...Do I Have to Beg You to Take My Money?

 

I was shopping at a Big Box store (think Sam’s or Costco) the other day.  When I went to check out they had two registers open- two- count ‘em –two, with lines trailing down the aisles.    I was talking to the lady behind me and said that I hate to have to beg someone to take my money. 

This happens at this same store on the weekends also – which I don’t understand.  Managers know what times are busy and what times they need to have people on cash registers, yet you almost always have to wait and wait for a line to open. I don’t mind waiting in line, but I do mind seeing only two cash registers open with people backed up in the aisles waiting on service.   

So, I’m wondering when you are running your business- do customers have to wait a long time for your service or product?  Do you or your staff call people back in a timely fashion?  Do you say on your voice mail that you will call back by the end of the day and fulfill that each and every time?  If you don’t, you will be losing potential customers and current ones too.  The old saying is true- you should always under promise and over deliver.  This builds your customer confidence. 

If people find it a hassle to get in touch with you or you do not return phone calls or deliver goods/services when you say you will, those customers will go to someone who will. I can tell you that when our Big Box store membership comes due this summer we will be checking out their competitor to see if they do a better job.   

Midwestern Yoda

“Hang around with people who are better than you are,”  Warren Buffett

Another great quote from the Midwestern Yoda! As he has been so aptly named.

I have always believed this concept to be true.  Hanging out with people who are better than you, leads to you bettering yourself. As the same concept is true- hanging out with ne’er do wells usually leads kids down the wrong path, as did hangin’ out with the “wrong crowd.”  You always hear the neighbor on the news saying “Well he was a good kid until he started hanging out with the wrong crowd,” after some heinous crime.

So shouldn’t the same concept be true for hangin’ out with people who are better than you? I don’t think he meant better than you in the snobbish way. But rather, better than you as a person, as someone who has more education, more training or even a better job than you.  What it does for us is it makes us want to do better.  When we hang out with people who are achieving amazing things, we want to achieve those things too.  

Why not take that concept and use it find people that you want to be like.  As a young college student I always looked for mentors at school, women who could teach me to be like they were. I did this when I got out into the world of work. My mentor was someone who ran a nonprofit. I knew one day I would do the same thing, so I watched her, who she worked with, how she handled situations, and how she resolved conflict and moved up.  This served me well as I was growing into my career.

Who we hang out with as friends and colleagues can have a huge impact on what we do.  So, look around and decide, am I hanging out with the people who make me want to be a better person? If not, maybe you need to start keeping better company.  

Yep, Warren Buffett Still Rocks!

 “Fellow males, get onboard. The closer that America comes to fully employing the talents of all its citizens, the greater its output of goods and services will be. We've seen what can be accomplished when we use 50% of our human capacity. If you visualize what 100% can do, you'll join me as an unbridled optimist about America's future.” Warren Buffett

This is from an essay from Warren Buffett after The Women’s Conference recently held.  This is the last part of his essay but I believe the most powerful part of the message.  Teaching everyone that by helping women fulfill their own potential helps everyone achieve their goals.  So many times, women have been taught to value themselves less than their male colleagues.  They also get paid well below their male colleagues for the same work. 

As a business owner your goal when hiring should be to hire the person that best fits your job opening.  Hiring biases do nothing for the company but deprive them of the right kind of talent.  Looking at the person as a whole, based on their degree (if required), their experience and the knowledge and specific skill set they bring to the table.   Each business owner can help their business grow by hiring the most talented and competent person for the job no matter the gender. 

Image Source

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and

Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...Warren Buffett Rocks! Just check out the video proof

 “But at every turn my sisters would be told -- more through signals than words -- that success for them would be "marrying well." I was meanwhile hearing that the world's opportunities were there for me to seize.”  Warren Buffett from his Fortune magazine essay. 

For many years, women were taught to ensure their future they should marry well.  If they did get to college it was to hook a husband.  So much has changed but yet so much has remained the same.    Recently my mother told me that a distant female cousin of mine was graduating from high school AND getting married.   Both my mother and I were amazed and confused.  We talked about what potential she had and for the life of me; I could not understand the concept of getting married at that age. 

But then again, my mother always taught me (a child of the 80s) that I did not have to marry.  I was lucky enough to go to college and then graduate school.  Marriage was an option, a choice, but so was my career path.  I was never told by my mother that I needed to get married.  When I passed by 30^th birthday then my 35^th she never told me I was less than I should be because I wasn’t married.  But I was fulfilling my career path.

We all need strong role models in order to help us fulfill the potential within us.  I believe looking to men and women who teach young women that they can do anything they want is the best gift we can give the next generation. 

Making sure that women are empowered by everyone is a concept that will one day become a reality.   

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and

Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...At Least They Tried

I was reading a string of emails on a list serve regarding failing businesses.  One person asked if business failure is a step toward success and stated that most people will experience it along the way.  But another person wrote that failure is not always on the path to success and that planning is the key.

So, does a perfectly well thought out business plan spell success?  Or does it take a few failures along the way to get it right?  Honestly, I’ve seen it both ways. I have run across more and more people, who after filing bankruptcy are starting their own business.  I have seen people who have had great success their first time around with no planning at all. I’ve seen businesses with great planning and forethought fail miserably.

What then is the key to success? I wish I knew.  I’d definitely spread the word.  Here’s what I believe. I believe that just because you have seen failure doesn’t mean you can’t have success. I believe that everyone can get lucky sometimes and with no planning, strike it successful with a great business.  I believe that it is also possible that all the planning in the world won’t guarantee success.

So the formula is elusive.  There really isn’t a one size fits all do this and it will work plan for making a go of a small business.  But I believe that everyone who is successful and everyone who fails has one thing in common- they all tried.  

Image Source

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and

Twitter @BizWorksCenter

...The Dreaded Bifocals

Right before my last birthday I had an eye exam.  It had been exactly a year and I knew my eyesight was getting worse. I have been lucky to get away with the “cheater” glasses you can buy anywhere to help you read. 

My eyesight had changed drastically since my last exam and it was time for the dreaded bifocals!  I have four older sisters that are a decade to a decade and a half older than I am.  So, I know what is ahead of me by watching what happens to them. I have been watching each of them get bifocals or reading glasses and knew this day would come for me.

So, I went to a local vendor and was talked into a set of tech-ease glasses. They are supposed to work for people who need to read and work on a computer.  Long story short, I hated them.  They gave me head and neck aches trying to adjust for a little over a week. 

I took them back to the place because the man told me not to worry because I had thirty days to bring them back and get something else.  But, the lady who had the displeasure (apparently) of having me bring them back provided a not so pleasant experience. 

Was she rude?  No not really.  But she made it clear that she didn’t want to “deal” with a return especially one that involved insurance.  All I wanted was simple reading glasses. 

She decided to take one pair back and put in reading lens for me. That way she wouldn’t have to “deal” with insurance yet if I didn’t like these glasses. 

The point of this story is that customer service in some places seems to be non-existent.  As long as I am spending money with you, you will treat me just great. But when I have a return, you can forget the niceties. 

Will I ever go back there for another pair of glasses?  Not in a million years.  There are too many other places that will take my business.  So, be careful when you or your employees are working with a customer who is unhappy or needs to make a change that will cost you time.  The way you treat that customer may cost you more than time, it may cost you their business.  

Image Source

Suzanne Cormier

Executive Director

BizWorks (Small Business Incubator)

Follow Suzanne Cormier on Facebook and

Twitter @BizWorksCenter