Mission #2-1 Using Observation As Your Guidepost

Objectives:

• To look, listen and learn from existing businesses.
• To convince yourself what you deserve from life.
• To interview college student about their educational experiences.
• To be alert to signs of career burnout.

Background:

Every business encounter you make every day gives you the opportunity to observe, evaluate and improve your own business.

Most people are clueless as to what is going on around them; they are self-absorbed. You, however, as a warrior, are ever alert and aware and therefore a marketing expert by virtue of your life as an active and experienced consumer.

As you visit other businesses, you will form the habit of observation. You are a thinking person of action. You will automatically see and evaluate:

What is the physical layout of the store space?

What seems to be the attitude of employees?

What is store manager promoting?

What do I like about this business?

What about this business needs improving?

Look, listen and learn. Alert and aware, you are constantly learning. Keep your comments to yourself. Your objective is to improve your business. Expect that the minimum wage employee at Walgreens doesn't care that aisles are too narrow or that the signage is poor.

Every time you pick up a newspaper or a magazine, take note of the advertising.

You need to create ads to reach potential customers who do not yet know how great you are. Study your competition ads. Study ads from all businesses. Look for good print and radio and TV and billboard advertising of all types. Why do you like or dislike what you see? Think.

You want your business to stay vital and alive. You don't want your business to go stale. If you do, you'll become bored and stale. Be an observer. Look at other businesses to find what they are doing right and wrong. By constantly looking at what other companies are doing, you will be constantly challenging yourself to come up with new ideas to infuse life and interest into your own business.

In the beginning of your business career, as you evaluate other businesses, observation will be a deliberate effort. But, in short order, the habit of observation will become second nature and automatic. And observation will invariably produce a wellspring of ideas, which will turn into possibilities for improving your business.

Use this sampling of questions as a reference guide as you observe other businesses.

The Store - Exterior

Is the store in a good location?

Is there access to public transportation?

Is the parking adequate?

Is the exterior lighting sufficient?

Is the type of business of this store consistent with neighboring stores?

Do this store and neighboring stores draw customers to one another?

Does the main store sign draw your eye to the store?

Do the store windows draw you to want to enter the store?

If there is landscaping, is it professional and maintained?

Is the overall appearance of the store exterior pleasant?

The Store - Interior

As you enter, is your overall impression favorable?

Do you feel welcomed?

Is the floor plan open or cluttered?

Does the merchandise seem to be attractively displayed?

Are the shelves well stocked?

Are items properly sized and priced?

Does the store stock a wide variety/selection of merchandise?

Do signs easily direct you to different departments?

Does the lighting seem adequate?

Is pleasant background music playing?

Are the fitting rooms adequate?

Are the restrooms adequate?

Does all the space in the store seem to be well utilized?

Are the sales associates appropriately dressed, pleasant and attentive?

The Ads

Is the ad appropriate to the publication?

Is the ad in the correct section to draw the right consumers?

Does the ad have eye appeal? Why?

Does the ad have good placement within the publication and on the page?

How effective is the size of the ad in delivering the advertiser's message?

Do the copy and graphics deliver the advertiser's message?

Is there a call to action in the copy?

Which ads have shown their effectiveness by their tenure in the publication?

If you see a print ad that has run consistently for a year or more in any publication, you have identified something important, you have found an ad that is effective. Remember the third rule of business success is to copy success.

The Extras

Are the store hours representative of this type of business or even better?

Is the packaging used attractive?

Is the company's name effectively advertised on the packaging?

Is the company's Internet address (URL) on all packaging?

Does the company have a liberal return policy?

Is the manager accessible to hear complaints?

Are employee and/or customer suggestions encouraged?

Does the company's "Sale and Promotion" seem to be effective?

Does the company try to make their products easy to buy by accepting personal checks, credit cards, lay-a-ways or on-line ordering?

Is service offered immediately after the purchase by providing, for example, a loading dock, assistance with putting packages in customer's cars or some type of delivery service?

