Entrepreneurial Center

By Julie Mierau  NOTE: THIS POST IS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON THE NEW BLOG AT www.iwccsbdc.wordpress.com.

Perservance and just plain hard work are the hallmarks of small business owners. Sometimes it helps to have a little bit of luck thrown in.

I was having coffee yesterday with a friend — an extremely talented, hard-working graphic artist and designer. She told me she finally got a contract with a big-time Omaha company. Here’s how it happened: She called on this company repeatedly for several years and was told each time that they handled all their graphics work in house. She kept calling. And calling. And calling.

And she just happened to call one day when the graphics department was particularly overloaded. So she was able to get a short-term contract to assist in production, which she has turned into a repeat contract for ongoing business.

Just goes to show that persistance and luck can work together to make your business successful.

I have not posted here for a while, mainly because we have done a minor redesign of our blog.  Because of some limitations, we are moving the url to the blog to www.iwccsbdc.wordpress.com.  If you have subscribed to this blog, please note the change and make the appropriate changes.  We will continue to post here for a short while to make sure that we catch everyone that reads us on a regular basis. 

Today Ken Gaebler of Gaebler Venture Resources for Entrepreneurs wrote a glowing blog post about the Small Business Developement Centers (SBDC)  and what we do for small businesses through out the United States.  Ken does a great job explaining exactly what it is we as SBDC’s do.  Check it out at http://www.gaebler.com/ASBDC-America-Small-Business-Development-Centers.htm.  For more information on the SBDC network go the Association of Small Business Development Centers or ASBDC or visit the Iowa SBDC website at www.iowasbdc.org.

For some, this question is simple.  You will either vote democratic or republican.  These party lines have defined how we vote for most of our adult lives.  Events, people and things have influenced us to choose our definite side and therefore our candidate of choice.  As Entrepreneurs,  I think the answer to “who will you vote for”  should be a little more thoughtful.  Many federal laws and regulations can directly affect your industry, your employees and your company.  So before you push that familiar R or D button, I challenge you to do a thorough comparison of the issues that effect your business and your personal life just to make sure you are on the right side. Start your investigation at Inc Magazine’s “Entrepreneur Guide to the Presidential Election 2008″.  As I come across more information on the 2008 Presidential Election as it relates to your small business I will post it here.  And if you have any links, thoughts, or information on the election please feel free to comment here.  I will only post things that are non-biased.   

Whether you are starting a new business, or just trying to survive in the business that you have owned and ran for years, market research is a neccesary evil.  The good news is that it doesn’t always have to be a 100 page document, complicated, or costly.  It just depends what the reason is that you are doing the research for.  If the reason is connected to alot of money you may need to hire some market research proffesionals to conduct a complicated feasibilty study. 

In most cases Market Research can be conducted on your own.  If  you are trying to see if your idea is feasible, or if you need to prove to a financial partner that your idea will stick, the three main things you want to focus on are:

1. Customers - Who are they?  What do they want? Where Do they live? How do they buy your type of product or service? How much will they pay?

2. Market and Industry - What is your industry like in the market that you plan to serve?  What are the trends? What are the obstacles? What is pricing like? How many potential customers are there?

3. Competition - Who are they in your market? What are their strengths?  What are their weaknesses?  What is your competitive advantage or how are you different from them?

Of course, this is a very simplified approach, but a great start.  The James J. Hill library has a great website at www.biztoolkit.com to get you started in these areas. 

And, as always, the SBDC is here to help in anyway that we can.  The IWCC SBDC has more resources to help in your market research efforts.  SBDC counseling is alway free!  Call 712-256-6552 or email me at spitts@iwcc.edu.

posted by Julie Mierau, September 3, 2008 

As business owners, we all want to be experts in offering outstanding customer service. Every business claims to offer great service to its customers – and every business strives to do so at all times and to all customers.

But sometimes even the companies with the best customer service can have that service go wrong. Some customers make demands we can’t meet. Some have preconceived notions that are unrealistic. Some are just plain crabby and seem to want to bring out the worst in our employees or ourselves.

