Tuesday, March 31, 2009

If Opportunity Doesn't Knock, Build a Door!

A famous comedian, Milton Berle, once said, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” Maybe this was said in jest, but there is a deep philosophical meaning to this statement that I think can be applied to today’s business environment. We can't just sit here waiting for things to get better. We have to make things get better through our actions.

There is no doubt that the markets, both globally and locally, have changed dramatically over the past few months. Retail sales in many sectors are falling and we’ve seen an increase in unemployment and cost of living indexes; especially in the volatile food, energy and health care markets, costs have increased significantly.

Yet despite these challenges, I would like to jump up on my soap box and scream, “Seize the opportunities.” There is still so much that is needed by people in this world, both globally and locally.

When people talk about “today’s economy,” most are referring to the macroeconomics of trends in gross domestic product, retail sales figures, inventory, industrial averages or some other economic indicators. No matter how dire these indicators may seem, there are always going to be business opportunities on a microeconomic level.

Capitalizing on those opportunities is the challenge. Many business owners are focusing too much on reacting to market changes rather than focusing on growing their businesses. I continually hear the refrain, “we will think about growth once the economy gets better.” The reality is that businesses can create their own economies by being proactive and building the doors to welcome opportunity.

Sure businesses may have to make adjustments to deal with the current market changes, but proactive business owners will always continue to seek areas for new business development. The following are areas to consider:

Grow Market Share – Now is an especially good time to pay closer attention to the competition. Some competitors may be offering less favorable credit terms, reducing inventory, providing less services or even closing their doors during this recession. All of these areas leave room for businesses to position themselves to gain more market share.

Add Product Service Lines – One of the new buzz words for small businesses is “diversity.” This refers to adding more product or service lines to meet other demands of an existing customer base. It is just a matter of paying attention to the needs of existing customers and finding product or service lines that meet these demands. Just make sure that new additions compliment, rather than replace existing product/service lines.

Innovation
– Wherever there are problems, there remains opportunities to develop new solutions. Innovation is the seed to entrepreneurism. Since everyone is bemoaning their problems, be the solution finder! Innovation comes in different forms and scales, whether it is product improvement, service improvement or a completely new product/service entry into the marketplace. There are no bounds to innovation except feasibility – will this innovation generate a profitable business model?

Now is not a good time to be passive and wait for things to get better. Business growth is a function of developing a good plan and taking action to achieve specific goals. History has proven that it is those who create their own opportunities who sustain success. I think it is only fitting to conclude with a quote from another comedian, Jonathan Winters, who said, “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it.”

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Roller Coaster Story with a Tom Robbins Twist

I remember vividly my first date as with my high school sweetheart. I was sixteen years old and a beautiful girl in my French class asked me to join her at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. I quickly accepted, looking forward to getting to know a little more about this girl that I had been admiring for sometime.

There was a slight problem with this venue for a first date. At that point in my life I had never been on a roller coaster and she kept talking about her two favorite rides at Great Adventure – “Rolling Thunder” and “Lightning Loops.” The anxiety of being on a first date is tough enough, but for me, the larger anxiety was that I would have to either experience a roller coaster for the first time and risk hurling next to the girl of my dreams; or I could be a wimp and explain to her that I was too scared to go on the roller coaster.

As silly as this sounds today, this over dramatic teenager seriously thought about canceling the date, fearing that I was in a no win situation. Luckily for me, what little testosterone I had at that age (I was a real late bloomer) kicked in and convinced me to just go for it.

As soon as we paid our admission to the park, my date high tailed it right to the line to get onto “Rolling Thunder.” The anxiety kicked in again as we waited in line. This psychosomatic nausea started as I was able to see the roller coaster go creeping up so slowly and then hurtling down at great speeds. Would I be able to handle that speed?

We made some small talk while waiting in line and I did my best to hide my fears. Once our turn came to get on, I was relieved that we did not end up in the front seat. Small victory, but I was still pretty anxious about the first impending drop. Once they locked the restraining bar there was no turning back.

