Businesses shut down this week
Labor Day is almost here, no reason to work too hard this week, right? WRONG!
In following up with some clients over the weekend and this morning, all too often I m hearing the excuse that this will be a slow week so why put too much effort in.
Unless you are personally going on vacation, closing your business for the week, or have some other legitimate reason for laying low this week, hibernating this week makes as much sense as saying; well, next week is a 4 day work week, it will be slow, I may as well ratchet down for awhile then as well.
While I acknowledge that some people are taking off time for the holiday, many more are not and here are some facts to remember.
- Most college kids have returned to campus and many K-12 schools start this week. As a result, many parents are not taking off this or next week.
- With a still struggling economy, people are not taking vacations in the same way (i.e. week-long) in the way that they did in previous years. As a result, they are working.
- Not everybody takes vacation this or next week. Many people wait until after Labor Day to save money and avoid crowds.
With all this in mind, my advice is very simple. Be the one who stands out this week. When you contact people this and next week, let them be impressed by the fact that you are present and available to serve whatever needs they may have.
Lastly, while there are many needy charities and causes to keep in mind these days, please do what you can to suport Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) this coming weekend.
Dennis the Menace starts a business
Despite what you may think, this is a great time to teach our youth valuable lessons about entrepreneurship.
Back in the day before print media started withering away, kids had an early opportunity to start their own business via a paper or magazine route.
Truth be told though, even if newspapers and magazines had not faltered so badly, with good reason, parents became are very leery of sending their children out to sell and deliver newspapers, boy/girl scout cookies, etc. It just became easier to give your kid some money and thus, theoretically, out of harms way.
An unexpected consequence of this is that many kids lost their desire to earn their own money by doing things such as mowing lawns or shoveling snow.
Recessions, even severe ones like this present a great opportunity for people to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. Why not take this time to help a young person explore their very own business ideas? Not only will you be helping them, ultimately you might just help them uncover a product that will benefit us all!
I bet you think in an economic downturn like this small businesses should be spending less. If so, WRONG answer!
This is a very good article and I strong encourage my readers to check it out.
Greg Gould, director of the Maine Small Business Development Center in Portland. “You should be spending more in a slow economy, not less.”
This is one of my favorite quotes from this article. Please take the time to check out the piece as well as the suggestions offered at the bottom in the slide show.
Do you want my business?
Are you open to input to improve your bottom line?
My son and I were passing through a town and stopped by a local restaurant for lunch. After checking out the menu we decided to go in and patronize this establishment.
The food was very good and the service was even better! Unfortunately not all was positive. It seemed like every two minutes the kitchen was repetitively signaling the waitresses to pick up their orders with a very annoying bell. I literally had a headache by the end of our meal.
When we paid the bill I expected the cashier to ask how our meal and experience was; she did not. I then volunteered my feedback and suggested that they replace the bell with a paging system or at the very least mounted colored lights with a different color assigned to each server.
If I were to tell you that my suggestions were welcomed with enthusiasm I would be lying! The cashier, who was obviously also an owner was annoyed and retorted with the following statement- “It must be you since none of our other customers complain.” My reply was very simple.- “I am glad that your other customers have no issues and I am sorry to have brudened you with my business, fear not, I won’t let it happen again.”
If you own a business you are always subject to customers offering you their suggestions. Some will be good, and some will not. Either way it is incumbent upon you to acknowledge the input, welcome it, and thank the people for caring enough to offer it whether you implement it or not.
Is the Bureau of Census (BoC) really being honest with us? Should we believe the information that we are being offered? Please read my short piece on this and share your own thoughts.
What questions should you really ask a market research vendor? Do they focus on the process and ignore the results? Is your RFI (request for information) process asking all of the needed questions?…
Do Not Get Tattoos!
If you have visible tattoos do you sincerely believe that you will get the job that you really want?
Sure there are places where obvious tattoos won’t matter and in fact you may fit in very well Based on research conducted by Powerfeedback however, with a ratio of 9 to 1, employers in a anonymous nationwide survey said they would not hire people with facial piercings (except for earrings) or exposed tattoos.
I am fortunate to be asked to speak to college students on a regular basis. When this topic comes up I usually get lots of eye rolling, expressions of disbelief and vocal complaining. What seems like a good idea in your late teens and early twenties usually turns into regret later on in life.
In this economy applicants do not need potential employers distracted by body art. Likewise, do you really want to wear long sleeves and pants every day?
So please, think before you ink!
Webistes for small businesses
Small businesses need websites yet most can not afford them. We hear this from our clients regularly. All too many businesses go without a website, or have a very rudimentary version of one.
Confidential Counselor has developed a way to overcome this problem. We are now offering small businesses a simple way to deploy a professional website with NO upfront costs. Instead, you pay a minimal monthly fee.
You will find a link to this service on our homepage or you can simply click here.
Please don’t wait any longer to tell the world about the wonderful services and products that you offer. We can have you up and running within days. As always, if you have questions, email me personally.
