I try to get
one more use
out of just about everything
– packaging,
clothing,
computers,
space in my home,
etc.
I use the empty potato chip bag
as a garbage bag.
I plant some radishes
in an unused corner of my yard.
I convert torn clothing
to cleaning rags.
On their own,
these one more uses
don’t save much money
or other resources.
Collectively,
however,
they have funded business start ups
in the past.
Try to get
one more use
out of everything around you.
A buddy of mine
is getting married this year.
She sent out the invitations.
Only 10% of the guests
RSVPed by the deadline.
That isn’t an unexpected result.
When I hosted events
before COVID,
I had to call
most of the invited guests
to confirm they were attending.
Now, we’re dealing
with people with COVID brain.
They can’t remember sh*t.
So not only do we have to
call to confirm they plan
to attend events
but we also have to
call to remind them
to attend them.
Factor that into
your planning.
Bird flu is spreading
between cows, birds, cats, dogs.
It is only a matter of time
before it spreads
from human to human.
Business builders in
food, pet, medical
and other directly impacted industries
have a sh*tload of changes
to possibly implement.
The rest of us
should already be prepared.
As bird flu is airborne,
we simply continue to implement
the same strategy
we’re using with COVID
and the many other viruses circulating.
We supply masks and hand sanitizer
to employees
and perhaps to customers.
We ensure we have
online and other virtual options
available,
if at all possible.
We prepare to pivot
to working from home
and to working with fewer employees
if that is needed.
We are building businesses
in the age of pandemics
– multiple pandemics.
Dealing with situations
like the spread of bird flu
is part of our jobs now
as business builders.
It is time
to do that job.
I stayed in a hotel
recently
that offered guest soap
that had the dimensions
of a regular bar of soap
except it was half as thick.
Because that is all
the average hotel guest would use
during a stay.
More is wasteful.
It costs the hotel
additional money to supply.
It creates more garbage.
And it doesn’t add value
to their guests.
More is not always better.
Figure out what your customer
needs
and offer your products
in that size.
There’s a certain shade of blue
that in liquid form
is associated with mouthwash
in the US.
I recently stayed in a hotel
that had guest shampoo
that was the same color
and consistency.
I picked it up,
thinking it was mouthwash,
but, thankfully,
noticed it was shampoo
before I put it in my mouth.
Certain colors
have connotations.
There’s ‘mouthwash’ blue
and ‘mint’ green
and ‘recycle bin’ blue
and others.
Think before using
those colors
for your products.
We’re painting the front door
and some trim this upcoming weekend.
We do that every five years
or so.
We plan for it.
We put aside money
for the paint.
We dedicate a day to it.
Just as we put aside money
and time
to repair the car.
And the lawnmower.
And other machines/tools we use.
Because repairs have to be made.
Maintenance has to be done.
Sh*t breaks down.
That’s true for business sh*t also.
Set aside resources
for repairs and maintenance.
They WILL need to be tackled…eventually.
An editor buddy of mine,
in the past,
would quote the cost
of her service
in cents per word.
She would tell writers
their story would cost
X cents per word to edit.
That X is a small figure.
And many writers can’t do math
so they assumed the cost would also be small.
But most stories are long.
My editor buddy would give them a bill
for over $700
and the writers would freak out.
They wouldn’t or couldn’t
pay my editor buddy
for the service
she already gave them.
Now, my editor buddy
gives prospective clients
an estimated total cost
based on an estimated word count.
More prospective clients
decide not to hire her.
But almost all of the clients
who DO hire her,
pay for her services.
Most of your customers
can’t do math.
Factor that into
pricing discussions.
With multiple pandemics
on the go
and several new ones
on the horizon
paired with very few mitigations
being in place,
a prudent business builder
plans for disability.
Ours.
Our employees’.
Our customers’.
What does this mean?
It means giving customers
a shop from home option.
It means providing masks
and hand sanitizer
to employees and customers
to decrease the odds
of being sued
when those employees and customers
become permanently ill.
It means installing systems
that make our businesses
easier to run
if we become permanently ill.
It means researching
the needs and requirements
of permanently ill people
and doing all we can
now
to ensure our businesses serve them
as customers, employees, owners
as best as possible.
(I’m not part of this group…yet.
I don’t have any insider tips
on how to do this.
I’m doing my research like you are.)
Don’t wait
until it is a requirement
to do this.
Plan for a world
of disabled people now.
I have a friend
who expresses extreme irritation
whenever I call or contact her.
So I don’t call or contact her.
I wait for her
to call or contact me.
She told me
recently
our friendship is one-sided.
She always does the reaching out.
Of course, she does
the reaching out.
She has trained me
to not reach out to her.
(And it isn’t one-sided
because I almost always
accept her calls.)
How you react to people
trains them
and changes your future interactions
with them.
If you don’t like
your current interactions,
consider
changing the way
you react.
It is tempting
to build a fast craptastic product,
market the heck out of it,
and then
ignore the customer complaints.
You have their money, right?
Why should you care
if they’re unhappy?
You should care
because caring
is the ethical thing to do
but also
because it makes good business sense.
Almost every marketplace
today
is crowded with sellers.
Finding customers
and convincing them
to buy from us
is costly
– in time, money, other resources.
Doing all that
to sell them one craptastic product
is a waste of resources.
Most of us
should want repeat business.
That spreads the cost
of finding that business
over multiple sales.
That second sale
has a bigger profit margin.
Build a product
and a business
that encourages repeat business.