Recession?

In reading a copy of USA Today during a recent trip to El Paso, TX, I came across a "USA Today Snapshot" that saluted consumers. Apparently they took a poll of 200 small-business owners with annual revenues of $10M or less, asking them how they managed to weather the recession. 46% said they "took actions such as having enough cash, reducing staff benefits, etc." and 54% said "(their) customers remained loyal". I am bothered by this blurb as it doesn't really say that anyone changed their way of doing things. I understand this stat to showcase business owners who either did day-to-day things less or more, OR they sat on their asses waiting for their loyal customers to keep them afloat.

Wrong answer.

When I owned a business in Aptos we not only weathered the storm, we raced ahead of it. But we never relaxed on this fact because we knew that celebrating our fortune would only slow us down and allow the storm to catch us. So what specifically did we/I do?

1. I demamded nothing short of excellence from my staff.
2. I set measurable expectations and goals for all staffers while explaining the relevance of the standards.
3. We hosted free events that brought folks into the store. Goal being to set the stage for future shopping.
4. I never allowed myself to cut corners - no matter how much easier things could get. I understood this to be a slippery slope.
5. I never felt the need to compete with lower prices. We bore down the hatches, stuck to our guns, and did what we do best without compromise. We took the high road 100% of the time and made our customers feel special.

The human component of small businesses is integral to success. If we are passionate about our job, we'll genuinely pull folks into our store. Consumers rarely get treated as human beings - so if we can manage to do that too we'll win them as customers for life. We needn't battle to do this. It should come naturally or else we're trying to drive a passion that doesn't exist.

But never, never did we sit around and wait for folks to come in. That's just plain ridiculous.