The Small Business Dread of an Election Cycle - Using the Strip Mall Study Method
Starting a business should be fun, but too often entrepreneurs dread the process. Then add in an election, Trump/Biden politics, economy pains, it can all be overwhelming. Working the Strip Mall Method can provide guidance.
Decisions are what stress leaders. Over thinking without resources will give us grey hairs.
The Small Business Dread of an Election Cycle and finding if a community is right for your business. The Strip Mall Method can help make the right choice for YOUR business.
A little starting entrepreneurial factoid - Most small businesses do not make it past the five-year mark. This is a statistic known to most entrepreneurs. You can look it up on the small business association website AND you can see it around your community. With an election coming up stress is even higher. What to do?
Location, Location, Location is the key. Always has been and always will be.
A quick look around can tell you the state of some businesses. As you drive through the streets of your community, look at what businesses used to be there, which businesses are new, and which ones have been there more than five years?
Surprised at what you see?
Too often we are on automatic pilot. Just coming and going to our favorite establishments, and we do not notice minor changes in the business store fronts. If you have a business, or are thinking of starting one, this little exercise alone can help guide you to what local services are a fit in your community.
The Exercise - if you want to start a pizza joint. Check the surroundings for other pizza places. You may be surprised that the market for that area is saturated already. That could be a good thing or dreadful thing, depending on what your pizza joint offers. New York style, Chicago style, cheap pizza, Mod pizza, special dietary pizza, or something unheard of.
CAUTION to the new entrepreneur!
Educating Your Market - may slow profits.
What happens when you have a product that does not match the current market? Customer Discovery should help with this scenario but if you are still determined to move forward with a product and location that doesn’t fit the need - you will have to educate the public.
The Next Economy MBA mentions “I can be difficult, challenging, and humbling to attempt to shift the awareness of something from a need to a known need.”
However, if after you drive around, looking at how many of the joints offer your ideal pizza, you notice more of those pizza restaurants are run down or empty during peak times, this is a strong sign to either double down on your goal to offer YOUR best quality pizza or even better, there might be a different need you can help fill.
Questions you should ask.
Is the market shifting?
Is there a need for better pizza?
Or should you pivot?
Is there a need for cheaper pizza?
What’s the demographic look like?
Frontal Cortex Work That Must Be Done
There are a ton of questions that should start flooding into your frontal cortex. We have mentioned using a Business Canvas method in a few other blogs and this is the prime situation to use the tool again (Follow this link to get a PDF version of the Business Canvas Template).
Whether the market (pizza market in this example) is good or bad. Whether it’s an election year, or a Trump/Biden rivalry going on, or whether you’re planning on competing with Spacca Napoli Pizzeria in Chicago, working your research is vital to your next move.
What research should you do to spot a trend in the brick-and-mortar business world?
Here are the top three activities for deciding if you’re on the right track with your business – The Strip Mall Study (Survey, Evaluate, Identify)
1. Pick three or four strip malls and find out how many businesses are open, or if there are blanks in that strip mall. This will tell you how good business has been lately, if a strip mall can’t keep businesses in their storefronts, it can tell you a couple things. One, it can tell you that it might be expensive to have a storefront where you’re at and that rents are maybe too high for a starting business for the ideal demographic. And/or two, it could tell you the market is saturated already.
2. Looking at the brick-and-mortar stores within strip malls or within your community, can tell you if your community is supporting commercial business or supporting the service industry. If you did an audit in your community, if the majority are restaurants, drycleaners, service centers, then you’re looking at a community that supports service industries.
That community board, or business association, is bringing in people. People for services.
If you see nothing but industrial parks, services that support industrial business, like shipping centers and such, a B2B might be the better possibility.
3. Next, Identify whether or not the businesses in your community are set up to support the community (as in Home Depots, Menards, Hobby Lobby’s), or are they set up to support businesses (as in office supplies, small banks, credit unions, and educational facilities). This sounds like the 2nd activity; however, this is a more granular activity. This activity is to name the exact name brands of stores. If you are thinking of buying into a Little Caesars franchise you would want to put one up next to an existing one.
This step is where you work through Michael Porter’s 5 Forces model and get critical with entrant barriers, local government oversight, permits. Etc.
Understanding the concept of these three activities, or “the strip mall study”, will help you decide whether you want to support the community, or whether you want to support industry, or both. Answers to these activities will/might guide you into your own entrepreneurship journey and lead you to what might be a good fit, for you.
If neither of these are a fit for you (supporting the community needs through business, or supporting an industry through location), then an online business might be better suited. Online businesses can do much of the same as brick and mortar. You can also include sales marketing, affiliate marketing, any media marketing can be supported within any one of these types of communities at a fraction of the cost.
The world of entrepreneurship is vast with opportunities. You could be the next Bezos!
Supporting your drive to ditch the 9-5 day-jobber rat race is just around the corner for you. Check out the resources on HandPrint Content and for those who like to read up on an idea first, there are several impressive books that have helped in my journey below.
2 Key questions to answer in Product Development
Dreaming of cool products, and creating cool products are two entirely different things. To be successful at both you need a Business Model Canvas and a great network to pull information from.
The balance of knowing the name and knowing more…
Arriving at the right niche and right customer is challenging for a new business. Many wrong roads and wrong products have been wasted on not understanding the customer.
Here are the first two questions to answer on this journey:
1. Where are you in developing your product?
2. Where are you in developing your marketing?
The answers are the same for both questions. If both have been developed in entirety and you have not made a customer discovery yet, then start the full process over!
Seriously. I bet you missed something.
If you are in the beginning phase, then you are in the perfect spot to be. Customer discovery is a vital part of the product/niche design. As an example, if you make a spoon and the customer wants a fork, sales will suck so bad that you will fail.
Having just finished an awesome book on Audible, The Pleasure of Finding Things Out w/ Richard Feynman. I had to stop many times to decipher the stories and the lessons involved. There were many. The idea during the book is “knowing science,” check out the little clip I found from the book. It explains the concept of customer discovery with simplicity.
Name of the Bird – The Pleasure of Finding Things Out w/ Richard Feynman
Know your customer besides just their names.
Not to focus on the discovery too much more because we have a few more questions to answer, there may be a product that you feel is perfect for the market. All designed in your head, or a prototype has been built. AND it is beautiful. Taking one more step to verify the market will accept the product should be quick then. Plus, to develop your product you may need outside funding.
There lie the next few questions.
3. What is your value proposition?
4. Is your product complex with many components?
5. Can your product be manufactured with ready-made components on the market?
6. Modes of distribution – online, drop shipping, mail order, store, distributor, etc.
The part I love about all this discovery, besides the pleasure of finding things out, is the resources available for the entrepreneur. These questions are from a handy form called the Business Model Canvas, found in the Business Model Generation book by Alexander Osterwalder & Yves Pigneur (see the link below for more information). Using the model the plan becomes easier to visualize the creation of your business. Plus, when funding discussion comes up you will have the answers ready.
The completion of the Canvas Model will guide you through the critical thinking of whether you need to boot-strap, crowdfund, angel-investor, traditional business loan, or partner. This will also help you decide the type of business you want to, need to start; LLC, Sole proprietor, S-Corp, and others.
Take the time to reach out to professionals through networking and find these answers. It may seem like the advice is trying to slow your progress down and step all over your ambition. The intent is more to clarify the path, so you do not find yourself in the weeds at critical times. As an entrepreneur myself, those critical times will come up.
If you need support or a have questions email: handprintcontent@gmail.com
3 Steps to Succeed with Conferences
Conferences can be fun, they can also be work, or both. Using them to your advantage is critical to your business growth. Plan to attend some each year, have a plan in your business expenses to cover these trips, and explore the world outside your office.
The value of a great conference.
