...Getting Older

I just celebrated my birthday over the weekend and I’ve been thinking about the post I wrote on my personal Facebook page thanking everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I wrote- that I had shared it with people I love and you couldn’t ask for more than that.  So it got me to thinking, what am I thankful for? 

Most of us have a list of things and sometimes I try to just recite them in my head when I’m feeling grouchy or irritated.  I list those things that I am grateful for, those things I feel blessed with.  

On the business side, I think I’m happier in this phase of my life than I have ever been.  You know how sometimes things just seem to all be in place?  Our office functions like a well-oiled machine. 

I have two amazing people who work with me.  One has many years’ experience here and has the knowledge of the place along with being extremely efficient and talented.  The other one has a wisdom I wish I had.  She has the ability to work with any small business owner and get to the heart of the matter to help them.  So, as a team, we all work well together.  There is no office drama; no back stabbing it’s such a peaceful place to be.  I never worry about being out of the office, because I know things will be taken care of with expertise. 

I get to work with people who are excited about being their own boss and have dreams they are willing to work for.  People walk into our offices excited about the prospect of owning their own business and I get to help feed that dream.  

I also work with a great nonprofit board (not an easy thing to say for most ED’s of a nonprofit) that I get along with and respect.  So, they say as you grow older you are lucky if you find that place where you feel settled and happy. I think I’m in that place right now.  

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Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and

Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...My Futures So Bright, I Have to Wear Shades

I was having a conversation with a small business owner and she was saying that she had to have a discussion with someone about attitude.  Not the typical you have a bad attitude discussion.  This was about how the person saw themselves in the future and how being patient now would pay off with a brighter future.  We were talking about how some people were never taught to look to the future or to build a career.  They had no idea how to plan for the future. 

Interesting concept.  We can work and influence people to help them see that sometimes a job is just a job but sometimes, a job can lead to a career.  It’s our job as employers to help our employees see a future. A future with the company or a future in that chosen field.  What it does for our companies is help keep employees and can turn mediocre employees into great employees. 

Sometimes we have to help people see that what they are doing today may not be what they are doing in ten years.  We need to help them grow and expect to have a better future.  Is this easy to do? No, far from it.   There are people who have spent their whole lives being told they wouldn’t amount to anything or that they were stupid or worthless.  Overcoming the voices from their past may prove to be more than we can help with. But sometimes, there might be that one employee who sees that they can have a brighter career path and make it with a career instead of a job.  

Where each of us was ten years ago is probably not the same place we are in now   Teach an employee how important it is to have that patience to see the brighter future and sometimes you just might grow a mediocre employee into a great one.    

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...What You Want, You Can Do

I was watching a show called Eden Eats on the Cooking Channel this weekend.  Eden visits a city and eats over a 24 hour period (yeah- rough job) she goes to international food restaurants.  She also gets the owner’s story as most of them have immigrated here.  

This episode included a man from Tibet.  He spoke of how his father was a governor in Tibet and the government came in when he was eleven and executed his father and his sister and imprisoned him for three years.  He escaped and walked for a month to freedom. He made it to have a visit with the Dalai Lama.  He said he cried for hours with him and unburdened himself.  He eventually came to the U.S. and settled in Utah. 

I loved this story because of what he said about America, he said and I quote “America is freedom country, what you want you can do.”   What a simple yet complex statement.  What we want we can do.  How many times do we allow ourselves to think about all the things we can’t do instead of all the freedoms we have? 

I think it’s important to remember that here, starting your own business and living the life you want is yours for the taking.   I’ve always wondered why so many immigrants come to America and start a business that ends up being successful.  It occurred to me while listening to this man that starting a business in America was probably a piece of cake after surviving imprisonment and losing his family at such a young age.  

Sometimes, we take for granted all the things that make our lives easy here.  That’s not to say that some people don’t have rough lives here- they do. But we can wake up every day with the choice to start a business or run our business and our lives how we see fit.  And frankly I think that’s great.   

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Suzanne Cormier
Executive Director
BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)
Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and
Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...The Cost of Hiring Good Employees

“I don’t pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages. – Robert Bosch

I was struck by this quote and started thinking about how the small business owners we work with can be guilty of trying to pay wages that are too low.  Small business owners sometimes think too much of the bottom line when thinking about salary for employees.  It takes a couple of low paid employees for the owner to realize that they are getting exactly what they are paying for. 

I have worked with a business owner like that. She wants her company to succeed and needs the employees to help her achieve the goals set, but hasn’t been willing to pay the salary it will take to find qualified, trustworthy staff.  After several employees who just did not have the critical thinking skills she needed, she has come to the conclusion that bumping up the pay will help her hire the right employees. 

Now, it’s easy to say that money isn’t everything.  Of course a job isn’t all about money, but paying the right salary for the job requirement is important. When you pay less than you know the industry is asking then sometime you end up with people who  don’t have the talent or skill set you need, or who move on to a higher paying job the first chance they get. 

So when you are ready to hire, look around you and see what the going rate is for the type of employee you need to hire.  Pay them a decent salary – if there are any benefits you can offer, sick days, vacation days, holiday off that helps with job satisfaction too.  

It may not be easy but the cost of rehiring employees can be high plus the time you go without the employee in that position. 

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Suzanne Cormier
Executive Director
BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)
Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and
Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...Why I love a MAC

So when my husband wanted us to get an IMAC several years ago I looked at him like he was from outer space.  Get something other than a PC?  Try to learn how to use a new machine??? Well, he wore me down- we purchased a MAC and I have loved it ever since.  

So, recently we needed to buy more memory and updates, we called their help line and were able to speak to someone right away- someone knowledgeable and helpful.  We called one evening then called back the next day. We did not have to repeat the conversation- it was all there in notes from before- they guy was up to speed in seconds on what we needed. 

Also, our upgrades and additional memory were really inexpensive. So that evening we were sitting outside enjoying the evening and my husband said, “That is why I love a MAC, if this had been a PC it would have cost a lot of money to purchase what we did.”  And he was right. 

So, I started thinking about small business owners and how they actually help or prohibit people from buying their services or product.  Do you make it easy for someone to learn about you- to purchase from you and to even upgrade your services?  Do you offer reasonable deals to your long time customers and make sure they are still happy with your service? 

We all get lazy sometimes and think that we don’t need to check in or go the extra mile, but we do.  You need to make sure that choosing your business is an easy choice for someone and that staying with you has its benefits.  People have lots of choices out there and you need to be aware that making that extra effort might be the difference between keeping and losing a customer.  

Suzanne Cormier
Executive Director
BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)
Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and
Twitter @BizWorksCenter