You mean I should not do anything else? [2006]
- Date : (2006-01-04)
- Author : SAIE
You mean I should not do anything else?
Running a successful new venture is serious business – like SE-RI-AAS!
Vuyani wanted to make money quickly. He wanted to run something simple. Buying a Laundromat business looked good to him. The machines were all coin operated. No cash to handle. He would need somebody to open up in the morning and close up at the end of the day. The business would run itself. All he would have to do was collect the cash out of the machines at the end of the day. WRONG!
Vuyani thought that the business could look after itself but so many things started going wrong. The person he had employed to open up would arrive late sometimes, the machines would jam on occasions, people would use the wrong washing powder.
The water supply was cut when he forgot to pay the bills. There never seemed to be enough customers. The business was heading for disaster!
When his employee just did not turn up one day, in desperation Vuyani decided to run the business himself. What a difference it made. Straight away Vuyani realised that he did not really understand his business. After spending a full day in the Laundromat, talking to his customers, he realised that there were many things that he could do to make the experience more pleasant for everyone. Firstly it was very hot in the shop with all the machines going all day so Vuyani bought a fan to help cool the place down. When he saw that here were people standing and waiting for their loads to finish, he bought a set of plastic chairs to give them somewhere to sit. His customers soon taught him to change the brand of washing powder that he was providing. Most of them were bringing their own as they said that his brand was not as strong and left a funny smell on the clothes.
After a few weeks, Vuyani has installed a radio and found a source of good second hand (nearly new) magazines that he now put out for the people to read while they were waiting for their washing to finish its cycle.
“Eish!” said Vuyani, this is like having a new baby, “just when you think everything is settled, something new crops up! Thank goodness I took over when I did, otherwise all you would see at my shop would be a FOR SALE sign.”
Stick to the knitting
There is a well known saying in business “Stick to the knitting”. This comes from the days when a business that was knitting jerseys suddenly had other ideas of trying to make other things as well. They took their eye off the ball and were so busy trying out other things that their core business of knitting jerseys suffered. So the saying “Stick to the knitting” means just that. Stay with what you know and can do well. Keep your business focussed and work on making that focus better and better, after all, you probably know your “knitting” better than anybody else does.
Businesses are living things and often take on the character of their owners. If the owner is focussed and passionate and always looking for ways of doing things better, it shows! That business will come across as serious and professional. This is the kind of business that customers like and feel that they can trust.
If the owner is doing a hundred different things and dashing backwards and forwards, always in a hurry, the business will feel rushed and hurried and uncared-for or neglected. These kind of businesses send a “don’t care” message to customers who will start to melt away to take their business elsewhere.
Businesses are like gardens; you cannot set them up at the beginning and then hope that they will remain pretty and attractive forever without any maintenance!
Running a successful business is like living with a new baby, just as Vuyani realised, particularly at the beginning. You will find yourself working long hours, living with the growing baby. You will spend your time asking yourself, “How can I build the business today? What new approaches can I try? How can I reach new customers?”
The most successful business owners are constantly, every day, looking at ways of growing, improving and protecting their precious growing business.