To some organizations they are liabilities, costing the bottom line. To others they are employee retention benefits, to others still they are generators. Generators of growth, expansion, learning, sharing, bonding, sales, and financial gains.
There are 3 necessary steps for succeeding with conferences:
1. Know what your goal is when attending, or with the representative attending.
2. Share that goal with the team, both with those staying behind and those going.
3. Perform an after actions review with both teams.
Conferences can be overwhelming to any team, having a plan of attack before you even set foot in the building will be paramount to getting the benefits you are after. I’ll take a recent conference in Chicago as an example, C2E2, or known as the Chicago Comic Con.
Within these 3 ½ days the McCormick Place becomes a wonderland for all things entertainment. You have the authors hangout over there, the artists hangout over on that side, the merchandise is everywhere, the food courts and beer vendors always have lines, free samples on every aisleway endcap, and the costumes and comics are amazing.
Can you tell I was in awe when I got there.
However, before I even stepped over the threshold I signed into their app, I viewed their floor plan, plotted my course, planned my time there down to the last free sample tried.
Oh, and I forgot to mention, the classes and panels you can attend too. Backing up one more step, before I did any of this I decided to go. Like any conference I had to define my goal, as this was a business conference, not just for leisure. Keeping with the 3 steps of successful conferences, my goal was to learn from other authors on how they handled their publishing and binding, learning from the artists how they would price their work for my comic, and attend the panels focused on writing horror and suspense.
Goal written down.
Next, focusing on sharing this with my team, the fortunate part was I was a solo attender, but the steps still apply. If your team doesn’t understand the goal, they might not know what to pay attention to, or what to deliver after the conference. Are they there to make sales? Or network for future sales? Or look for new products that promise efficiencies? Or there to learn new skills to bring back to the company field teams?
If you do something every day, its a system. If you're waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it's a goal. If you achieve your goal, you celebrate and feel terrific, but only until you realize you just lost the thing that gave you purpose and direction.
Quoted from: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.
I would have used a different approach if the outcome I was looking for was different.
Step 3, focusing on the after-action review - deliverables.
As with any new project or finished assignment an after actions review should be completed.
Entrepreneurship, at its base, is a fundamental progression of an idea. It will remain unfinished and causing problems in your mind unless you push it out and complete the journey.
What I learned from this event, from the authors, from the artists, from the vendors, is that if it is inside you no one will ever see it, and it will remain unfinished and in a nebulous state.
Work to bring out your story, or your business idea, and try to see if the world finds the same value you do. There are resources galore out there. Networks that want to help you. Tools that make it easy (easier anyway).
This was a hot topic in the military after marching miles and miles and confronting the objective. It is also used in the business world too. These reviews do not have to be hard or complicated, but they do have to be honest. Egos are always left at the door before you start one. Questions are started with open ended questions, leading to open conversation. Once everyone is warmed up and remembering the experience then the questions can go deeper down the rabbit hole. As an added tip, these should be completed as soon as possible after returning from a conference.
According to Statista, there are over 41,000 conferences in the US each year, another source detailed 1.8 million, that’s quite a discrepancy, the point still stands – A business cannot attend all of them and each industry has a few that are the gold standard in their industry. Investigate which are actionable, attend, have fun, and review the results.
Ready to shape your future through entrepreneurship? Be your own boss, make decisions, and craft something unique. Innovate freely, grow limitlessly, and follow your passion. Join successful entrepreneurs, face challenges, and succeed in the business world.
What is in the Window?Expectations of a scheduled window of a service.
Waiting for a service person is no fun. What expectations can you expect from the contract of customer and service company window of service.
Oh, the dreaded window of service. How often have you been told that “your service technician will arrive at your home between noon and 4 pm.” or even better (worse really) “your service window is 7am to 5pm.”? So, all day.
What is the expectation for a company and client after this contract is finalized? Is this a contract? It is a verbal contract for sure and an expectation.
The burdens.
For the customers:
1. Needing to take time off work.
2. Needing to reschedule other responsibilities.
3. Needing to rebalance the budget to afford the service.
These top reasons are all the hassles the client is dealing with regarding a window of service.
All of which present a burden (or opportunity) to be removed by the contractor. I recently had a window of service from 7am to 4pm, all day which sucked. Plain and simple sucked. Luckily, I can sometimes work remotely, others do not have this luxury. For them, this is a nightmare. Possibly losing 8 hours of pay can be the difference between making the mortgage payment and not for families. The painful part of this was that the technician did not show up. Did not call. The company did not even call. Radio silence. So, I had to call, and I was mad but professional. I expressed my concern and asked when I should expect the technician. I would have cancelled the whole thing entirely except that it would take a week or more to get another schedule (they knew that), so they had me in an awkward position. So, the next day was agreed upon and the same window 7am to 4pm, and even after asking them to narrow that down a bit – they said this is standard they would not change the window.
Finally, the technician showed up, at 7:30pm, did the job, did not apologize, and left us with some cleanup. Suffice it to say we will not be using this company again. They failed on so many customers service points, it is not even funny.
So back to the expectation of a window – the burdens on the contractor side:
1. Have your timing figured out, per task plus drive time.
2. Customers extend the offer to you for service its now your time to shine.
3. Automated follow ups, whether through email or calls/texts.
For instance, my car lets me know when I need a service. I always forget and later I will get a text from the service center that I normally get work done from, then I can also schedule through the text, or I can call or email the service desk myself. I usually plan a service through the same text and when I show up, they have my appointment. While there I get texts updates as my car gets the service done. Finally, a few days later I will get a customer survey. Talk about communication.
The same can happen with service technicians and companies providing services (which is every company’s function).
It is one thing to build a company, it’s another altogether to be good at service. There are a few products I like to use for my business to keep me straight:
3. Speedy Links
Using these I stay on track with customers and workloads. I probably shouldn’t even share these secrets. Of course if you are crazy busy like most of us there are ghostwriters that can help.
Earth Day - Still Going; Intercultural Teamwork vs. The Trash
Finding options to course correct our future is critical to our developing ecosystem. Water pollution will be the key to filtering negative impact planetary occurrences. New tech will be the gold mine of the future to harness cultural values and sustainable methods, then bring them to the future for solving the problem of pollution.
Saving the world one project at a time should be the motto for Earth Day.
It is awesome to see the excitement of everyone when the day comes around. Like Valentine’s Day, it does not have to be just one day, so let us celebrate a couple projects that have worked towards continual Earth Day efforts.
Groasis Waterboxx© - an innovative use of an alternative to drip method growing. The water situation on the planet is in a dire state. Between heat plumes in the cities and desertification happening I the arid climates, the seasons are noticeably changing. For instance, having grown up in Maine, snow season would leave snowbanks as high as the powerlines fueling the lakes and rivers for the summer season fun. And farming needs.
Designing a water conservative solution to re-green the world is a great option to help balance the environment.
With water scarcity on the rise water will become the next gold. I would even argue that has happened already. With that, working towards reducing the water load of our oxygen producing foliage will counter the greenhouse gases. In theory.
The idea of growing crops in the Waterboxx© is said to use 90% less water to grow a tree, within 13 months a tree is ready to be replanted. This method would be ideal to use in urban areas. Working the solution from start to replanting will need a little project planning consistency:
1. A good space to plant the grow pod.
2. Good observation habits.
3. A love for growing things.
Completing these steps will produce a positive feeling of green thumb-ery like you have never had, plus the help to the environment will be compoundable over time. Each year you plant another.
Another game changer is the The Great Bubble Barrier, designed to catch debris, or aquatic trash, before it gets to the ocean. The idea, tube with slates, or holes cut into the plastic tubing that catches/snags debris, while allowing fish and wildlife to pass through the core of the tube.
