Upcoming dates:

OK. So you all know about St. Patrick's Day being March 17, but did you know that Mom and Pop Business Owner's Day is March 29. I hear people saying that 'mom and pop' is a negative reference to small business; I think it is a badge of honor.

National Agriculture Day is March 20; National Agriculture Week is 14-20 . I am not sure why this event has both a day and a week, but a lot of you that read this newsletter can promote this event. I am thinking of all of you in the equestrian trade, those in the nursery business and those in the farm stores.

You can tell your customers about the part they, and you, play in the rich traditions and history of farming.

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Why doesn't Reno walk?

During the e-retailer conversations conference call for February, I talked about the problem with 'the squeeky wheel gets the oil'. Relating this to the staff that most of us have, I asked how much attention was being paid to problem people as compared to the attention paid to those that are doing exceptionally well at their job.

My friend Reno is one of these. I like doing business with Reno. His boss knows he is one that pays attention to the customers. There are many letters, including mine, that tell the owner that Reno is the reason they do business with the owner. Without Reno being there, I would likely leave.

I listen to Reno and I hear a person that is not appreciated. During the downturn of the economy, he has even taken a sizable pay cut. I think they need to instead get rid of a few of the non-performing employees.

Why doesn't Reno walk away from this place and go where he is appreciated? I don't know. But what if Reno worked for you and he left you? Where would your business be then? Could you replace him? He needs to be recognized by his employer just like he is recognized by his customers.

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We had a great e-retailer conversations conference call this week. Our discussion dealt with our having the answers for our employees and why that is a problem for people like us. When you give the answer to someone, they will come back with the question for another problem. If you missed the conference call you can listen to it online or download the mp3 file. Here is a link to the directory page of all of our previous conference calls.

E-retailer conversations conference calls

For March we are anticipating the e-retailer conversation conference call is going to be on Thursday, March 18. The topic is identifying the right customer for your business - the one you can make the most money with.

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