Because business owners and our employees are also human, we, too, sometimes are crabby or have a bad day or just can’t seem to smile all the time. So then what?

Follow your own best instincts.

• Sometimes you need to apologize (sometimes profusely) to a customer who has had an unsatisfactory interaction with your company. “I’m so sorry that we couldn’t find the product you wanted. Please give us a chance to offer you a replacement or another service to take its place.”
• Sometimes you need to explain circumstances that would otherwise be none of the customer’s business. “I apologize for forgetting your appointment. We had a death in the family, and I lost track of my calendar. Can we reschedule for another time?”
• And sometimes you just need to let that customer go. (We can’t make everyone happy with every interaction, no matter how hard we try.) “We understand that you wanted a Swiss massage, and we’re sorry you weren’t happy with the massage we provided. Perhaps another massage therapist will better suit your needs. Let me refer to you to an expert in that area.”

The next time you have an unsatisfactory interaction with an employee or a company, try to assess how the situation could have been best handled. And then put those same guidelines into practice in your own business.

One of my favorite daily marketing fixes on the web is Marketingprofs.com.  Here you will find blogs, articles and tips about marketing for your small business.  The blog is comprised of contributors that in my mind are the best of the best in the marketing world.

Earlier this week Jane Schulte, author of “Work Smart, Not Hard” submitted a piece titled “Make Nice”.  Ms. Schulte illustrates the importance of customer service by talking about Saturn and how they burst onto the new automobile scene not by introducing great new cars but by simply being nice to their potential customers. 

Saturn has made their mark by changing an industry standard.  They treated their customers nicely and made car shopping, a notoriously a bad experience, into a very good, easy and even fun experience.

This should be a lesson learned for local, small businesses.  It is so easy to write in your advertisements that you have good customer service.  Now is the time that you back it up.  What do you do for EVERY customer that screams “we will take care of you”?  What do your customers want?  What are their complaints?  Go online and read your company’s reviews as well as your competitors. Ask your customers.  Ask your family.  Find something to incorporate into the service of your customers that will make them tell their friends how great you are.  And one last note:  Don’t forget to change the mundane “we have great customer service” line in your marketing to something extraordinary.  Tell them what you will do for them in delivering great customer service.  I just recently went to a dentist solely based on the fact that they advertised that I did not have to feel “embarrassed” or “ashamed” by the fact that I was well past my “regular checkup” deadline. 

Entrepreneur Magazine has announced their nominees for the 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards at http://www.entrepreneur.com/eoy/index.html.  They have 2 categories.  There is a category for established entrepreneurs and one for emerging entrepreners.  I was surprised to see that the nominees have down to earth stories.  Stories that could easily happen here in Southwest Iowa.  Often times we tend to think that in order to have the next best business, we need to invent the next google or find the solution to rising gasoline prices  These people have simply developed great products.  And they obviously have done something right along the way to get where they are.   I encourage anyone starting a business or who is already in business to check out the nominees.  Look through their websites and take notes.  You just might pick up some pointers.

Nominees are:
Established Entrepreneurs -
VerveLife, Vosges-Haut Chocolat, Volusion, Simply Self Storage, The Great American Hanger Company

Emerging Entrepreneurs
SimplySoles, PatioShoppers, Inc, Sweetriot, ViewGuard Brand, Inc, BabyGags, Inc.

Yesterday, my kids and I took our annual “last hurrah” summer trip to the Iowa State Fair.  I grew up in Minnesota and spent many a summer day and evening enjoying Minnesota’s fair.  I have taken that tradition down to my kids and try to make it to the Iowa fair once a year. 

On this trip I noticed some expert salesmanship that small businesses should take note of for their next show, exhibit and event.