The Great Bubble Barrier - thegreatbubblebarrier.com
It is estimated that this device can save, catch up to 80% of the river debris before it gets to our oceans. This is remarkable!
Aquatic trash costs the U.S. around $11 billion per year to clean up water debris, the polluting of our rivers and oceans is a disastrous state of a situation. Working through possibilities to clean these waterways may need to be a roll call situation for city planners to beef up their conservation crews. Marine cleaning crews will be a future position for cities and wildlife management teams. Unfortunately for the citizens this either falls on us to maintain our own waterways, or for taxes to be elevated to reflect the required cleanup efforts. Either, or both, is necessary. Leaving the best legacy for the next generation is necessary.
Key signs of pollution:
1. Trash along the riverbanks.
2. Food waste containers near the street gutters.
3. Reduced number of garbage bins.
4. Dead/dying vegetation and flowers.
Shifting from a use & waste mentality to a conserve & reuse will take generations to accomplish. Recycling, conservation, is not new to humanity. Various cultures have used similar techniques throughout history. One such technique is a mental technique that I feel would be valuable during this Earth transformation is the 7-Generation Principle.
The Indigenous culture has a philosophy – The Seventh Generation Principle. It is a philosophy that decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world for the next seven generations. This should be our borrowed mission. By incorporating this philosophy intergenerational partnerships will form naturally from respect and accountability. Learning from our ancestors while pushing the boundaries of technology within the newer generations.
This is the time to share ideas, increase the continuity of cultures, and save the planet.
What’s Earth Day to you? The vision of the lost and Mission of the found.
Earth Day 2024 - caring for our home. Giving back and taking the time to learn about our Earth is the moment we connect. Environmental activism and environmental entrepreneurship can go hand in hand supporting a greater cause.
I grew up in the age of paper bag book covers and collecting glass bottles and aluminum cans for five cents on Saturday age. I loved it.
The generation I see now wants a more noble mission or no mission at all. It seems anyway. In my view the activists are more blaming than actioning. Take Great Thunberg, the iconic United Nations speech condemning any who tries to defend the world they live in, and even I thought she was a little much. I mean how could she have lived to be able to berate me on my activism. It did not seem right.
Making your mark doesn’t have to change THE world.
It just has to change a world.
Whatever path you take on healing the Earth has an impact. Enjoy the moments giving back. Enjoy the moments the Earth gives you. We are only here a tiny fraction of what the Earth has been here, let us treat her as an elder and respect what she has given us.
In another light after looking her up for this mental thought it seems there may be more of her dedicated to change than I gave her credit for at the time. For instance, she founded Fridays For Future, an organization aimed at supporting environmental change. Which garnered attention from me as it is one thing to complain about, and a whole other thing to start an organization. That takes strength.
As an entrepreneur, and in an entrepreneurial fashion, starting something, you believe in, staying committed to the see it to the end takes fortitude. I will give her credit for that. Plus, with some more research it looks that she has done more than just that organization, she also supports other environmentally conscious endeavors.
Earth Day
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Earth Day 〰️
The part I really enjoy about the generation taking leaps in environmentally courageous activities are the ones pioneering groundbreaking technology for the good of the planet. That is the positive change that I jump on board with right away. For instance, the ones I get excited about are the solar powered river cleaning robot boats. Having been a commercial diver the water resources are dearest to my heart and to see rivers run brown is heart breaking, especially when I have seen waters that are so blue and beautiful. Every person on this planet should have access to clean water.
The pictures in this blog are some of the impressive inventions starting to be looked at seriously for funding, once some bugs are worked out at least the trash part will be handled. My hopes are, and I genuinely believe this, if we can do some of the work nature will help with some of the rest. Will it be easy, obviously not. Will it take a combination of innovators and agitators combined to get this done, yes!
So, I leave this blog with a message, a request, and a favor – what did you do to make the Earth better today?
Share a message with a friend that you care about a part of the environment. Request information from a friend about what they care about in the environment, it might surprise you that you have something in common. The favor, well…act on one thing. Buy a reusable bottle, organize a neighborhood cleanup of a water feature, or support another activist.
All are great options. In our house, we took shorter showers and discussed how we can recycle more. Plus I added some of my favorite books on the topic of all things water. Check out the links below.
5 Good Reasons to hire a freelance ghost blogger to write your blogs.
Adding a blog will add value to your company web page, inside there is easy button to press to steer people to your business. Seeing the 5 tools inside this blog plus 3 steps to add value with any content piece is just inside.
Adding a blog doesn’t have to be scary. It can be a great spot to share your expertise.
Onlookers think that if you have a business, you must be raking in the dough and know everything about the world. That is the furthest from the truth, if you are a first-time entrepreneur reading then you know that is truth.
If you are a serial entrepreneur than you know everything is marketing, whether internal or external, culture building or community building blogs hold a potential to share once, twice, and more.
The problem arises from the time commitment to write the blogs, ad keys words (SEO), worry about page results (SERP’s), writing call-to-actions (CTA’s), hoping backlinks are figured in, interactive content (IC), and how to eventually add in affiliate/sponsorship links to the mix. Blogging, although enjoyable and therapeutic, is also great at generating buy-in and sales if done right.
A little history to jump off with first, blogging, or “weblogging” was originally for tracking progress on projects, video journals for therapy, exchanging ideas between professionals. Fast forward to the present, they are avenues for businesses to share expertise, promote products/services, and share how-to’s.
To continue the benefits of blogging, businesses have now started using blogs to evaluate the waters on interesting ideas before manufacturing begins, repair company images, and manage the frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) section for customers. Encouraging this type of customer interaction is greatly appreciated by the customer as a recent study found that 46% of customers said they prefer to review content (blogs, videos, commercials, images, etc.)” (Bodnar, 2022).
Research is part of the process. Finding the right funnel to push people towards a certain outcome is vital. Writing just one blog will not see results. Adding many blogs is what is needed to initiate the funnel results.
Following you clients journey through the writing allows them comfort in buying from you. Show them the door.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Now that we have some basics on the topic and some great reasons to have a blog how do you hire a ghost blogger? It could not be simpler. Call HandPrint Content.
Seriously, hiring a ghost blogger allows you to see the market from a fresh set of eyes. With a new perspective the business owner recaptures that business youth and energy and shares with the ghost blogger with a vision of a new entrepreneur, or a new owner. Capturing that passion is the best vision for entry blogs, while deeper dives into tech and systems influencing if for later blogs. Ideally, it is better to have a mix of content for each level of customer.
Within that content you should answer three main questions:
1. Why do they need you?
2. Why do you stand out?
3. Why will you deliver on service?
The rest comes after these questions.
For Instance:
HandPrint Content is a newly founded company, and the prices reflect market break in low prices. Founded in 2022.
HandPrint Content has years of multi-industry experience within the writing talent, from turning wrenches, to management, to consulting experience with MBA credentials.
HandPrint Content only takes on a limited number of clients to ensure enough time to complete work within the client’s time constraints. We always allow time for a client review before final delivery.
Finding a ghost blogger/ghostwriter should be a line item in your business plan, right along with a coach. Both items can accelerate your business and expand your reach. Blogs, in a fashion, are an insurance policy. Every company hits a plateau in performance; however, the content never gets tired, it still exists 24/7.
Tools for businesses.
Needing your business to look professional, try Sqribble.
One of the best tools in a business arsenal is a tool for designing proposals, ad materials, eBooks, and manuals. No need to have seperate programs for each.
Try Sqribble. Click the image to try Sqribble for just $3!
References
Bodnar, K. (2022, May 31). How Consumers Prefer to Interact With Brands [Hubspot Blog Survey]. Retrieved from blog.hubspot.com: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/forms-chat-phone-buyer-journey
4 Main Focuses to Maintain a Government Contract
Working to grow your business and get that government contract requires planning and and more planning, plus some financial planning. Gaining the credentials to level up your small business to that level takes four main things.