Are on-site repairs offered? Are loaners offered?

Are service contracts offered?

Does anyone contact the customer after the sale to gauge their satisfaction?

Does the company offer a gift mailing service?

Does the company offer gift wrapping and is the wrapping complimentary or a profit item?

Does the company encourage the purchase of gift certificates?

The Employees

Do the employees appear cheerful and helpful or bored and rude?

Are you greeted with a hello when you enter the store?

Are you thanked following a purchase?

Are the employees attractively and appropriately dressed?

Do employees seem preoccupied or anxious to help?

Is an apology made for waiting if you've had to wait?

Do the employees appear knowledgeable about what they are selling?

Do employees make an effort to increase sales for the company by offering complimentary items: desert with a meal or socks with shoes or a printer with a computer?

What are you telling yourself that you deserve from life? Are you second tier? Do you consider the slackers and geeks and Goths your competition? Do the pampered, the spoil and the cynical intimidate you? They do not. You are an Action Principles® Champion.

Let's meet a female champion, Anna Lopez.

Story:

The Lopez Goff Gallery

At thirty-one, Ana Lopez is the membership secretary for the city's art museum. Her job entails membership services, including: writing a monthly newsletter informing members of coming events at the museum; running opening night wine and cheese receptions for members; handling members' requests and problems, and recruiting members. She also handles online membership requests.

The bottom line is that Ana is expected to keep members happy and if the members are happy, then museum management can expect minimal resistance to fund raising activities. Every job at the museum and the museum itself depends on the funds, which must be constantly collected. She knows the drill, "No money, no mission."

Ana is a promoter. Her job is to get members excited about museum activities so that when it comes time to ask for donations, the wallets open.

Here is the basic pitch. Give us money to support our charitable good works. Take your tax deductions. Attend a black tie "Evening With The Stars" where you are sure to be seen by, and have an opportunity to associate with, the right people, the "in" people, the power of the city. And, at the gala, you just might make the gossip columns. This is the business side of the non-profit arts organization.

Ana is a pragmatist. Ana has always had her eyes and ears open to the real world. The museum needs money. The museum gets money through grants, endowments, gifts, galas, the gift shop, and the restaurant. Ana understands her role in the process.

She likes the job and feels lucky to have it.

Remind yourself that most college students do not work in the fields for which they were trained. What happens to all that knowledge from all those classes in Renaissance Literature and Psychology 101? You should ask them. What do you learn from their answers?

The problem is with Ana. She had always thought that getting a job at the museum would be her dream career. However, now after seven years she's getting restless. The tedium is outweighing the glamour.

It is not uncommon in years seven and fifteen for burn out to rear its head. This is true in business and relationships. You to stop and think, is what you are doing what you want to be doing? You will either be reinvigorated and push forward or you will be depressed in which case you should quit and do something else.

Even as a little girl, Ana was able to see the end from the beginning.

From age eight, she would baby sit to earn money to buy the toys she wanted. At twelve, the toys became clothes. The baby-sitting gave way to an errand running service for senior citizens. She had two other girls working for her.

By seventeen, she was the head night cashier at the supermarket and earning money for college. Why was Ana able to see and anticipate the end results of labor? Why was work so obvious a tool to Ana and equally a mystery to many of her peers?

You want something. You work for it. You are independent. If you expect it to be handed to you, you are dependent to someone else's whim.

Time and time again, when you look at successful entrepreneurs, you see people who as kids had businesses. These were the people who had the lemonade stands and the paper routes and did the lawn mowing and snow shoveling and baby sitting. They had the courage to volunteer. They are us.

Operational Limitations:

• No single source will be enough to complete your business education. You are responsible for you. Read magazines and books. Visit websites and stores. Volunteer or work part-time. Talk to people who have intimate knowledge of your business. Talk to retirees from your business. What do you want to know? You want to know everything.
• Job opportunities may come from traditional sources: job fairs, classified ads, and employment counselors. But, they may also come from rumors, networks and from simply being alert and aware.
• Watch for career burnout, especially at years seven and fifteen. It is time to reexamine and recommit or to try something new and fresh.

