Gingerbread Fingers?

Vision is important in any company. You can tell because it’s written on motivational posters in many offices here in Sarnia-Lambton. While I think it makes sense that you need to understand your company, where it’s going and what you hope to achieve, it is important to understand that the right business vision can shape lives and change the world.

I was watching Mary Poppins last week, one of my favourite Disney movies of all time, and the idea of Vision really presented itself. Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins was based on a book by P.L. Travers about a mysterious, cold nanny in the 1930s. Walt tried as early as 1938 to acquire movie rights for the book but was turned down over and over again for over 20 years until 1961. Travers was sure that Disney would ruin her characters, so she insisted on script approval rights when she finally agreed.

Walt and Travers fought for several more years over the movie. Finally, Disney was frustrated and made the movie the way he wanted to. Walt hired the timeless Sherman Brothers to write songs for the movie and to everyones delight, they suggested the same places in the book for songs. Songs that are still ready available to whistle in most peoples minds.

The film was made and Travers never stopped complaining about what a horrible movie Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins turned out to be. Her lack of vision would have tied the movie up until the end of time, but Walt knew exactly what he wanted and, to his credit, the film received 13 Academy Award nominations and 5 wins.

Mary Poppins is an enduring classic that is probably in most of your homes. I think we can all agree that Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins was enchanting, where as a the Travers Mary Poppins, who breaks off her fingers and turns them to gingerbread to feed the children, would probably have been a little too… what’s the word…supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The point is, that it is important to know what you want to accomplish and how you want to go about doing it. There is no use in buying a road map, if you don’t know where you want to end up.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401

Never Dismiss The Dismissed

Sarnia is an amazing community. We all know many people who have left the city, only to return with a new found love of the area. It’s an interesting place, full of great people, cool businesses and unique dynamics. It’s a town just big enough to have great opportunities, but small enough so that everyone knows everyone. This can make dealing with former employees a little tricky.

Because former employees don’t leave the area, that means you are turning people out that you are bound to run into again. It also means that they may quickly become competition, or even potential customers. This is clearly a problem and dealing with it can be tricky.

One way of course is to look inward, and see if this person needs to go. If they are going to be out there achieving, how can they achieve for your company? Maybe you aren’t motivating them or supporting them. Get to know what the problem is before dismissing it completely.

Sometimes people just aren’t good fits and they have to go. The best way is, in my opinion, is to be as supportive and apologetic as possible. If you have a good reputation of being honest with your staff, there is no reason they shouldn’t take this at face value.

Maintain contact. Ducking people in grocery stores and “forgetting” to respond to correspondence is the cowards way out. Part of being a success is owning your decisions and responsibilities. We are all just people, and we all deserve validation.

Shake their hand. Give them a hug if it’s necessary. You have made a decision that has the potential to radically alter their life and family. You should empathize with them, but still hold your ground. Let them deal with their emotions but do everything you can to part ways on good terms. There are enough forces in the world working against us. There is no need to add another.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401

Pay Your Bills, Increase Your Profits

I often get leads from different people inside companies or from suppliers and the first thing they tend to lead with is “They Pay Their Bills” which always struck me as odd. Maybe it’s because it would never dawn on me to do otherwise. You pay the bills for the good and services you receive. That’s the agreement. I have always been blessed with fantastic clients, but several months ago we took on a new client who had some definite issues.

I will say the place was in DESPERATE need of our service. I sent a double sized team at no extra charge to make sure we had a good foundation to start from. This is a common practise of mine. I usually assume a loss in the first month of service to get things up to our standards. The contract had called for a weekly visit but when we showed up next week the doors were locked. I made contact the next day and they said they only wanted us every other week. I was sure this was just a small mistake. I paid my staff (assuming another loss) and said no more of it.

As time went on, I sent my team in on the days they requested, and they only allowed us in 50% of the time. Each time my team was turned away, I assumed losses that I did not pass on to the client as a sign of good faith. Finally, after leaving several invoices that went unpaid, we terminated services and sent a final invoice that has so far gone unpaid.

I have taken special care not to mention the client in question, because they are a fairly well known member of the Sarnia-Lambton community. Even after being so thoroughly wronged, I have continued to protect the name of the client, because it’s simply good business, but during the problem, I reached out to friends as to how to handle the issue. Unfortunately, they know exactly who I am talking about and that person is unlikely to receive any consideration from my associates, assuring that they will get a lower quality of service at a higher cost in the future.

On the other hand, the bulk of my clients pay their bills regularly and promptly. I can’t say enough nice things about them, and as such, each and every person I meet that enquires about them gets a glowing review about their services and their character. This “Word of Mouth” advertising is free and is invaluable.

