your own business. And, even more so, how hard it can be to maintain and grow your business once it's started.
In 2005, we created IGNITE Consulting as the vehicle through which we could better share our own experience and ideas, offering innovative training and other resources to entrepreneurs, would-be business owners, and the entities that assist and support them. IGNITE stands for Innovating, Growing, Nuturing, Inspiring & Training Entrepreneurs.
Our most recent venture (okay, not MOST recent, as this blog probably qualifies for that designation) is to write and publish a book entitled "Trucker Management: Driving your small business to success". The book will be launched in May of this year, and accompanied by different speaking and training tours across Canada and beyond, and will include literally dozens of practical resources and immediately usable tools.
In this space, we will offer different ideas and observations about many different aspects of entrepreneurship and small business ownership as they come to mind, inspired by our surroundings and interactions, and hopefully many of which others will find useful and adoptable in your own small business. Some will undoubtedly relate to the content of our book, and much of it likely won't.
So, enjoy reading - and please feel free to comment along the way!.
We are a pair of career entrepreneurs whose personal and professional passions centre around helping other small business owners become successful. We know from our own experiences how challenging and intimidating it can be to declare yourself an "entrepreneur" and start your own business. And, even more so, how hard it can be to maintain and grow your business once it's started.
In 2005, we created IGNITE Consulting as the vehicle through which we could better share our own experience and ideas, offering innovative training and other resources to entrepreneurs, would-be business owners, and the entities that assist and support them. IGNITE stands for Innovating, Growing, Nuturing, Inspiring & Training Entrepreneurs.
Our most recent venture (okay, not MOST recent, as this blog probably qualifies for that designation) is to write and publish a book entitled "Trucker Management: Driving your small business to success". The book will be launched in May of this year, and accompanied by different speaking and training tours across Canada and beyond, and will include literally dozens of practical resources and immediately usable tools.
In this space, we will offer different ideas and observations about many different aspects of entrepreneurship and small business ownership as they come to mind, inspired by our surroundings and interactions, and hopefully many of which others will find useful and adoptable in your own small business. Some will undoubtedly relate to the content of our book, and much of it likely won't.
So, enjoy reading - and please feel free to comment along the way!.
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