November 2019
Volume #20 Issue #12

The holidays are upon us -
The Legend of the Magic Dust

We like the simple and easy to implement ideas that your business can use to stay connected with your customers. They are a way of fulfilling the wise business adage of "Never forget a customer and never let a customer forget you".

The example we share this month is timely in that it represents a new twist on a Christmas tradition of anticipating the visit from Santa. What makes this tradition unique is that it requires Magic Santa Dust that your customer can get only by visiting with someone from, or at, your business.

The Legend of the Magic Dust

Article of the Month - The Procedure Manual

When you were a child you likely played a game called, "Telephone". Everyone sat in a circle with one person starting the game by whispering something in the ear of the first person. That first person was to whisper that same message to the person next to them. Each person, in turn, was to repeat the message to someone next to them. The fun of the game came when the leader asked the last person what they had heard. Everyone laughs as they hear how different the message the last person heard was from what they had heard. Teaching people in your business how to do various procedures often produces the same results; what the most recent employee has heard is not what you told an employee much earlier. Hence, we quickly see why various tasks are not performed in a consistent pattern. If this is a challenge you and your business face, you will want to invest the few minutes necessary to read this month's article with a way you can resolve this.

Article of the Month

Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? - Ron Friedman and SCORE

We love having Ron Friedman as our guest on Small Business Conversations. Uniquely, every time he has visited he has brought something different to share with all of us. November is no different.

Having been a small business owner for many years, Ron is a kind and giving individual who shares his knowledge and experience with others through his volunteering for SCORE.

SCORE is an acronym for Service Corps Of Retired Executives; people like Ron who have lots of experience and who are willing to help you in your business.

This is a free service that can be invaluable to your business. Join us in November as Ron Friedman will provide details of SCORE and how you can get that help for your business.

Book of the Month - Platform Revolution by Geoffrey Parker

Apple; Uber; Amazon; PayPal; Ebay. All of these are examples of an idea someone had which has disrupted the way business is done. They are a revolution in the way a segment of business is done.

We are suggesting Platform Revolution as our book of the month so that you would take another look at your business and the way you do business. Is there a variance or twist that you could implement that could give you an advantage over your competition.

Put down that newspaper; turn off that television; visit your local library or locally owned book store and invest your time in reading Platform Revolution by Geoffrey Parker. You just might find that special niche or marketing twist for your business.

Book of the Month

Internet Tool for Your Business - Cost of Inventory calculator gives ideas of how to buy

Another of our 27 free calculators to share with you this November is the Cost of Inventory calculator.

This month's calculator deals with the situation where a business has two options of purchasing inventory. The premise is buying more brings a lower cost. However, there are other factors to be considered; when you pay for the inventory, how fast you sell the inventory, and the cost of freight. All of these are taken into consideration in this calculator which will help you decide how you should be making your purchases. That is the purpose of the November tool of the month.

We think you will dispel some of the assumptions that buyers too frequently make when deciding how to order merchandise and what to sell that merchandise for.

Internet Tool for Your Business

Staff Incentive for Your Business - A reward for failure

When we first saw this month's incentive idea we read the article again to make sure we understood the concept.

We have heard the expression that life begins at the end of your comfort zone. We think of this expression with a bit of a twist and a couple of questions; does success begin at the end of our comfort zone? Is the comfort zone the area where we have little fear of failure?

When an employee fails is there some form of reprisal, ridicule, or other negative action or comment? If so, to us it makes sense that growth and progress are stunted.

What if we saw mistakes as efforts to be successful or attempts to navigate an uncharted path? What if we found a way to say, "thanks for trying". That would be an incentive for an employee to try to find success for our business.

We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.

What's coming up that you can promote? -

Give your existing and potential customers a reason to celebrate. We collect information from National Day Calendar and share certain events that we know you could include as a part of your promotional efforts.
We are adding this new feature to help you create events for several reasons. Your customers will enjoy a fun connection with your business.

You can easily use social media to promote the event. You will get the benefit of your event getting a tie in to events that local and national media promote. Our favorite example is that of chocolate pie. Yes, there is a chocolate pie day. If you are a grocery store or restaurant, it is a natural to tell your customers of the event and invite them to do business with you. Other businesses could do a joint effort with the restaurant or grocery store.

Putting these together can be quick and easy, but should be planned in advance. As an example, as this is November 1 you should be looking at what you can do in January.

Examples of January events include:

Blood donor month
Hobby month
Mentoring month

New Year resolution week - January 5-11
Pizza week - January 12-18

Bird day is January 5
Law enforcement appreciation day is January 9
Pharmacist's day is January 12
Dress up your pet day is January 14
Winnie the pooh day is January 18
Martin Luther King, Jr day is January 20
Pie day is January 23
Spouse day is January 26
Have fun at work day is January 28
Hot chocolate day is January 31

We want to thank National Day Calendar for this information. National Day Calendar -  Where the world gathers to celebrate every day.