The great thing about the Sarnia-Lambton business community is that the better one does, the better we all do. We really are all in this together. If you decide to not pay a bill to a local company, yes you may wiggle out of a small amount of money, but the cost to your reputation and future business dealings will far exceed the price tag of the invoice you are choosing to ignore.

Paying your bills is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners/ Sharp Cleaning Services
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401

Sick of Sick

Happy Monday, everyone!

It's bee a crazy week and weekend of playing catch up from the holidays. Running errands, meetings, sifting through resumes, etc. Since I have been so busy I have been in and out of dozens of businesses here in Sarnia, and NONE of them got me out the door fast enough than the one I am about to tell you about.

I don't want to name names in this blog, rather I want to share experiences. All you need to know is I was in a business last week that makes a portion of it's profit while you wait to pay the main bill. Sort of like "Impulse Buying" but a little more sedate.

As I sat waiting for my opportunity with the associate, I couldn't help but listen to the employees as they restocked the shelves. "Oh I just can't get over this cold!" one of the ladies said. "I know," said the other "everyone here is sick today." It was at that exact moment that I became very aware of a minty smell. The smell of chewing gum on someones breath as they speak, and I never wanted to leave a place so badly. I was sure that after I was done with my transaction, I would hit the door so fast, I would leave behind a chubby cartoon outline as I smashed through the wall.

I understand that sometimes, you can't get your staff to stay home when they are ill. I am ashamed to say that sometimes I also work while I am sick. You can't always avoid it, especially when you own the business. What you CAN avoid is drawing attention to the fact that you are under the weather. You can encourage your staff to save these conversations for the lunch room, or at least out of customer earshot.

It's cold and flu season, but maybe it should be memo season as well. Tell your employees what is expected of them if they are under the weather. Make it clear that when people are sick, they are to stay home. It is considerate to both themselves, other staff members and customers. If working while ill can't be avoided, make it clear that the topic should only be discussed out of range of customers and clients.

If you need a tissue, we have an issue.

Be well.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners/ Sharp Cleaning Services
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401

What We Can Learn From Storage Wars

Well as the week draws to a close, I will now admit to you that I have spent a lot of time obsessing over the A&E “Storage Wars” marathon. I love the show. Watching people notice opportunities that others miss. It is the essence of business with a hint of gambling and a dash of nostalgia and intrigue.

A friend of mine was teasing me for watching “Trash TV” but as I defended myself, I realized that the real interest in this show comes from the characters who all are involved with the same business, but employ different tactics to achieve their goals.

Dave Hester owns a large auction house and the Rags to Riches second hand store. He is famous for his bidding style which is intended to intimidate but often annoys. Yuuuuuuuuup. You can probably understand why he is considered the villain when you see his that his twitter handle is @DaveTheMogul. Dave treats everyone like they are below him. They are like every boss you ever had that you hated. He is stern, angry, competitive and effective. His lack of personality is made up for by his hard work and experience.

What Can He Teach You? You don’t have to be liked to be successful. There is something to be said for being focused and not intimidated to those around you. If you don’t have people willing to root for you though, you’ll have to work a lot of extra hours to make ends meet.

Jarrod Schulz & Brandi Passante are the relationship team that are new to the game. They also own a thrift store. Despite their bickering, they work very well together toward their common goal. Jarrod overcompensates constantly, being concerned with how he is perceived by his peers. Brandi offsets that by holding the cash and keeping Jarrod in line when he gets too far out of line.

What Can They Teach You? It is important to have good team work skills. Knowing your weaknesses allows you to surround yourself with people who can help support those weaknesses. It’s also important to not be intimidated when you are new into a venture. Experience is great, but it comes with baggage. Sometimes a fresh perspective can be just as big an asset.

Darrel Sheets is the tank top wearing redneck. He seems more far more concerned with beating everyone else at the perceived “game” than anything else. This makes him dangerous to go up against because he is more interested in ruining you, than getting ahead. He is experienced in the game, so he knows when to drop a locker on you, just to make you haul away some overpriced trash.

What Can He Teach You? Some people are just as  happy making you lose, as making themselves win. You need to have a strategy for these people, and more importantly, you need to not be one of these people. Focus on YOUR successes, and don’t begrudge others the same satisfaction. There is a time to fight, but it’s not every time.

Barry Weiss is clearly my favourite. The 60 year old retiree uses his likability and sense of humour to charm those around him. He is different than the others because he is only concerned with rare antiques and in the process of his treasure hunt,  tends to destroy a lot of the contents of the storage unit to this dismay of the other bidders. I spend the entire show rooting for Barry, and getting angry when the other bidders pick on him.

