Businesses open and close every day, and there is no shortage of advice from so-called “experts” about what you should have, could have, or would have done to be a success. Everyone, it seems, is an expert. Even more people are critics.
In fact, the longer you’re in business you’ll realize how a lot of people will have a lot of great ideas about how they think you should do things. (Which makes me wonder, if they’re such experts, why they’re not running their own company!) It’s good to have mentors and learn from those with more experience than you. So, yes, listen to them and take it all in but, just because they said it doesn’t mean you have to do it.
Stay true to your personality, your way of doing things and listen to your gut instinct before making any major decisions about your product, your service or, for heaven’s sake, your company. If you like someone’s advice or think it’s reasonable for you, if your counselors are true and trust is not an issue, you can use it but if you don’t like it don’t use it.
Case in point: one consultant recommended a particular supplier to print the labels for our bottles. Unfortunately, the supplier didn’t have the 4 x 7 die cut that we needed for our labels to look the way we really wanted them to.
Instead, the die cuts they had were 3.5 x 7 and 3 x 5, which were not appropriate for our very specific, very unique, very gourmet bottles. What’s more, if we had purchased the die cut from this particular supplier it was not going to become the property of McRae’s Foods. Instead, it would have become their property. We didn’t feel that was entirely fair because they could have used it for other printing not related to our company and its products (for which we were paying them to design labels).
Although the supplier misled the consultant by stating we just didn’t want to use their services, afterward I was so glad we decided not to use their services because I later discovered they were not the kind of people we wanted to do business with in the first place. (Curious about how the labels worked out? To see our finished product, you can check them out at www.mcraesfoods.com.)
Our barbecue sauces aren’t just made with a family recipe; our company literally revolves around family. Family members work here, family friends work here, friends of friends work here, too. Even those future employees who were strangers to us when they first interviewed are now like family and in good times and bad we stick together because of that family feeling.
It isn’t just a management style or business philosophy; it’s just how we are. It’s what makes us unique, what makes us special and, in a competitive marketplace it’s what makes us stand out as a proven brand with a known identity. And all of that comes from knowing where we wanted to go before we ever filled a bottle of barbecue sauce.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Business of YOU
In graduate school we are taught the ins and outs of business, how to write a mission statement, document a business plan, conduct a job interview and even fire employees. But nowhere on my MBA does it say “Start with YOU.”
So I’ll say it now: Start with YOU!
Whether you’re just starting a business, have been in business 20 years already or are simply in the planning stages, know this: there is no greater asset, no more helpful wisdom, no stronger force to your business success than trusting in yourself and following your own unique vision for your company.
Your personality drives everything about your business, from the design of your label to the name of your store to the snacks in the break room vending machine to your organizational structure.
If you don’t believe me, look at your company from the outside-in for once; ask your employees. They will tell you that, “Mr. Carlson likes to get his profit and loss statements by 3 p.m. sharp every Friday afternoon” or that “Ms. Harper insists we answer the phone with a specific script that naturally engages our customers…” Now, that common knowledge sends a very specific message to your employees, not just about how you handle your business but about how they should handle theirs.
Take a walk around the lobby some afternoon and really look around with an objective pair of second eyes. See it as if you’re seeing it for the very first time; pretend you’re a visitor and look at it as a visitor might.
From the color of the carpet to the wallpaper to the office decor, does it have your personal touches? Do the boxes down in shipping have your face on the side? Is your name a part of the company brand, the sauce, the bread, the muffins or the ice cream?
The smaller your company, the closer it will be identified with you and the bigger the company, the more responsibility you have to make sure that as you grow and even prosper you continue to retain that personality and uniqueness that only you possess.
So I’ll say it now: Start with YOU!
Whether you’re just starting a business, have been in business 20 years already or are simply in the planning stages, know this: there is no greater asset, no more helpful wisdom, no stronger force to your business success than trusting in yourself and following your own unique vision for your company.
Your personality drives everything about your business, from the design of your label to the name of your store to the snacks in the break room vending machine to your organizational structure.
If you don’t believe me, look at your company from the outside-in for once; ask your employees. They will tell you that, “Mr. Carlson likes to get his profit and loss statements by 3 p.m. sharp every Friday afternoon” or that “Ms. Harper insists we answer the phone with a specific script that naturally engages our customers…” Now, that common knowledge sends a very specific message to your employees, not just about how you handle your business but about how they should handle theirs.
