All the Business gloom and doom- no thanks!

Every newspaper, TV & radio station is warning and reminding us of the economic gloom and doom happening globally.
I believe in being informed but this relentless need to tell us over and over again gets monotonous and become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In business, if your customers are being constantly told how bad it is, even if they haven't lost any money ( as they haven't cashed in any shares, sold off any investment properties etc) the customers lose all confidence in buying anything at all.

This has happened before.

My thoughts are that governments ought to be very careful about what they say to the public as their opinions that are negative impacts immediately on small business. Just ask any small business what happens when we are going into election mode- their customers stop buying as they are unsure of what the future holds. This is human nature.

This happens every time.

Recently I was judging some local business awards. These businesses were excited to be part of the awards as many of them were voted in by their customers. Even when times are tough customers remember who has been a pleasure doing business with.
A business owner who smiles at their customers when they arrive is a simple enough thing to do but can be a rare event if the owner is having a bad day (and letting everyone know about it). Sometimes it's best to let staff handle your customers if you are having a bad day. Sometimes it's better if you handle the customers if your staff are having a bad day.

Many applicants said winning the award would motivate their staff. I suspect it would motivate the owner more. Motivation usually comes from the owner of the business down to the staff, not the other way.
The vibes are picked up very quickly by our cluey customers!

With all the gloom and doom, let's make our businesses ahappy place to do business, somewhere where your customers have a good day and a good experience in doing business with you.

September was Small Business Month

Here in NSW September is Small Business Month and many organisations put on events for the small to medium sized business.
Being in an economic crunch time, there were many workshops, speaker events etc on for business people to learn from.

The funny thing is, when times are tough you don't always feel like getting out and about networking and learning. However, this is usually exactly why you need to get out in the 1st place.
Hearing how others are coping (or not), who has thought of a different way to market their product or service, who is moving up despite the tough times and how are they managing it are things that you hear and get motivated by.
Usually we just want to hide away and wait till the worst has past, though that is how you miss opportunities as well.
So, if you missed out this year, shame on you! 2009 will have even more events to get you motivated!