What Can He Teach You? Barry hits and misses, but when he makes a score, it’s usually pretty sizable. In the grand scheme he comes out ahead. He has lots of friends and has lots of fun with what he does. He is the richest of all the characters and a lot of it has to do with his charm. Be nice to those around you, and good things happen.

So that’s what Storage Wars can teach you. There is opportunity everywhere and many different paths to get there. The most successful people in the world have drawbacks and failures on their resumes. The important thing is being a person you can be proud of, and not to let setbacks stop you cold. There is always another project, another opportunity and another day.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners/ Sharp Cleaning Services
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401

Are You Ready For The Cloud?

One of the major buzz words of 2011 has been "The Cloud". The trend is sure to grow even more in 2012. People talk about having there documents on the cloud or there backup on the cloud or there email on the cloud. Well what are they really talking about?

You prolly guess the cloud refers to something internet based, to put it simply cloud services is any service that you access over the Internet where your data is stored on a server somewhere connected to the Internet. If you use Hotmail or Gmail you are basically using a cloud service for your email. If your home computer crashes you wont loose any of your emails because they are on the cloud not on your local PC.

Lets look at some of the other benefits to using Cloud or Internet based applications or services with this example. Quickbooks is a popular accounting program and they released a cloud version many years ago , you upload your data to there servers and then you use your accounting application from a web browser instead of a program window on your computer. Since your using a simple web browser to access your accounting service you can log on at your office and then work from home and log on using your home PC. The software does not need to be loaded on every PC you want to use. Your data would also be backed up by the company offering you the service. Another benefit is that you wouldn't have to download any updates or tax tables , companies that offer cloud based accounting applications are constantly upgrading and tweeking things in the back ground. The need for yearly software upgrades or quarterly tax updates are gone. Scalability is also much easier with cloud based apps , you need one user setup , they can do that in a day , you need twenty more users, ready tomorrow.The beauty of the cloud is you pay for what you need , it could be one user or one hundred users.

So what are the drawbacks of using cloud services? There are not a lot of drawbacks to using the cloud. Cloud services are designed to make things better not worse. One drawback to using the cloud to store large amounts of data (like for your companies backup) is that it can take a long time to download all the data. That is why I would suggest having a local and also cloud backup.  One other drawback of the cloud is that you or your company is really at the mercy of the company providing the cloud service. If there servers go down you have to wait for them to make the necessary repairs or changes to get backup and running. Researching cloud services thoroughly before switching a business critical service to is a must!

The cloud is here to stay , so you might as well get your feet wet. I would suggest using some free cloud services to get started , Google docs is a great place to start (www.google.com\docs). I also personally use Evernote (www.evernote.com) everyday, it is a free service to store notes , pictures , documents , web pages and sound clips. I even used it to write this article !


Aaron Weir
Leadwave Technologies Inc.
www.leadwave.ca 
(519)704-1463

What Is Success?

Happy New Year!!!

Well it looks like the world didn't end and it's back to work for most of us. I thought we would kick off the year and the blog, by talking about success. I hate to sound hacky by quoting a dictionary, but let's just say if you look up success in some sort of book with definitions, there is no dollar figure assigned to the term. Success isn't defined by the car you drive, or how well your kids do in school. Success is a personal goal that you have to define if you are going to attain it.

Think of all the times you have had "record sales" or won "Employee of the Month." Sure it made you happy for a short while, but it probably didn't give you a lasting sense of fulfillment. You really need to decide what being a success is to you. To some people, success is getting enough money so they can play video games all day, but to others, it might be having a business successful enough that you can devote two days a week to charity work.

Defining success can be the hardest part of becoming one. It requires a lot of soul searching and asking "What will make me feel complete?" This question can make you feel uncomfortable and therefore, people tend to avoid it, taking the position of "I'll know it when I see it."

You might be thinking that "Being Rich" or "Getting in Shape" would make you feel like a success, but those are broad concepts. How much money will it take? Is a million dollars enough? Two million? When will you have enough money that you can step back and say "I am a success." The same for weight. How much do you have to lose to feel good? What do you want to look like?
I guarantee you that Richard Branson and Lebron James have vastly different ideas in their heads about what success is, but I think we can agree, that they both meet the qualifications.

So as we ring in 2012 and John Cusack readies his limo to rescue us, take a moment this week and decide what success is to you.
After all, if you don't know what the destination is, how can you hope to get there?

Be well.

Shane Goodfellow
Squeak E Cleaners/ Sharp Cleaning Services
www.SqueakECleaners.com
(519) 402-3401