Take a walk around the lobby some afternoon and really look around with an objective pair of second eyes. See it as if you’re seeing it for the very first time; pretend you’re a visitor and look at it as a visitor might.
From the color of the carpet to the wallpaper to the office decor, does it have your personal touches? Do the boxes down in shipping have your face on the side? Is your name a part of the company brand, the sauce, the bread, the muffins or the ice cream?
The smaller your company, the closer it will be identified with you and the bigger the company, the more responsibility you have to make sure that as you grow and even prosper you continue to retain that personality and uniqueness that only you possess.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What Makes YOU So Special?
Success, particularly in the specialty foods/gourmet sauce industry, depends on what niche you fill and how, exactly, you fill that niche. And in case you’re wondering, a niche is really a fancy way for asking, “Which shelf do you belong on?”
You know how the grocery store is arranged by items, grouped together, where they belong? So that the milk is with the milk, the dairy is with the diary, the spices are with the spices and, well, you get the idea. So the niche you fill is extremely important because it answers two questions for people:
1.) Where do you belong?
2.) What makes YOU so special?
And being special is what filling your niche is all about. For instance, Breyers® is known for ice cream, Vlasic® for pickles, Hellman’s® for mayonnaise and Tabasco® for hot sauce. And, while there are other players in each of those games, Breyers®, Vlasic®, Hellman’s® and Tabasco® are the big dogs in their niche and just about everybody else is running to keep up.
Of course, specializing gives you unique advantages even the big guys can’t enjoy. For instance, more preservatives give over-the-counter condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard a longer shelf-life but, according to most people, less taste.
Here is an opportunity! Here is an angle! Here is a great marketing pitch! More importantly, here is a way you can make having a petite budget, a family recipe, a small staff and less than state of the art production an advantage versus a disadvantage. Your job now is to reach those customers with news of your “specialty gourmet food” product and deliver quality every single time. That is how start-ups start-up; that is also how lifelong customers are made.
Every market, even the most competitive, has room for penetration; the reasons why one person buys my gourmet bottled barbecue sauce over, say, Heinz® or Bullseye® are wide and varied, but know that for every product, no matter how unique your niche, there IS a customer – you just have to find the right way to get to him or her.
I’ll confess, it isn’t always easy.
Starting a gourmet food business in these trying times takes not just great marketing skills but an absolute and unshakeable belief in what you do, how you do it and, frankly, the fact that you do it better (or at least differently) than anyone else in your niche – or on the shelf.
While succeeding in any business comes with its share of compromises – on everything from labels to product names to bottle size to factory speed to price point – one thing any new or successful business owner must never compromise on is his or her unique individuality in the marketplace.
Who you are really will determine how you succeed. You have to trust that you are good enough, smart enough, valuable enough and unique enough to find a home in your niche and eventually own it. Until you do that, no amount of money, time or effort can guarantee success.
Once you do that, the sky really IS the limit.
Being S.A.U.C.Y. is all about personalizing not just your product but your service, your approach, your company and your goals. This chapter provides our first ingredient of the S.A.U.C.Y. recipe, “Succeed On Your Own Terms,” by reinforcing the idea that there’s no better way to run a company than with a little sweetness and spice of your very own.
To stand out from the best, or even just the rest, you have to know what makes your product unique, what specifically makes it stand out, what sets it apart from all the rest in a way that only you can provide. The first place to look isn’t on the shelf, in the warehouse or on the line, but deep inside yourself:
You know how the grocery store is arranged by items, grouped together, where they belong? So that the milk is with the milk, the dairy is with the diary, the spices are with the spices and, well, you get the idea. So the niche you fill is extremely important because it answers two questions for people:
1.) Where do you belong?
2.) What makes YOU so special?
And being special is what filling your niche is all about. For instance, Breyers® is known for ice cream, Vlasic® for pickles, Hellman’s® for mayonnaise and Tabasco® for hot sauce. And, while there are other players in each of those games, Breyers®, Vlasic®, Hellman’s® and Tabasco® are the big dogs in their niche and just about everybody else is running to keep up.
Of course, specializing gives you unique advantages even the big guys can’t enjoy. For instance, more preservatives give over-the-counter condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard a longer shelf-life but, according to most people, less taste.