The coveted government contract is what many contractors strive for but rarely are contractors ready to handle the administrative tasks associated with delivery.
Here are the 4 main focuses to maintain a government contract.
1. Credibility
2. Predictability
3. Transparency
4. Consistency
Later we will discuss the pitfalls of government contracts, and there are pitfalls. Some easy solutions to those pitfalls but a need to be concerned is valid. I’ve seen many contractors struggle with the four main focuses and the pitfalls.
Credibility
Unfortunately, the burden of credibility falls on the contractor completely. Only because your organization values the steady month-over-month service payment. Even if the client is a beast to handle and should probably be passed up. The advantage of having a government body client adds to your cash flow.
Credibility comes in two forms, credibility to complete service contract, and credibility to not belly up because of underfunded or underinsured.
Credibility to complete service contract is the headache all government entities wish for; the contract holder is most likely over always overworked and under scrutiny. Signing a contract is both a blessing and a nightmare on that person’s shoulders. Reducing this stress will make you a hero contractor.
Credibility to not belly up because of underfunded or underinsured situations, this one can black mark you in the industry. Failing to keep this portion of your business in tip-top shape with secure credibility amongst those looking for bidders. This hurdle usually manifests itself at the midpoint of a contract, usually from front loading the beginning of the contract with the intent of securing the friendship quality. Contractors, watch out for this when bidding. Either add in the proper increases with CPI figures plus you increase of administration fees or track your own overhead multiplier.
Tips to avoid this funding issue – Work with a credit consultant (like J. Galt) to help the small business entrepreneur weather any late payments to vendors or from clients. Most non-government clients pay within 30 days, but government contracts can take upto 90 days due to the paperwork shuffle. Having a high business credit can help you negotiate short-term loan agreements.
Predictability
Social scientists love to think the world and the minds of others can be ushered into norms and predictable scenarios. There is some credibility in those theories, however predictability has many situations to focus on but here are two, the client asked for this (or that) and you said “yes” (for this amount). Government organizations hate changing this, or asking for more money, and here’s why – it takes an enormous amount of time and approvals to get the “yes” to proceed. Mostly because the scrutiny from oversight is so large with respect to using public dollars for anything.
So here is the warning – if you are going to lowball a contract just to get a foot in the door be ready to fight tooth and nail if you want more from the client. Also recognize the tarnish on your armor when that happens. Augmenting your social presence to combat any tarnish and/or sales target would be beneficial with having your marketing staff learn affiliate marketing to learn the benefits and how-to to gain social leverage in these situations.
Nirvana Approach!
When sending in the sales/bid documents be cautious about selling the “Nirvana Approach” (actual outcome vs. the ideal but unattainable alternate outcome) (Wolf, 2004). Within your documents avoid subjective language that might be seen in every other bid document, instead give sound evidence as to why your price is what it is. Government entities do not always go for the lowest bidder but keep that pencil sharp just the same. Stay competitive.
Transparency
Be ready at any time to share documents, yes there is the Freedom of Information Act, and your HR/Business Manager should know the regulations of what is allowed and not. In that vein transparency helps with the other 3 categories. Transparency can also come in many forms, for instance if you’re a service provider be clear on what the outcomes should be and that should be listed in a Service Agreement, not the Request for Bid documents as I have seen too often. Within the Service Agreement should be metrics that have to be hit and items that must be provided daily/weekly/monthly/year/etc. and without this the credibility/relationship credential will be put to the test.
This is however the extra administration tasks that must be factored in the bidding process and too often I see these moments are not included so other services go untended to make up time for the others. So be ready to share schedules, work logs, pay documents, manpower figures (if your contract is for manpower).
Tip for smooth communicating – having a process for gaining materials, and approvals, will aid in supporting front line managers when working with clients.
Consistency
If all the above 3 are going well then, this one is most likely going to be fine. Service Agreements are great that way, they give each side a place to start with when something is not attended to, or conditions change.
The two side of the coin – the “if” scenarios
If your company is heavy on relationships and wants to avoid contracts, government contracts will pose a difficult situation. However not completely undoable, working in and on government facilities will need constant socialization to create that relationship.
If your company mostly completes work out of sight of staff, then diligent consistency to perceived results will be necessary and the moment that areas or details are not attended to will spring up fast. Keep the Service Agreement handy.
Bibliography
Wolf, M. (2004). Why Globalization Works. Yale University Press.
Secret Career Path Schools Do Not Want You To Know About.
Secret career path to unlock the profits of Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others. Affiliate marketing has benefits other than money. Using affiliate marketing to support your own entrepreneurial journey.
Grabbing those potatoes with your hands and pulling the stem off the product. Chucking them into your wicker basket and carrying that basket to a wooden barrel. Then repeat, again, and again. Picking potatoes is a young person’s game. Or at least it used to be.
That scenario was about 40 years ago for me. Working like that all day long for just about 10 cents a barrel, in hopes of making a few bucks during the school harvest break.
Fast forward to now…well now there is air harvesters, that dig the potatoes, pull the stems, and separate them by size. No more bending or carrying the heavy basket all the way to the barrel.
Times change!
Better equipment and better outcomes! Same goes for shopping, better tech/communication means better marketing, affiliate marketing.
I shared this story to share that times change. Times have changed. The shopping space for example is the same. Malls were all the rage 30-40 years ago. A recent article mentions that malls are on the decline, “there are currently around 700 malls in the US, down from 2500 in the 1980s” (Levin, 2022). That’s a 72% decline in malls. The digital shopping craze has hit them hard.
If there ever was a reason to jump on the affiliate marketing bandwagon, the time is now. Where before the store owners made millions, now the average citizen can gain some of the profit and aid the sales for stores like Walmart, Amazon, Target, Home Depot, and/or Starbucks, and so many more without the need for brick & mortar. Why not make some money while those stores are making money.
That desire to make money needs to be there. The drive to start a business, be consistent, learn sales, and maintain a website is all part of the deal. Success comes from getting yourself out there and continuing to drive forward. For more business start-up skills check out the article The Bear Reminder as it relates to trials and errors of business development as an entrepreneur. Test/fail/succeed happens to us all.
Don’t stop reading yet. There are some cool specialties in affiliate marketing:
Specialties can come in many sizes.
Work from home while your kids sleep, or the coffee shop with that tasty mocha, or from the park with your puppy, or at the laundromat while your clothes are drying, or in the dorm room in between classes, and any number of combinations of on the beach in some tropical island.
· Blogging
· Social Media
· Article Writing
· Journals
· TV Media
· B2B Sales
· And so many more avenues for affiliate marketing.
Getting to your ideal client is the real goal, how you do it is your specialty and all up to your discretion. That’s the fun part. The other fun part is the money. I’d be remiss in not adding anything about money. Affiliate Marketing takes time, I’ll be real with you. In the beginning it’s like any other business, but there is a reason you do not hear about many of us, it’s because we have our niche, and we are protective of it. The cool part is that the markets are big and room enough for others. Me sharing this information may even get me in trouble from the affiliate police. JK.
Get out there, join our program that has a coach component, and lessons to step you through learning the skills.
References
Levin, T. (2022, October 12). The decline of the American mall has left just 700 still standing. Soon there may be just 150 left. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/american-mall-decline-150-left-10-years-how-many-2022-10
3 Reasons to Learn Sales the Affiliate Marketing Way
Increase your odds of improvement, sales, success, overall company success with the affiliate marketing formula of sales.
A little story first.
I often wondered why leaders were said to be lonely, then I moved up into a leadership position, I realized right away why everyone says – leadership is lonely – I never really understood it until I was there. They are always thinking, working on a problem, quiet when time allows, so nobody bothers them. I always envied the leaders I had. They were charismatic, stylish, tough, had stories galore, and always knew what to say to fix the situation. They even knew to close the deal. They were salespeople and I did not know it.