I quickly turned to my date and told her that this was my first time on a roller coaster. She just laughed and told me to enjoy the ride. I guess I was hoping that she would tell that there was nothing to worry about, but she didn’t give me that satisfaction. As the coaster went on the first climb, I started to get a bit scared watching us get up to about 8 stories high, so I chose to focus my gaze on my date. I don’t know why, but as we reached that apex and the split second before our drop, I was overcome with a feeling that this was an awesome experience. It is amazing how sometimes your mind can process so many thoughts in such a short time. In that split second, I felt exhilarated. I was sitting next to a beautiful girl, I was having a fun day at Great Adventure, the sun was shining and the park just looked so beautiful from that vantage point. My date hooked her arm under mine, drawing me close to her, which just added to the moment.

As we began our descent, I was thrilled by the speed. My date and I were laughing, enjoying the ride as she snuggled close to me. After that, we held hands, hit every ride in the park and the perfect day ended up with me getting on my tiptoes (like I said, I was late bloomer) for my first kiss with my new girlfriend as she dropped me off at home.

So Rick, what’s the point? Feeling nostalgic? Maybe, it’s just that my head has been in a bit of a fog lately and I can’t help but think of roller coasters when thinking about the economy. Most people who are discussing the economy act as if we are in a free fall right now. Well if that’s the case, let’s enjoy the ride.

We all have our own set of unique problems. Right now, I am still trying to get over a real bad head cold and it has given me a quick break from thinking of this roller coaster ride. It is amazing how unimportant the economic news becomes as you think about trying to breathe clearly once again.

More than anything, I would love to put my big nose to proper use and savor the aroma of my morning coffee (roasted at Lakeside Coffee in Rouses Point) or the fresh, North Country air. I can’t right now, but wallowing in self pity won’t make me feel any better. I just have to take better care of myself and hopefully my immune system will do the rest of the work.

So I have been using all my free time to rest and enjoy one of my great pleasures, which is reading good fiction. I find that reading fiction allows my mind to wander and provides useful escape from the challenging realities of life. Right now, I happen to be reading “Skinny Legs and All” by Tom Robbins. I first read this book right after it was published in 1990. Tom Robbins has this magical way of spinning words and making serious social commentary on some pretty controversial themes, yet in a very light-hearted manner. This particular novel gets into some pretty taboo stuff that really belongs nowhere in a business blog or a commentary about the economy. At least that is what I thought until I came upon this little excerpt that made me think of this roller coaster economy yet again(and inspired me to add one more blog post):

“During periods of so-called economic depression, societies suffer for want of all manner of essential goods, yet investigation almost invariably discloses that there are plenty of goods available. Plenty of coal in the ground, corn in the fields, wool on the sheep. What is missing is not materials but an abstract unit of measurement called 'money.' It is akin to a starving woman with a sweet tooth lamenting that she can't bake a cake because she doesn't have any ounces. She has butter, flour, eggs, milk, and sugar, she just doesn't have any ounces, any pinches, any pints.”

Basically, we are paying attention to the units of measure, like the Dow Jones Average, rather than the actual supply and demand of products/services and the never ending competition to find our proper place in the market. Business owners that focus on the resources they have available can still find the means to bake that cake and measure their success.

Tom Robbins also wrote:

“The introduction of money, with its seductive, if largely ambiguous promises, added a fresh measure of zip to the sport of life, but the zip turned to zap when the players, stupefied by ever-shifting intangibles, began to confuse the markers with the game.”

Even though this book was written over 19 years ago, I find this passage to be so relevant to small business and the current economy. If you focus on the game, small business can be an exciting and profitable game. You just have to pay attention to the task at hand and the real indicators of success, not some outside market news.

One final excerpt from this book:

“The ones who’re so upset about everybody not being the same, about competition, about standards of quality…they’re usually people with average abilities and average minds. And below average senses of humor. Whether it’s a matter of lifting the deprived up or dragging the gifted down, they want everybody to function on their level. Some fun that would be.”

So continue to compete with your business. It may be a roller coaster, but it is a fun ride if you possess the right attitude. As Hugh Downs once said, “A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” If we want to savor life, we have to choose to accept our circumstances with a positive attitude and proper perspective. We should also compete, not so much with each other, but with ourselves to achieve greater things.

Focus on what matters. Is it the game or the price of admission? We all have our own answers.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

A Fish Story

I originally went to Alaska back in 1997 to help friends of mine, Jill Ramiel and Ken Alper, open up a bagel store -- The Silverbow Inn, in Juneau. One day, after helping build their bagel oven, I went fishing with the oven installation guy. He had a little skiff with an outboard motor and we were trolling for king salmon. This was my very first time salmon fishing and he helped be cut my herring bait at a bias so I could get that “sexy twirl” that drives the salmon crazy.