Here is an opportunity! Here is an angle! Here is a great marketing pitch! More importantly, here is a way you can make having a petite budget, a family recipe, a small staff and less than state of the art production an advantage versus a disadvantage. Your job now is to reach those customers with news of your “specialty gourmet food” product and deliver quality every single time. That is how start-ups start-up; that is also how lifelong customers are made.
Every market, even the most competitive, has room for penetration; the reasons why one person buys my gourmet bottled barbecue sauce over, say, Heinz® or Bullseye® are wide and varied, but know that for every product, no matter how unique your niche, there IS a customer – you just have to find the right way to get to him or her.
I’ll confess, it isn’t always easy.
Starting a gourmet food business in these trying times takes not just great marketing skills but an absolute and unshakeable belief in what you do, how you do it and, frankly, the fact that you do it better (or at least differently) than anyone else in your niche – or on the shelf.
While succeeding in any business comes with its share of compromises – on everything from labels to product names to bottle size to factory speed to price point – one thing any new or successful business owner must never compromise on is his or her unique individuality in the marketplace.
Who you are really will determine how you succeed. You have to trust that you are good enough, smart enough, valuable enough and unique enough to find a home in your niche and eventually own it. Until you do that, no amount of money, time or effort can guarantee success.
Once you do that, the sky really IS the limit.
Being S.A.U.C.Y. is all about personalizing not just your product but your service, your approach, your company and your goals. This chapter provides our first ingredient of the S.A.U.C.Y. recipe, “Succeed On Your Own Terms,” by reinforcing the idea that there’s no better way to run a company than with a little sweetness and spice of your very own.
To stand out from the best, or even just the rest, you have to know what makes your product unique, what specifically makes it stand out, what sets it apart from all the rest in a way that only you can provide. The first place to look isn’t on the shelf, in the warehouse or on the line, but deep inside yourself:
Monday, September 21, 2009
#1 Ingredient for a Successful Entrepeneur
The great thing about going into business for yourself is that you are going in to business with yourself. In other words, you are your own best partner, best confidant, best mentor and, when you really need it the most, best friend. Just like that nasty substitute teacher told me I’d never get anywhere because of my family history, my self told me he was wrong – and worked hard to prove him wrong.
But being yourself is about more than just feeling good. In business, being yourself is actually your best attitude. Those businesses that have personality, that standout, that make you remember them, that pay attention to the details, that help you identify them are basically those that have a unique identity. Oftentimes, that identity is as unique as its founder and CEO.
If you don’t believe me, try thinking about Microsoft without picturing Bill Gates. Can you hear the words “Virgin Records” and not think of its owner, Richard Branson? Remember how warm and fuzzy Dave Thomas always made you feel in his ads for Wendy’s?
Now imagine seeing the Apple logo and not thinking of Steve Jobs. And in my own neck of the woods, at least when it comes to barbecue, try thinking about Bush’s Baked Beans without picturing its owner and CEO, Jay Bush – and his dog Duke!
My point here is that you don’t have to worry if you don’t have an MBA, if your biggest investor is your great-grandfather’s coin collection or if your warehouse looks more like a one-room schoolhouse. You have you – your unique personality, views on life and vision for your company – and that’s the first step to success in any endeavor.
But being yourself is about more than just feeling good. In business, being yourself is actually your best attitude. Those businesses that have personality, that standout, that make you remember them, that pay attention to the details, that help you identify them are basically those that have a unique identity. Oftentimes, that identity is as unique as its founder and CEO.
If you don’t believe me, try thinking about Microsoft without picturing Bill Gates. Can you hear the words “Virgin Records” and not think of its owner, Richard Branson? Remember how warm and fuzzy Dave Thomas always made you feel in his ads for Wendy’s?
Now imagine seeing the Apple logo and not thinking of Steve Jobs. And in my own neck of the woods, at least when it comes to barbecue, try thinking about Bush’s Baked Beans without picturing its owner and CEO, Jay Bush – and his dog Duke!
My point here is that you don’t have to worry if you don’t have an MBA, if your biggest investor is your great-grandfather’s coin collection or if your warehouse looks more like a one-room schoolhouse. You have you – your unique personality, views on life and vision for your company – and that’s the first step to success in any endeavor.
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