Let us back up a bit. The reason for this blog is to share the #1 reason I became an affiliate marketer and entrepreneur.
To learn sales!
That is it! To learn sales. Here is why.
Before I became an affiliate marketer and entrepreneur, I was in the trades, trained and licensed as a plumber. It was awesome the camaraderie was there. The pay was good. The lack of holidays was a bummer, but I could get over that. There was a ton of overtime, which was good but came at a cost, time with family was limited. The real bummer was that the union I was with went under. That is right, all that time and energy to shore up a brotherhood went out the window at the first recession I experienced in 2009.
Plus, to make this situation worse, the percentage of union positions in the US is only at about 10% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024). That is not a great situation to be in when looking for a job. Only 10% of the workforce are union members, which is troubling to compete against that tight of a market when looking for a job. I ended up having to take a non-union job at half the pay I was making just to make ends meat. I was devastated.
Fast forward to now.
I realized I needed to have better odds when in the market for work. In comes entrepreneurship and affiliate marketing, and really sales. Now let us talk about the compounding effect, because I wanted to learn sales there is a triple effect of what will come from learning sales.
1. 16.5 % of all US adults are entrepreneurs (Lin, 2023)
2. 80% of brands say affiliate marketing “is an important source of revenue” and on the side note there are roughly 500,000 brands. Do the math, 400,000 brands are looking for affiliate marketers (Wildwood, 2024).
3. 13% of all jobs, in the US, are sales jobs (Williams)
That sounds better than the 10% I was playing with before, right?
With these numbers, the market is ripe for new affiliate marketers, which is why I jumped in.
So how has it helped so far, well I now know what it takes to start a small business, which is valuable when discussing any product with a client or owner. Because I want to succeed, I want them to succeed. We have a shared vision. Also, the expanse of brands means there is always a product that someone is looking for. No longer any I pigeonholed to one skill/product/service to sell or perform. AND there is the money.
Since the start, I have started a business, run two websites, and partnered with a few affiliate programs for the variety of the products. We all buy products, why not get a little of the profits? If you are looking for more reasons you should check out this article – Top Reasons Why I became an Affiliate Marketer.
The chance to change your trajectory for yourself and/or your own company is to learn sales through the eye of affiliate marketing. Take for example, if you do not have a strong social media game at your company you will not like this next stat – “78% of salespeople using social media outsell their peers” (Williams).
Learning the social media method of sales is what will push your company through the roof of clients AND sales.
The link that set my company on huge improvement is below. The proof is in the graph next to it.
Learning sales through the lense of affiliate marketing
Here is the link that got me started, Passive Buddies Affiliate Marketing or shoot me a message. Either way make the call that will boost your company or your life to the next level.
I suggest jumping in 2024 right away, getting that training, getting those sales, close those deals.
References
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, January 23). Union Members - 2023. Retrieved from bls.gov: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf
Lin, Y. (2023, Jan 28). 10 Entrepreneur Statistics You Need To Know in 2023. Retrieved from oberlo.com: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/entrepreneur-statistics#:~:text=16.5%20percent%20of%20all%20US%20adults%20are%20entrepreneurs%20(GEM%2C%202022,made%20(CNBC%2C%202019).
Wildwood, L. (2024, January 3). 31 Latest Affiliate Marketing Statistics for 2024: The Difinitive List. Retrieved from bloggingwizard.com: https://bloggingwizard.com/affiliate-marketing-statistics/
Williams, B. (n.d.). 21 Mind-Blowing Sales Stats. Retrieved from Brevet: https://blog.thebrevetgroup.com/21-mind-blowing-sales-stats
Top Reasons Why I became an Affiliate Marketer.
Why I chose Affiliate Marketing as an avenue to strengthen my business processes and sales.
Cutting to the chase, I became an affiliate marketer for 3 main reasons. Let us dive right in.
To learn sales.
To learn how to maximize the use of the fancy computer we all have in our homes.
To learn how to increase profit for my business.
#1 Learning Sales
Businesses need growth, but only after sales.
There seems to be a division in the employment world, either you are a earner or saver. For instance while working for a local government organizations the sole goal of everyone is the spend the least while gaining the most efficiency. Then try to save some more. Often suffocating the progress and sacrificing the efficiency to a degree.
The other side of the coin is the corporate world, where everything is tied to profit. Every department is tied to the effectiveness of the teams to give as little as possible while getting the most. And if they can also offer a warranty. (😂)
I’ve swapped back and forth between the two industries my whole career and find the division often times exhausting. I attribute the flip flopping to the economy, and I’m not mad, however certain sectors do better in certain markets. See the image below, I have had more government jobs because they are growing and have traditionally been safer. Is it because schools do not teach the skills for the corpoate world?
+52,000 Government increase in 2023
Employment in government increased by 52,000 in December. Over the month, employment continued to trend up in local government (+37,000) and federal government (+7,000). Job growth in government averaged 56,000 per month in 2023, more than double the average of 23,000 per month in 2022.
We all know being an entrepreneur is tough, and that is part of the excitement. Some long hours, great discussions, possibly drinks while networking. These are all the great parts, however in the end we need sales.
“but I’m a great communicator, sales will come easy” is something I often heard and said myself.
The communication skills needed to be a great communicator and a salesperson are not the same. One needs to take in knowledge, the other needs to give knowledge. I will agree that the two disciplines overlap quite a bit and the same anatomy is used. So reason #1 as to why I became an affiliate marketer was to learn sales. I don’t mean the typical car salesperson style, although there is an art there too. I’m talking about the subtle network building style of sales. The style most organizations need and desire.
#2 To learn how to maximize the use of the fancy computer we all have in our homes.
THis one is a big one. No doubt about that. During this explosion of technology enhancements there is what is called Moore’s Law - or that transistors on microchips will double every two years.
There is good news for us late to the gamers of business technology.
I’m getting off topic a bit but there may be some good news about Moore’s Law. It is thought that the exponential growth may come to an end because “computers are projected to reach their limits because transistors will be unable to operate within smaller circuits at increasingly higher temperatures. This is due to the fact that cooling the transistors will require more energy than the energy that passes through the transistor itself.”
(Tardi, 2023)
So where to begin? This is the question that pushed me past the daunting over-the-shoulder looking Moore’s Law. For this path I employed a ton of resources, went to college, bought plenty of books, and watched YouTube religiously. But not until I pursued Affiliate Marketing did I grapple with the reality of the tech space, you have to do it to get better at it. This sounds obvious however we all shot for our strengths before we venture out into the uncomfortable.
So what did I do? I got a coach. Again, this seems obvious. We have coaches for everything and anyone that is succeeding as an entrepreneur has employed one from time to time. It rocks! The passion of a great coach gets me jacked up to conquer the world. Below is an example of our weekly coaching call with our coach, Passive Buddies Affiliate Program. During these calls we dive into what the books have a hard time doing, giving real time examples. Sharing screens so the teammate can understand the steps, then the calls are recorded so the group can review them later.
This simple addition in our program is single handedly helping me learn how to use my email machine so much better. Since the joining with this coach my website engagement and social media engagement has gone through the roof. All with minor changes to to how I use these devices. You can learn this too.
#3 To learn how to increase profit for my business.
You might be thinking, didn’t we talk about that in #1? No sales and profits are two different things. One shows how awesome your product is, while the other shows how awesome your business operation is. Can both be good, ideally yes and that would be the goal. One give you working capital, and the other gives you the Lamborghini if you catch my drift.
