It was a great trip. We had a lot of fun. As small as we are, we are still a part of the economy that is struggling to find its way back to a reasonable sense of business activity. The trends I witnessed running and weaving their ways through this fragile economy we are trying to manage are trends that have a serious sense of tenderness. You can feel it. You can see it. Even though I was able to see some business models operating in a flourishing pattern, some were not even part of the activity game. There are still a lot of business models headed for the drain. You can see them spinning out of control. They lack the decent foot traffic necessary to provide enough economic movement to generate the appropriate levels of revenue to pay their basic operational bills. You can see many business models suffering deeply. It is not good news to witness a lot of business models still trying to cut out large segments of their operating budgets to survive. It is very evident.
Debt is a big monster. Debt kills foot traffic. Debt creates a more sensitive buyer. The people who have the ability to purchase at a pace of consumption this economy requires are people gathered together in a very small segment of our economy. If you plan on serving those few who have that purchasing ability, the people who belong in that small market segment, you better get serious about how you approach their interests. If you do not like BMW's, Range Rovers, Lexus, Prius, Suburu's, Mazda's, big SUV's like Tahoe's, Mercedes, Audi's, Corvettes, Camaro's, Infiniti's, Altima's, F150's, Camry's, Honda CR-V's, RAM's, Civic's, Sonata's and anything newer than 2008, you are likely marketing to the wrong segment right now. Those were the vehicles in the parking lots that were full. Get to know who these customers are. They are not only buying, they are able to buy.
What are these people doing to be able to generate enough revenue to spend it? Where do you think they work? What do you think they do to earn what they earn? If your business model is struggling financially, get out your yardstick. Go figure it out. You no longer have the luxury of having a diversified and varied market place full of everyone who has the ability to spend discretionary money. That kind of marketplace has nearly vanished. Quit assuming it will come back any day now. It is gone and will be gone for a very long time...if it ever returns. Accept this current truth. You no longer have the luxury of earning your market share with a random business approach. You now need to target where the market is moving and get your business model designed to attract that small group. If you do not understand this responsibility, your business model will continue to struggle to find its way to survival. You do not need to believe me on this one. However, you will get to prove it to yourself. Your reality is likely sitting on your front door step of the business model you are currently trying to turn around. I hate saying these types of tough things, but the truth is the truth. Your activity growth, your volume growth and your budget is telling you which way you are headed. If you are spinning out in the wrong direction, it is not temporary. Wake up and change before it is too late to be able to change.
These are tough words to a business owner who loves what they are doing. These are tough messages to an owner who had a dream and is watching that dream fizzle to a complete stop. I know a lot about this particular feeling. It has happened to me more than I care to admit. I have had it happen to me in good economic times. I had no economic excuse! It was all my fault in that particular case. My point is simple. Change, if you are not winning right now. What's more, you may have to make some radical changes while you are at it. It ain't gonna' be fun.
If the arrows to the indicators you use to determine if your business model is making money are not pointed in the right direction, make some changes. Those arrows will not turn around all by themselves. If the things your business model is doing is not creating the right direction for those arrows to point, you need to fess up and change how you believe your model should be performing. You need to change you, first. I can assure you that it will be the toughest test you will ever face! You, as a person, will need to make some serious changes about how you are living in your life. If you think I am kidding, you are headed for a very rude discovery.
Your business model is only an extension of who you are as a person. If your business model is struggling to make it and you believe it has nothing to do with who you are, you likely have a nasty disconnect with the truth. I am a master at this one. You cannot fool the teacher on this one. If they hand out trophies on this one, I have more of them than you. You cannot fool me. You are going to need to make some personal changes in order for you to successfully pull off the right kinds of changes your business model needs. Like I said earlier, it ain't gonna' be fun.
