SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS

How many businesses have you seen go under?  Too many for me, particularly of start-ups.

Who is to blame?  Obviously some individuals made some mistakes.  Perhaps they were naive, inexperienced, or under financed.  You might think the blame was on these individuals who were foolish enough to start a business, but I think you have to include us consumers.

It is easy to criticize other's failings from a safe viewing spot.  I have been an employee, an employer, a consumer, a salesman and have seen many failed businesses.  As a salesman I am conscious that the need for a salesperson comes from the fact that everyone is a creature of habit.  We feel comfortable when not rocking the boat.

Large companies have an advantage (most of them earned it): volume efficiencies, credibility, but also consumer habits.  But the larger they are the more they tend to be remote and have no emotional attachment to your concerns.  They operate on formulas and although flexible something is apt to get lost.

It is easy to underestimate what is needed.  To be successful it is necessary to have a lot of up front expenses as attracting attention requires marketing.  Too many these days rely on free marketing. Social media can be very helpful and needs to be attended to, but is not enough in itself.  The underlying assumption is that if they build a better mousetrap that people will flock to buy it.

Experience is an often abused word, but is critical.  The mechanics of the process of business have to be learned.   Before one is a manager one should understand the details of the business.  Maybe more important learn how to work with people.  Obviously there are groups and individuals that are willing to advise and many of them can make a difference.  New entrepreneurs need to be selective and not too proud to seek help.

Another problem that illustrates why the individual must be prepared is that most consumers are creatures of habit.  A few are mercenary and will seize advantages wherever they can.  Many will give a new entrepreneur some encouraging words and go back to their old habits.  Others will try to take advantage of introductory prices and then seek out other introductory deals.  Many will bargain in bad faith.  To build a sufficient base of loyal customers requires a lot of effort and other resources. Marketing is a skill.  Accounting is a skill.  Purchasing is a skill.  Customer relations is still another skill.  Many details--you can learn some of them by making the mistakes or you can pay someone (hopefully trustworthy) to avoid some of them.

As a consumer I see the advantages of dealing with huge corporations--McDonalds, the Keg, Best Buy,   When traveling to unfamiliar places it is reassuring to see a familiar company and their formulas are usually well thought out.  But there are advantages of dealing locally.  If you want to understand a different culture one way is to buy locally

Big companies are able to take advantage of you and that is true the bigger they get where they gain access to very sophisticated tools.  You really can't be friends with the actual owner unless you travel in their circles.  There is truly a tried and true formula to make you feel comfortable, but it is a formula.

When you buy local there are many advantages.  Instead of shipping goods from the other side of the globe many of their supplies come from local sources with fewer pollutants and some of the money stays in the community.  You can get to know the owners and managers.  If you admire someone with the gumption to take a chance you will find many at the local level.  You can build a relationship that is well nigh impossible with big companies.

The consumer is king and everyone wants your hard earned (and any other kind) of money.  We all recoil from bad service.  The real key is how an owner deals with a problem.

At the same time there is no need to be afraid of goods from other lands and feel guilty because you like them  I love mangoes which I usually buy from a local vendor at the Farmer's Market.

I remember reading an autobiography of Sam Walton and at first thinking what a cut throat business man he must have been, but he surprised me.  He decided to focus on price.  He felt a local business man could give better service and if he didn't try to squeeze too much should be able to thrive.

The bottom line is some businesses might well deserve to go out of business, but not before we give them a chance to prove themselves and learn from their mistakes.

START WITH WHY

Simon Sinek had been trying to discover the source of what inspires.  He states that most sales are done through manipulation with such tools as pricing, fear and aspirations.  Manipulation works, but it doesn't inspire.  What he has learned is that people do not buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.  This is the secret to inspiration.

His models include Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Martin Luther King Jr and Herb Kelleher.  They inspired people not because of their manipulations, but because people felt inspired about why they were doing what they chose to do.

Simon improved his understanding when it was explained to him about how the brain works.  The limbic system is innermost and makes decisions without words, in other words based on emotions and feelings.  The Neocortex helps to rationalize decisions and can influence decisions.

Colin Powell makes an important observation in this information overloaded era, "I can make a decision with 30% of the information.  Anything more than 80% is too much information."  Personally I would just be concerned that you pick the right 30%.

Customers aren't always right.  Southwest Airlines  founder Herb Kelleher once said "It is a company's responsibility to look after the employees first.  Happy employees ensure happy customers and happy customers ensure happy shareholders in that order."  By treating employees fairly, trust is developed and loyalty that is transferred to customers and shareholders.

Another example given is with the Education for Employment Foundation, set up by Ron Bruder who is using this organization to develop optimism for opportunities in the Middle East.  Ron felt part of the problem in the Middle East is that too many young people are discouraged from innovating and he has set out to move in the right direction.  Innovation can be a key to jobs.

Getting back to the premise, Simon elaborates with the idea that value is a perception and not a calculation.  People buy brands that give confidence as they understand the compelling why behind them.

With innovative inspirational entrepreneurs an important lesson is that in trying to crack the mass market you need to identify early adopters first.  They are the ones who will understand the why and their enthusiasm and loyalty will carry towards the rest of the market.

An obstacle to continued growth is success.   As long as the leader is still around there is inspiration, but sooner or later they leave and the Why often gets lost to the How and the What.  One example is Walmart whose founder, Sam Walton might be best known for low prices, but in reality his secret was in how he treated his employees.  Other companies have been more successfully in passing on the original drive and some examples have been at Apple and Southwest Airlines.

Simon worked with ad agencies and wondered why some campaigns worked and others didn't although the ingredients seemed essentially the same.  As he came to understand the brain he concluded that too often the What and the How were understood, but not the Why.  Leaders need followers and the best are those who share enthusiasm for the Why.  In conclusion Simon says two things are required for innovative success.  The first is a vision of he world that does not exist.  Equally important is the ability to communicate it.  The vision comes from Why.

You can read more about Simon and his ideas at https://www.startwithwhy.com

Why is an important question, not asked enough, particularly by adults.  Earlier I had hit a similar theme from Amanda Lang http://www.johnfdavidson.com/2013/04/the-power-of-why.html  She felt that curiosity had been knocked out of a lot of people as they were socialized, but that following up Why was the way to innovate.