The simple formula is:
Money coming in - money going out = profit
But it is a bit more complicated than that once you factor in accounting issues and tax prep but the point is at the end of the day are you up, or down, and is the trend in an upward direction. Without the influx of profit the rest is just ideas. So here is my plan for affiliate marketing and my business:
Avoid:
Every time you shut the lights off to your business and go home you stop making money, that is not a sustainable long term plan - that’s a job.
The goal:
Should be to make money 24/7 with minimal oversight and operations for a 1/3 of the day. Even less with proper automation and good business continuity methods employed. With this in mind I needed to learn how to set up my business with the idea of passive income to accompany the job income. The whole dynamic of affiliate marketing is set up around passive income 24/7. It’s set up to partner with products and share. Small businesses, any small business can use these techniques for their staff to increase product reach and engagement. Sam Walton, Walmart, uses a two prong approach (see the video below explaining the prongs) and we all know how big they have gotten.
Two Prong approach to business using affiliate marketing to get your products out there.
Conclusion: Affiliate marketing is a business, besides being a complete business, it is a process by which to support the profit generating side of any business.
Now go get that Lambo!!
Bibliography
Tardi, C. (2023, March 22). What is Moore's Law and Is It Still True? Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mooreslaw.asp#:~:text=In%201965%2C%20Gordon%20Moore%20posited,and%20more%20efficient%20over%20time.
Great Reads from 2023!
Expanding your reading list will no doubt expand your working capital. Read more!
Every successful business executive will say that they save time for reading. I read therefore I will be a successful business person, right?
I’m positive that this statement is true…
More importantly and article from Business News Daily reported that “64% of employed adults say work is a stressor”. Imagine that, your work is a stressor. I know mine can be, and I actually enjoy my day job. The article suggests that a light hearted book club may be a great de-stressor. HR and leadership might have a problem with this as this might be seen as imposing on their free time with expectations. It might be or it might not be. It might be a good idea to have an employee start this and run the group to ensure less liability.
However this post is not about HR, its about reading and business success. Quite simply reading more equals more money, startupsavant.com shares more on this report below.
For instance in the 3HAG Way, I learned how to put my business on a 12 quarter plan, because as a small business a 5 year, or 10 year plan is/was just to long to forecast. After reading just one book I was able to highlight key areas to help my business, HandPrint Content, the link to the right are a few other books that impressed/improved my life and business (https://www.handprintcontent.com/book-review-corner), within this planning honing in on business planning became as equally important as client needs. So here in this blog are some of my favorite reads last year that changed my business mind.
Reasons a Ghostwriter can help your business.
Creating your business is hard, the writing doesn’t have to be. Content is your businesses line to continuity of sales, learning that there are those that can help entrepreneurs is vital.
Let us start with the objections, it is too costly, it is too time-consuming, it has negligible impact on my business.
Does that sum it up?
I have heard all these concerns as a ghostwriter and blogger. Each comes from an entrepreneur that is hyper focused on what is right in front of them. To no fault of their own, entrepreneurship does that. We hyper-focus!
Often the person is operating on little sleep, also working a full-time job, dealing with family concerns, AND trying to make a business idea work. That is the bane of the entrepreneur. That is the GRIND that we all talk about.
So let us break down the top objections mentioned above that HandPrint Content runs into.
It is too costly – entrepreneurs being focused on the bottom-line. Why? Because most are operating on a bootstrap method of financing. Others underfunded by only accounting for the lowest amount of loan in case they fail. The third group is due to not knowing the value of passive information.
It is too time-consuming – entrepreneurs are running the business and working in the business instead of working on the business, due to not having the right staffing. Because of the previous one – working on the business – there is zero time to step back and focus on a written piece. The time/impact value of the written piece is not understood.
It provides little impact on my business – entrepreneurs feel that the value from a written piece is not valuable enough compared to the time spent. There is a myriad of reasons for this. Feeling ashamed that the writing skills are not up to par for a written piece is the biggest one. The belief that it is better to be directly selling to clients and knocking on doors than writing an article.
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Click the image to tap into your selling communication style.
The mission then is to overcome these beliefs.
A little case study to review first, Lifetime Value of a Blog Post by Convince & Convert (authored by Ted Murphy) who completed a Halverson Group study to counter the reasons above (Murphy, 2023). The biggest details reported:
· “Lifespan of a post is nearly 24 times the currently accepted measurement of 30 days.”
· “Only after two years will a blog post obtain 99 percent of its impressions.”
· “A 700-day lifespan indicates that blog posts are an annuity that provide value over a significant timeframe.”
These above reasons, thank you Ted and the value study, are the reasons for hiring a ghostwriter. The written word has lasting power over the door-2-door method or cold calling. It also helps support the current clientele by offering reassurance that the business is still being worked on.
The next cool part is that after the 2-year cool off period of a written piece an organization can move onto the repurpose phase. Because of the ever-changing market and technology that is evolving every few years, less in some industries, the repurpose is necessary.
HandPrint tip – if you have posts older than 4 years you should archive those, take them down and repurpose them.
According to Convince and Convert, the reason for the repurpose is that your business has probably grown in the last year and “a new audience” will find those pieces valuable. Also, these oldies but goodies, when reposted or refreshed, will give you an opportunity to follow up with those that commented on the original and provide a voice for your brand.
Following the comments of the old audience and allowing them to be part of the new draft you are creating an abridged version. Something new, something old, and something connected to the old and new audiences. The brand grows stronger. Your business grows stronger.
You know your product. You know how to do the work. So what’s holding you back? Sales, Sales, Sales.
All business in this day and age have an online presence, learn how to use that for selling your service.
Affiliate Marketing is not just for selling knick-knacks, it’s bigger than that, learn to use the skills that affiliate marketers use to increase your business awareness and sales.
Click the image and take the next steps to push your business up a notch.
References
Murphy, T. (2023). New Study Reveals the Lifetime Value of a Blog Post. Convince & Convert. Retrieved from https://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/lifetime-value-of-a-blog-post/
Peggs, M. (n.d.). How to Repurpose Your Content Again and Again. doi:https://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/how-to-repurpose-content/
Avoid Equipment Failure in 4 Easy Steps!
Failure is eminent in every organization, but it shouldn’t be. Failure comes in many forms, from bad hires, to underfunded budgets, etc.
Obviously, budgets have an impact on our programs, we shouldn’t deny that reality, and run-to-fail reactive programs keep budgets in an unpredictable state. Leaders find this challenging. Although emergency equipment breakage can happen, equipment failure can be costly as supply chains are in flux, even though we are recovering from the epidemic years.
Point in hand, circuit boards are still long lead items for many types of equipment.
Equipment maintenance and/or replacement has tell-tail signs to avoid the situation of run-to-failure embarrassment with leaders. How so?
Failure analysis is your solution!
This practice can change your program from a reactive program (run-to-failure) to a predictive (gold standard) program.
Here is a scenario, you have worked at a company for years and no money has been put into equipment and repairmen must be called out often just to put Band-Aids on the clunking machine. Is it really doing its job well? Probably not, but it is working (at least enough to stop people from complaining).
Until the unit fails again, and a technician is called again. And of course, failure always happens at the importune time. For instance, the sump pump only fails during heavy rain, then the basement floods. Or another instance, the HVAC only fails on the hottest days. These failures are also when the clients will complain the most.
There must be another way, right?
There is – perform a failure analysis.
Figure #1
An example of a real-life piece of equipment. It was installed in 1997, and the unit ran until almost 2018, see figure #1 on the next page. The red line indicates the expected manufacturers life.
When should this unit have been changed out or replaced?
The clear answer was before the yellow circled expenses. With the parts and the service calls the dollar cost for use has risen substantially.
Companies all around the world try to play the game of getting the most use out of a piece of equipment. This happens by making it last longer the expected. However, the depreciation has long been spent, in most cases the depreciation is over 5-7 years. And the warranty has been used up also.