All you need to do right now is determine how bad you want your business model to win, because it can. Others are winning right now. I see them. They are not lying when you meet some owners who are describing how this has been one of their best years in history. Their business models are screaming with activity right now. When I was travelling in those areas and spending time walking through the busy ones as well as the models who were obviously struggling, the difference in how they present themselves is a very, very wide gap. The busiest models did a far better job of presenting themselves as 'the-place-to-be' than the ones who did not. The busiest ones looked the best, did the most, were the cleanest ones, had the most neatness applied, were filled with the most inventory, had the best hospitality and provided the most service effort.
The busiest ones were the most creative. They had the most unique presentations, designs and products. The busiest ones had the most selection. If, for example, they offered television monitor entertainment units as cabinets to buy; they did not offer one or two choices...they presented 20 or 30 of them. If they had herb plants for sale, they did not offer three of one kind, four of another and seven of a third variety...they had 30 separate plants of 15 varieties to choose. They may not have had fruit trees for sale at this particular outfit, but they had a ton of commitment in herbs. The busiest ones made a decision about where they wanted to be with their product presentation and they spent all of their energy surrounding the products they used to make that presentation. The busiest ones were not trying to be all things to all people. They understood what niche they wanted and went after it with all guns blaring away. If they did not carry patio furniture you could not find a lawn chair to save your life. However, if they carried metal yard art, you could see pieces of metal art strewn out in the displays for miles upon miles. They did not try to be a little bit of everything to all people. They only decided to be a few things and they did those few things very well.
If they selected herbs to offer, you could find herbs you never heard of before included in their product mix. They would even use globes sitting nearby to 'pin' on the map where the herb came from. They had stories presented to the consumer of the origin and use the herb was most famous for producing. They had unique tea pots and cups displayed near the herb tea selections. They had garden pottery sitting near the tea cup displays that coordinated with the tea pots and cups. They offered tea rugs, incense that wards off mosquito's, non-toxic bug sprays for patio settings and a wide and creative display of candles with citronella to help remove unwanted flying critters. They included displays with cookbooks for patio feeding, bundled nicely with growing herbs for consumption and seasoning. When they did herbs, they did it all. You might not be able to find a fruit tree on this premises, but if you were in the mood to create something new in your backyard an herb garden would be on your list. The busiest business models were exactly set up this way. They were fully immersed into providing a complete experience for the consumer to enjoy and discover.
Does your business model do that? If not, why not? That is what the consumer is searching to find. Those automobiles are looking for the 'right' parking lot to find and settle in for the day. They want their shopping experience to be an event. They do not want it to be a disturbing 'event.' We made a small purchase in a small shop that had two clerks treat us like we were interrupting what they were otherwise told to do as they stocked their shelves and cleaned the counters. It was obvious that we were interrupting their work as we waited at the sales counter for them to finish what they were doing, before they could 'check us out.' People, get his down clearly. There is a significant difference happening between the ones who are providing success in their business models versus the ones who are failing to behave in this way. It is night and day. It is amazing to me how many business owners cannot see this difference.
I recommend to those who are struggling to survive to take a serious day off from their business model and travel to other markets and go see what the difference is. Go to the ones that are extremely busy, you cannot miss them, their parking lots are too full to navigate. You know who they are. You hate their parking lots. Go with an open mind. Your business model is waiting for you. It needs your direction. It needs your creativity to dial up a notch or two. It needs your careful attention. It needs your love. It needs your leadership. It needs your attention. It is hungry for you to make the new corrections. It is hungry for you to make the bold and useful changes that it wants to support. Get help. Borrow ideas. Ask questions. Start over. For goodness sakes, do something before it is too late.
If you are an online business model these same rules of operation apply to you as well. You do not become immune to these same consumer policies of design. If your website sucks, change the way you are designing it. Add more creativity. Study more of the things you do not know. You are likely getting that which you are putting in. If it is not what you want to get, put something different in. Unlearn what is not working and learn more about what is working. Which direction are your activity trend arrows pointed? They better be pointed upwards right now. If not, why not? Join the small crowd of those who are pointed upwards right now. There is proof in the marketplace that many are headed upwards. Become more like them. Your business model is waiting for you to make that happen. Trust me, it cannot make that happen on its own.
Until next time.
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