After fishing for about an hour, our outboard gave out. The oven guy, Randy, went to work on it while I just kept casting my line out and reeling it in slowly; trying to mimic the speed we were traveling at while trolling. Our skiff was drifting near the shore, which was fine by me, considering our motor wasn’t working. Meanwhile, Randy was getting frustrated that he couldn’t get the motor started. I guess he took it out on me a bit when he said, “Why the hell are you still fishing you idiot? The water is only about foot deep over here.”

I am a pretty stubborn guy and I threw my line in the water again; as I was reeling my line back in I got a huge strike. The line started screaming out of my reel and Randy started yelling instructions to me as I fought to land my very first salmon. Luckily, I hooked this fish pretty good, as I probably didn’t score many style points in landing this salmon. Randy netted it for me, and luckily, he got the motor started shortly thereafter so we could head back to the shop.

When we got back to the Silverbow Inn, we weighed in my prized king salmon at 38 pounds. Once the weigh in was completed, Chef Stefani Feller (now Marnon), who was helping open up the restaurant at the Silverbow, cleaned and marinated this fish. A group of friends then joined us on the rooftop picnic area that Jill and Ken had set up at their cool establishment and Chef Stefani grilled us the salmon. She handed me the first plate of fish. I declined, saying that I am not a big salmon fan. Well, I soon learned that when Chef Stefani hands you a plate of food, you don’t decline!

I then proceeded to savor one of the most delicious meals of my lifetime. There is just nothing better than grilled king salmon, especially if it was caught just a few hours prior. It was an amazing experience that I just had to share one more time (many of my friends have heard this story ad nauseum…sorry)!

Still, this is my small business blog and I need to relate this story to business. There are some subtle lessons that can be learned from this experience. First, be careful about listening to the naysayers. Maybe conventional wisdom was that not many salmon are caught that close to the shoreline. You obviously don’t see the big name fishing charters trolling for salmon in that part of Auke Bay. Yet you can go to the Silverbow Inn and look at the photo album they keep in the bagel shop and you will see a picture of me with my prized salmon.

Another lesson is to always accept a gift with proper respect. Luckily for me, Chef Stefani was kind enough to force me to eat what would be one of the best meals of my life. She could have easily been offended and dished out my portion to our other friends dining on the roof. Yet she just looked at me and sternly said, “You caught it and you are going to be the first to eat it.” In hindsight, I wish I would have accepted her offer with graciousness and with respect immediately after she handed me the plate. She used her amazing culinary talents and offered me a gift; to this day I am so embarrassed that I was that foolish to initially decline such generosity. My apologies to Chef Stefani and thanks again for giving me a second chance.

That second chance is another lesson to be learned. Sometimes we make mistakes the first time, but we are often given another opportunity to get it right. Luckily, I got back in her good graces by complimenting her culinary prowess enough that she even let me have a second helping when I asked.

The final lesson to be learned from Rick’s fish story is what was said to me as we were winding down the evening. I can’t remember which friend said this, but as we started talking about our next fishing day, someone chimed in with Lao Tzu’s maxim, “Give someone a fish and they are fed for a day, teach someone how to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.”

This is probably the best way to describe what business is all about. Some people think the secret to success in business is all about capital or access to funding. This is a huge misconception. There are plenty of businesses that have had access funding and they still fail. You can give someone all the money in the world; it may feed a business for a while, but it’s not invested in a sound business model, it will eventually be lost.

Business is about learning to be self sufficient. To be successful, it only takes the willingness to learn how to “fish.” There are various methods and some may work better than others. Yet it all boils down to learning how to most effectively use the skills you have to operate your business towards generating a profit. There needs to be some bait; something that has that “sexy twirl” to attract customers. Another important skill is learning how to budget your resources wisely, as some days the “fish” may not be biting.

Business requires a certain amount of skill, some trial and error, some patience and a little luck is always welcome. There are some good days and some bad days, just like fishing. I will conclude this fish story by paraphrasing a popular bumper sticker: “A bad day in business is still better than a good day at work.”