Running a failure analysis can help make that decision based on math, not opinion.
In the image, figure #1, it appears that the unit was headed for a failure based on the number of calls in the year 2016 to 2017. At this point a decision needs to be made by the administrator.
Whether to replace or continue the dilemma.
Waiting for failure is not ideal. And often comes with a ton of questions from superiors. Don’t let that happen to you.
You can…
Step #1
You will need a little more data.
The data used for Fig. 1, were the number of work orders, the manufacturers expected life, and the costs for every work ticket, and the dates of every ticket. Figure #2 is the work order history for example.
Figure #2
This step requires a good CMMS (computerized maintenance management System). One that is actively used, and good data put in. As the saying goes “junk in, junk out”, so the date needs to be good data with a goal in mind.
Or it’s just data for data’s sake. There are several great systems out there depending on your industry. I’d be happy to share a few good ones.
Within this data entry be as detailed as you can because the next steps are where the cost factors and predicting come in.
To make the system work even better data will need to be collected on all the equipment you have to make sure averages are well established for the industry you are in.
Step #2
Find a techy person that is familiar with excel. Although most CMMS systems can do these calculations, a simple excel program that is standard on most computers is fine. Looking at figure #1 again, plot the dates and the number of tickets on a graph.
Figure #1
You should end up with something like the example. This is good. It’s horrible to see but an eye opener just at this step to understand what your maintenance department is doing. This simple graph alone can start conversations with your trades and line managers on making better decisions to avoid failure of equipment.
However, if you really want to take your program to the next level, finding the right point for your organization to replace units BEFORE failure expenses start move to step three.
Step #3
For this step you will need a batch of units. Run the same information for each then on the excel program look for the Bell Curve graph. Configure the data for that style and you should get the below graph, Figure #3. This example includes the piece of equipment we started with and 10 more in similar situations.
Figure #3
The bottom horizontal line is the number of years between end-of-life expectations and the beginning of critical failure.
For instance, in Figure #2 the dates used would be 2014 to 2016, before critical failure starts.
The graph indicates, at the peak of the Bell, that the organization gets roughly 2 years after the manufactures expected dates before failure starts to happen.
Step #4
Using this data You, or your frontline manager/staff have the knowledge to predict expenses for your operations budget several years out to replace an aging fleet of equipment.
Then your work really starts. Now you need to write and present a story to your budget holders on how your department wants to save the world and raise the bar. There should also be a follow up conversation with the trades to see if there is any outside factors that might contribute to early failure or in lengthening the time between expectancy and failure.
Some topics could include:
1. Water quality
2. Electrical surges
3. Air flow
4. High dust or debris
5. Amount of use
After all, a great service department should catch issues before they are issues.
Additional Resource of knowledge on this topic can be found in the books that were handy to me as I was writing this. See below:
How the 37% Rule can apply to the cleaning industry.
How dating and client picking can be helped with The 37% Rule.
Have you ever heard that “the relationship is the strongest part of any contract”? I’m betting yes. You can do a mediocre job but if the contract holder likes and believes that you have their back you are still hired. Or allowed to continue the work.
Why is that?
There is an interesting concept called The 37% Rule (also called The Optimal Stopping Problem, or The Sultan’s Dowry Problem, or Secretary Problem), mostly found in dating, but the concept is like what happens in contract cleaning.
Loosely put the Rule, backed by math and probabilities, see the article by CT Post, Calculate Your Exact Chance Of Falling In Love, based on Dominik Czernia’s (physics Ph.D student) calculator – is finding the best possible option from “sequentially observed random variables” (Desk, 2020).
What does that mumbo jumbo mean?
If you go on 100 dates and pick someone at random to be your mate, you have a 1% chance of finding a match. In the contracting world that would be a disaster. Any owner will tell you that this will not work. Any dater would be playing with fire looking for compatibility in the relationship.
However, if you use the 37% Rule, weeding out the first 4 out of 10 dates. In this case potential clients, your chances of finding a match increase by 37%. Imagine increasing your chances of finding a great client by 37%. That would be great, especially if the goal is to get repeat business and renewed contracts.
So how should we apply this dating rule to get better at choosing the right clients for our services?
If you have ten contracts you are thinking of bidding on, remove the first four contracts that do not meet the criteria of your ideal client (clarifying point for your organization). Bam! Your chances just went up 37% to finding the best client. It’s that simple, right? Nope! The Rule instructs to go on the dates of the first four first, then reject them as your definition of what a perfect match will be redefined. This helps you define the “ideal client.” That’s right, you need a few bad clients to get the ideal client criteria established, unfortunately.
Side note – if you are interested in using the actual calculator to find your perfect match click this link. It’s wild. https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/dating-theory#what-is-the-optimal-stopping-problem
And check out this Ted Talk video below from Hanna Fry, insert “client” for “date” as you watch: https://youtu.be/yFVXsjVdvmY?si=XcnmEy7zCzZut_Qv
Back to the problem at hand, finding the right client.
There are some variables that must be determined for this to work. The calculator is based on having no idea who to pick. So, for a new cleaning contractor this blog can be a guide to find out what your criteria are for supporting the best client. For more experienced clients, the criteria should have been defined already. Which only increases your chances of finding the right client exponentially.
Below is an example of the criteria to pick a perfect client:
Within the above Grid, you will have noticed that there are some empty orange squares. Those are the variables that need defining for your company/organization. For instance, other criteria may be:
1. the closeness of location to your office,
2. number of square feet cleaned,
3. stretch goal learning,
4. relationship of the client to the owner, etc.
These are orange for a reason, these must be met cautiously and should be watched for performance.
Green are ideal characteristics for searching for the right client.
Red square is the worst-case scenario, business will be troublesome. Both financially and culturally.
Take for example, there are 32.6 million businesses in the U.S. (Council, 2018). But you only want ones close (state of Illinois close for this example), reduce that number from 32.6 million to 1.2 million (you’ve just reduced your business clients to 3.6%). This reduction can be made down to the local streets near your business. If your boss only really knows 10 businesses (< 1% of businesses in illinois) or the number of square feet cleaned reduces it further. Your business might be in peril.
Instead try looking for qualities that are written in your mission statement or resemble the green box criteria.
The resulting situation should be aligned with your company’s mission or cultural values. Any indication that alignment is off will be a pain point for your company. Below is a list of pain points to be ready for:
Choosing the right clients will be challenging. Raising the stakes by 37% can only help your bottom line. Date carefully and choose clients even more carefully. Taking work just to take work or gaining market share to prove a point will only damage your core business. Michael Porter mentions that in a mature market, cleaning industry, “placing heavy attention on revenues is the maturing market instead of on profitability is a pitfall” (Porter, 1980). A better approach is to take a mathematical approach and remove the emotion. By doing this your organization will be able to train other staff to do the same and scale up based on process improvements.
Clean safe, and cash checks.
References
Council, S. (2018). Facts & Data on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from sbccouncil.org: https://sbecouncil.org/about-us/facts-and-data/#:~:text=Out%20of%20approximately%2032.6%20million,is%20a%20small%20business%20economy.
Desk, H. N. (2020, February 17). Calculate your exact chance of falling in love. Retrieved from ctpost.com: https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Calculate-your-exact-chance-of-falling-in-love-15061712.php#:~:text=If%20you%20pick%20someone%20randomly,up%20to%2037%20percent%2C%20theoretically.
Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press.
Economic Value of Custodial Work
Finding the right labor model to work for your company.
What is the value of our teams and the work they do?
Our teams are the backbone of our results (it’s true) – at least that is what is shared with every customer as bids are placed in the inboxes of proposal recipients. Although this is true, and the lives of the cleaning teams have value, the customers values are more based in Labor Theory of capitalism.
What is Labor Theory of Value (LTV)?