Seeds for thought:

• What role does observation play in your business research?
• What can you learn from competitor's advertising?
• What can you learn from observing a store's exterior?
• What can you learn from observing a store's interior?
• What can you learn from observing a store's employees?
• What can you learn from observing a store's customers?
• What success traits did Ana exhibit at an early age?
• How did Ana manage to get a full time job at the museum?

Jargon:

Accounting - The bookkeeping methods involved in making a financial record of business transactions and in the preparation of statements concerning the assets, liabilities, and operating results of a business.

Base rent - Minimum rent due under a lease that has a percentage or participation requirement.

Bar code - A series of vertical bars of varying widths, in which each of the digits zero through nine are represented by a different pattern of bars that can be read by a laser scanner. The bars are commonly found on consumer products and are used especially for inventory control.

Benchmark - A standard by which something can be measured or judged.

Face Value - the apparent worth as opposed to the real worth.

Kickback - A return of a percentage of a sum of money already received, typically as a result of pressure, coercion, or a secret agreement.

Salvage Value - The estimated value that an asset will realize upon its sale at the end of its useful life.

Saturation - Greater than normal presence in the market, achieved by, for example, providing a store outlet in every neighborhood or advertising so frequently that everyone has heard the message numerous times.

Tax deductions - Business related expenses that can be used to offset business income for tax purposes.

Warranty - A promise contained in a contract.

Questions and Answers:

You talk about doing research every day but where does anybody find the time?

After you complete the Master Small Business course, research gathering information will become almost automatic.

As a small business owner, a warrior, alert and aware, you become an observer of other businesses. "I like that ad for those coats." "I like the layout of this supermarket." "That carpet store is having a good sale." "The salesclerk in that convenience store was rude." "The mall parking lot is not lit properly."

You observe the good and the bad, and you adjust your own business accordingly. You aren't researching daily. As a consumer and small business expert yourself, you are researching constantly. Small business ownership is a thinking person's art, so, alert and aware, keep observing and thinking.

Where do good business ideas come from?

They come from everywhere. They come from networking at the monthly Chamber of Commerce breakfast. They come at your trade association convention. They come from talking to your suppliers and your customers. They come from your trade publications and your general interest business magazines. They always seem to come to you when you have an open mind and a willingness to be flexible and change and adjust where necessary. Talk your business as often as possible with as many different people as possible.

Where is your next good idea coming from? Who knows, but if you keep researching and talking, those ideas will come, your business will stay sharp, and your competition just won't have a clue as to what your secret is.

These days, do you have to be a workaholic to succeed?

Absolutely not, workaholics generally don't succeed. They burn out. And many studies have shown that just putting in a ton of hours doesn't necessarily yield maximum rewards, because the workaholic is often not working efficiently.

Relax. If you follow the three principles, you won't find yourself in a rut and you will see your business as a means to an end rather than an eternal burden requiring endless hours of your attention. Everyday should include quiet time for reflection. You need time to pursue personal interests. You need time with your family. You need time for fitness. Sorry, but you just have too many needs and interests to be a workaholic.

Again, the three warrior principles for business success are:

1. Offer a quality product or service at a fair price.
2. Appreciate your customer.
3. Copy success.

Action Plan:

• Start forming the habit of business observation immediately. Soon your observations skills will become automatic.
• Start your own advertising clipping service. When you see an ad you like, for color or layout or impact, clip it out and keep it for future reference.
• If you are considering additional formal higher education, start talking to students who have already done what you plan to do? Evaluate their responses from your own perspective.

Support:

• For Business Links to the U.S. Government
• From the IRS for Small Businesses
• From The Tax Prophet
• From Free Legal Advice On Starting On Business

Inspirational Insights: