3-28-19 How can you define your business in a unique way?

I believe one of the biggest challenges for a business owner, especially if it is a new business, is to define what products and/or services you provide that are unique.  In a place like Langley, I feel that nearly every business is unique, but that still doesn’t mean it isn’t important to let potential customers know what is special about what you provide.  In other communities on Whidbey, there may be more business competition.   

If you do have competitors who are selling what you sell or providing the same or a similar service to what you provide, you have a special challenge to make the case for why your product or service is superior to what someone else is offering.

This relates to the first question I always ask a business person about their business when I am preparing a story: “What’s special or unique about your business?”  If you need some help answering the question, ask some of your satisfied customers why they buy from you, or why they buy your product, rather than making another choice.  What makes your business special may be the quality or uniqueness of what you provide and/or it may be the kind of customer service that is part of your business.

Make the case for why someone should buy from you rather than someone else.  And, each time you make a sale, be sure to ask the customer why they bought from you.

3-21-19 Activate those mirror neurons with a smile – it’s good for yourself, and also good for business

Shawn Achor has become one of the world’s leading experts on the connection between happiness and success. He is the CEO of Good Think Inc. (http://goodthinkinc.com/) where he researches and teaches about positive psychology.

One of the concepts he discusses is how a smile is contagious (I think I remember being told this when I was a child).  It turns out that when you smile, it creates changes in your brain (all positive).  When you smile at someone else, whether they smile back at your or not, their brain replicates the same responses your brain is having, using “mirror neurons”.

If your business involves face-to-face meetings with your customers, a smile will definitely make someone more interested in doing business with you. Smiling more will actually make you feel happier.

Actually, this is a great practice for everyone that you see, whether they’re customers or not.

Just ask yourself: Wouldn’t you rather do business with someone whose presence makes you feel good?

3-14-19 Ultra House in Langley is following the path I have described in previous blogs for having a successful business: Filling a niche, following a passion to create a business, enjoying having the business and playing an active role in the community

In the Business Spotlight on Whidbey Local that was published this week (https://www.whidbeylocal.com/article/view/2171), I described the Ultra House restaurant in Langley, which is serving authentic Japanese ramen dishes. 

Denis Zimmerman (who was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and an American father) and his wife, Cheryl, opened the restaurant nearly a year ago. The restaurant evolved from a vision Denis had to honor his Japanese roots. It is also the first restaurant on south Whidbey specializing in Japanese cuisine. And, Denis and Cheryl are not only passionate about their business, but they are pleased to be part of the local community.

3-7-19 Obtaining zip codes: A simple tool to learn about your customers

One of the most basic pieces of information you need when you have a store front business or a business out of your home is knowing where your customers live.

A simple method to answer this question is to create a system where you get the zip code of every person who comes into your business or contacts you to make a purchase.  This can be done on a computer or by doing listings and hatch marks on a piece of paper near your register (OK, I know this doesn’t sound very high-tech, but it works).

You can keep track of these zip code tabulations by the month or season, or after you have done a new advertisement or special promotion.

Once you see the patterns, it can provide you with valuable information about where, geographically, to focus your advertising dollars.

2-28-19 Creative ideas often come from group discussions

It has been my experience that if you ask a single person to come up with a creative idea for a plan or a marketing concept, or simply a way to solve a problem, often there is a deer-in-the-headlights moment.

That’s why I love bringing people together and facilitating a discussion that will generate creative ideas and solutions to problems.  The most productive group number is 10; not sure why (in Jewish tradition 10 is a “minion” or the amount needed to have a formal meeting process), but this does seem to be the magic number where everyone feels comfortable about speaking up and sharing opinions and ideas.  Less than 10, and sometimes the discussion isn’t quite as lively; more than 10, and it becomes a bit more difficult to control.

I do want to stress the need to have a good facilitator for a group process.  It’s important that time is controlled, that the discussion stays focused and that everyone in the discussion feels comfortable speaking up.

It’s also interesting to me that some of the most creative ideas coming out of someone in a group have been preceded by the phrase, “I really don’t know much about this, but……”

To summarize: Bring people together in the group that have some kind of common interest (community, interests, knowledge, etc.); have an agenda that is followed as much as possible; create an atmosphere where everyone in the group feels comfortable speaking up; and make sure that no one individual dominates the conversation (I usually say something like, “I can see you feel strongly about this, now I’d like to hear what someone else has to say.”)