Fair sales tip #1 – Don’t let them “think” about the sale.
 Make the most of your presentation and offer customers something they can’t refuse.  If they don’t buy now, they will not get the same offer (unless they sit through another presentation). The Super Chammy guy in the grandstand was an expert at this.  His presentation was 3 ½ minutes long.  In the beginning he wowed his small audience by dumping a whole liter of cola onto a 12X12 square of white carpet.  He then soaked the whole thing up with his magic Super Chammy, leaving behind no stain and an almost dry carpet (I know, I felt it myself).  The next minute was used to share other uses for the Chammy. Use it for spills, dishes, cars and even swimmers (my kids are swimmers and were immediately sold when they were told Michael Phelps uses one after he swims). The last 30 seconds were spent talking about price. And then he did it.  He told us that the first 5 lucky people who raised their hands would receive a 2 for 1 deal.  Amazing.  He immediately counted the hands to five, and took his twenty bucks from each.  Did the not so lucky losers leave the area?  No!  They loitered around until he did his next presentation one minute later.   3 ½ minutes later he easily sold 5 more deals.    The trick to this is to truly offer something special and be honest in your presentation.  The Shami guy did have a great product.  The product did what it was supposed to do.  And the offer was better than they offer on the internet.  His profit was smaller, but he was selling more volume than he usually would.

Fair Sales Tip #2 -Make your buyers advertise for you – Notice that when you go to a fair or exhibit there are one or two things that you see everyone carrying around. You want to ask them where they got it, don’t you?  Yesterday it was the Super Chammy and a hair tie(name unkown). The Shamis were not packaged in a bag. Instead they were rolled up and bound together with a rubber band and a flyer advertising the website, etc.  Everywhere you looked Shami’s were sticking out of peoples purses, backpacks and bags.  Personally, I knew I needed one before I even hit the grandstand.

The other product was a hair tie that magically transformed your little girl into a ballerina princess. Every little girl under the age of 10 with shoulder length hair was sporting a little ballerina bun and a huge proud smile.  When we hit the grandstand I watched my 9 year old daughter’s eyes searching for something.  Bingo! She spotted the booth and the line of little girls.  Of course we went and got in line. Instead of just shopping for our favorite color, a sales person took Leah’s hand and led her to a chair.  2 minutes later, she was a little ballerina with big pouty “please please please” eyes.  What mother on earth would make her take that of her hair and walk away as a has-been ballerina.  Certainly not me! We bought it, and she kept it in her hair to join the other little sales girls out on the fairgrounds.  We were asked 3 times where we got it.

Sales Tip # 3 Line Them Up – Ever notice how people will line up behind other people just to see what everyone is waiting for.  This phenomenon was everywhere.  Booth owners caught on to this very quickly.  Instead of offering free stuff for people to walk up and grab, business owners arranged their giveaways and samples in a systematic way so that people had to start at the beginning and go all the way to the end.  There was free items and samples in the beginning, middle and end. What was in between all of this free stuff?  Sales people. Brochures. And of course things to buy!.  And people were buying right there.  Who would want to wait in line again!  Again, this approach minimizes people “thinking” about the purchase and coming back later. 

The National Grants Coference is coming to Omaha for two conferences this week and next. The basic premise to NDC is that they bring people into to the conference to sell them a program or book on how to actually FIND the grants that are out there and available to small businesses, home owners etc.  The amount of the program is about $900 to $1000.  

What you should know about investing in this service is that federal grant information is public information and that there are free resources that will help sort through the process.  The SBDC’s are one such resource.  The SBDC’s in Iowa and in Nebraska have been helping businesses for over 25 years.  Each regional SBDC office is very familiar with local and federal financing options and will readily explore new options that come available so that we can better serve our clients.

The harsh reality about federal “free money” is that it is very, very rare for private businesses to be eligible.  Usually, local, non-profit organizations are eligible for federal grants.  These entities apply for funding and then in turn may provide programs on a local level for businesses and business start ups.  The SBDC’s keep track of these programs and help clients utilize them to their full potential.  These programs may include grants, but most likely include incentives, loans, and other forms of help.  Before you invest any kind of $$’s into finding “free money” investigate the company thoroughly.  Visit the Better Business Bureau and make use of our friend Google.  Last but not least, Here is an older, but active blog post regarding NDC from the  Del Mar College Small Business Development Center Blog.