At the start of the holiday season, it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get overwhelmed by the daily business grind. After all, this can be a make-or-break time of the year for a small business.
Before you break out the holiday decorations, take a moment to catch up with some of the local happenings in the world of business.
Small Business Saturday
Don’t forget that Small Business Saturday is Nov. 28. There will be lots of national advertising on that day to encourage customers to support local small businesses. Take advantage of this focus by reminding your customers what is special about your business, how you are engaged with your community and thank them for their year-round support.
Stay away from making a discount the focus of your message. The big-box retailers are playing that game — no need to swim in that swamp.
Starbucks lessons to apply at your business
I had the great pleasure to hear Howard Behar speak on our campus last month. Behar is the former president of Starbucks International and was there during the crucial growth period for the coffee company. His message of “putting people first” in your organization really resonated with the attendees of his talk.
I especially liked his 6 P’s of leadership: having a purpose, showing passion for the mission of your company, having persistence through both good and bad times, practicing patience every day, focusing on performance to have your company excel and putting people first in every decision you make.
His book, “It’s Not About The Coffee,” is a gem. I highly recommend it. The book has many actionable suggestions with insightful anecdotes from how Behar applied his principles at Starbucks.
Fewer new small businesses opening
For the first time in 35 years, nationally, the number of brand new businesses was smaller than the number of businesses shutting their doors. This is an ominous sign and means big trouble for our economy if this trend continues since new small businesses are such an important catalyst for job growth.
It seems to me we need in this political season to have a much more thoughtful conversation on how to get more new businesses started, including improving access to capital and implementing tax and regulatory reform. Government should be focused on creating an environment for small business to flourish; it can’t be the driver of economic growth.
Free insight from TEDx and TED talks
The recent TEDx event was terrific with thought-provoking topics and engaging speakers. The event reminded me of the value of TED Talks and the TED.com website for entrepreneurs. I try and check TED.com every couple of weeks for new talks. You never know what you may discover and learn in a just 20 minute talk.
All you really need to know about business you learned in preschool
Finally, one of the best business articles I have read in the past month comes from The New York Times, titled, “Why What You Learned in Preschool Is Crucial at Work,” (http://nyti.ms/1jGwxZP).
The article asks some basic questions: Has work become more like preschool? Are the social skills you learn in preschool now critical to survive and thrive in today’s workplace?
One of the key lines from the article: “Google researchers, for example, studied the company’s employees to determine what made the best manager. They assumed it would be technical expertise. Instead, it was people who made time for one-on-one meetings, helped employees work through problems and took an interest in their lives.”
It’s a fascinating read and one that I would highly encourage you to share and discuss with your employees.
Pat Sisneros is vice president of College Services at Everett Community College. Send comments to psisneros@everettcc.edu.
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