EXECUTIONStart Bold
When trying a new business venture always try the wackier, quirkier stuff first, says Jason Fried, founder and CEO of Basecamp and author of the business bestseller Getting Real. “The deeper you get into a project, the more conservative it tends to get. Stranger ideas are more at home earlier in the process,” he recently wrote on his Twitter feed.
RECRUITMENTPrepare to Recruit
It’s hiring season. And store management consultant David Geller suggests that you get prepared to help attract the best candidates to your business. Buy a pack of non-perforated business cards. Print up some cards with the following words: “I was very impressed with your sales presentation and service level today when you waited on me. If you’ve considered changing employers, please give me a call. Sincerely, Your Name, Your Store, Your Phone.” If you go shopping or dining, and are served by someone you like, give them the card and walk away.
PSYCHOLOGYBreak Better
The most important thing to understand about breaks is that they are not a deviation from performance; they are part of performance, says Dan Pink in his latest business best seller, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. “And the most restorative breaks are social rather than solo, outside not inside, moving instead of stationary, and fully detached rather than semi-detached.”
MARKETINGGet Neighborly
If you are in an area rife with other small businesses, then you have a nice little captive audience to increase exams or sales. “Literally, walk into neighboring businesses and introduce myself to the other owners and say something like, “Not sure if you’re aware, but we offer a $50 gift card for any of your employees that come in for an eye exam…,’” says The EyeCoach, Robert Bell. “Do not say ‘and buy a pair of glasses.’ Get them in the door first! Then ‘capture’ them in the boutique,” he suggests.
MOTIVATION“How” Is the Enemy
Something all true entrepreneurs know: “How” is the enemy. “We always want to know how things will happen,” says Claudia Azula, a popular podcaster and co-author of the Power of No. “But how is the enemy because it blocks the possibilities that open up when we are willing to not know. When you don’t know about tomorrow, all you can do is focus on doing your best today.” Stop thinking, just go do it.
MANAGEMENTDot Plot
Everyone knows cleanliness is good. It indicates attention to detail, professionalism, and hygienic conditions. Yet it’s an area where most staff tend to take shortcuts. To enforce the deep cleaning habit, John Putzier, author of Get Weird!, suggests a game called Collect the Dots. Place tiny colored stickers around your store, focusing on the most obscure corners, nooks and crannies, say, in the dusty reaches of your contact lens room. Any employee who collects a sticker and brings it to you gets points. More points, bigger rewards.