Labor Theory of Value basically states that “the value of economic goods derives from the amount of labor necessary to produce said items” (Team, 2023), this then leads to the basic natural price of product. In a shared space of commercial cleaning if the average number of hours to clean a floor is, for examples sake, is 10 hours, times the hourly wage, equals the natural price the industry will follow.
Two paths to watch out for at this junction:
1. If a company has historically focused on the exchange of dollars for hours, you are following Labor Theory of Value (LTV).
2. If a company has historically focused on perceived value of the product produced, you are following the Subjective Theory of Value (STV). More to come on that.
Managing your Human Capital within your business model should be human centered.
Is there a middle ground? Should there be a middle ground? Does your business model allow for the middle ground?
Focusing on natural prices comes with a warning, natural price is dependent on labor force availability and labor force upgrades in technology. Natural prices vary based on the technological advances to staff and can be the profit generator. Of course, supply chain reliability and staff acceptance will determine the effectiveness.
The LTV model also lends itself to a commodity-based model where time is the trading currency and will be dependent on the buyer for the gained contracts. Being in the commodity market, defined as a useful or valuable thing, such as water or time, places the product in an emotionless path to swap goods. This theory has been studied since the 19th century and applied as the earliest form of trade. Karl Marx also was a large proponent of this model as he felt that Time was the only common ingredient involved in all trade. Marx went a little further in looking past the time/labor relationship that must be equal to be beneficial to both parties, he also fixated on the need for sale to be “socially necessary” (Team, 2023).
The downfall of LTV is that all goods are sold at the natural prices (true value – labor time wage) profits are not enjoyed by the business unless payment for the workers time is less than what is charged. Again, leading to a commodity-based market selling at the lowest price, workers are willing to perform at.
Subjective Theory of Values is…
Businesses looking to get away from the commodity-based model should look towards the Subjective Theory of Value (STV). This model encompasses the ideal solution to a profit-plus-model that is more based on “individual subject evaluations of the use value of goods” (Team, 2023). Or perceived value.
Subject Theory of Values is the opposite approach to goods production. Based on the idea that labor is expended on the desire for the goods by a client. Very similar to the value-driven market we are currently in. The unfortunate down/upstream realities are all goods are subject to a subjective value base. Leading to supply/demand scenario of fluctuating prices, which can frustrate budgets and strategic plans.
Back to the two paths to watch out for:
1. If a company has historically focused on the exchange of dollars for hours, you are following Labor Theory of Value (LTV).
2. If a company has historically focused on perceived value of the product produced, you are following the Subjective Theory of Value (STV). More to come on that.
Let’s answer these scenarios.
1. Labor Theory of Value based – comes with the difficult relationship between labor and pay with employees, and customers are doubtful the employees are getting that profit paid to them. However, in a labor/value situation profit is designed as a formula of a time swap for pay.
In this situation the real weapon against lost profits is a solid hold on performance and supply chain avenues. This may mean higher pay or more training to support performance. The supply chain will need a solid foundation to handle lost time due to lead times and cost fluctuations.
If your goal is to be best in class with production this path has a strong labor relation potential for the right results.
2. Subjective Theory on Value based – the difficulty here is subjective is subjective. One customer may perceive a higher value and the other may not.
Here the goal is to have the highest possible perception of being the right choice for your clients to get the highest possible price. Hopefully over the natural price of work. This may lead to having a great marketing team, extended training for employees and management in relational building techniques. This training is, must be, over and above the natural price training or you will be outed for all fluff and no meat.
If best in class is your goal in perceived value, training, training, and more training, needs to be a part of your business model. As training takes time, having extra teammates will be needed to cover the lost production. The good thing about this is that production is not the main function of this model.
Is there a middle ground between the two models to have your cake and eat it too?
Business is a fickle little beast, and all management structures wrestle with the in-between ground. After scanning several cleanings companies’ websites, the balance is tough to manage:
In all these instances below, the company messages appear to be focused on perceived values, hoping to have the clients choose them on good/better/best performance. All perceived.
“Top Rated Commercial Cleaning Service”
“First in Commercial Cleaning”
“Cleaning that delivers a higher level of excellence and safety.”
“Cleaning services that go beyond basic cleaning.”
“Provide a healthier environment for your customers and employees.”
“Custom Commercial Cleaning Services for your facility”
“Committed to a higher level of cleaning & services.”
“A worry free commercial clean”
“First impressions are lasting impressions.”
Below are examples of labor-based models, focusing on skill. These companies are also focusing on a value that is reproducible.
“To keep your business operations safe and efficient.”
“Integrity and innovation have made us a premier choice.”
“Experience a healthy-clean commercial facility.”
The daily battle of pricing and methods requires a business owner to be open to new methods and diligent in the methods they use. Support can look different for each. Being conscious of the product you are selling is the focal point for the bid you are putting out there. One method may work better in a government setting that is heavily regulated on certified payroll and equality standards. The other method may be more open to client-based relations.
Whatever method used there are people on the very end of that plan doing the work. Enjoy the battle.
References
Team, T. I. (2023, June 26). Labor Theory of Value. Retrieved from Invetopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/labor-theory-of-value.asp
Finding New Verticals - Article
Let’s talk about verticals.
Verticals are gold to companies that can find efficiencies in cross functions. The cool part about the below article is this company designed their own internal verticals to support a larger company mission. This is gold!
Click the photo below for a view of the article in Plumbing Magazine. Dave Bailey did a great job sharing how their company created added revenue.
Companies with strong product lines can gain the the upper hand by denying other competitors access to those accolades. CLICK the photo below for more information on the Five Forces!
All five forces are deliberate in any business strategy. The skilled trades businesses in particular are vulnerable to entrants as the technology for services has increased over the past decades. Tools are condensing in size from two person teams to only needing one. Increasing your awareness of internal verticals to service will separate the successful and the failed over the long haul.
Everyone is talking about it, The Magical Business Playbook, do you have yours?
Build a solid foundation for your business to grow.
It is no secret that as your business grows you become sucked in. Before you know it passed the time to be home for dinner. Or you realize you missed another appointment because you had to stay and explain something to an employee. Or you even missed a deadline because you forgot to do something.
Why are these common in business and entrepreneurship?
Easy – we are shooting from the hip most of the time. We are using our internal knowledge that we have gathered through experience and surviving. Not to sound like Liam Neeson …
Leim Neeson, Taken
“I have a particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career.”
As your business grows though you must be cost adverse to keep profitability as it may just be you. Teammates at that ‘cost adverse’ level may not have the skills or experience, so you must train, and hire, and train, and hire, and so on. Your skills might even improve in training as you perform each session. Let us hope you are training the same way each time, or you will get different results.
There is a mantra in the leadership arena – Policy, Procedure, Practice, & Training – (by John H.) and reflects the path to needing a playbook. Before training is applied your outcome must be clear and defined. Our sole job as entrepreneurs and business owners is to supply a service and profit. The best way to do that is to create a playbook that holds your secret sauce. Every successful story has a secret recipe. Your playbook is your recipe.
But where to start? When to start? Why should I start? What should I write? Who should write it?
Those darn teachers invading our lives years after school.
Notice anything, the same English lesson we all had, the 5-W’s: What, Why, When. Where, Who.
So, let us answer these questions…
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has a mound of information, make sure to check out their site. One article, 10 steps to start your business (U.S. Small Business Administration), mentions the second thing every business should do after performing market research is to “write a business plan”. This is the WHAT. Your business plan is the foundation. Everything in that document should be in the playbook.
The big question though is WHY.
Because you want the business to succeed.
Plain and simple. Succeeding means something different for all, so careful thought should go into the outcome you are looking to achieve. To channel Michael Porter, choosing which generic strategies is important: “Cost Leadership, Differentiation, and Focus” (Porter, 1980). Your strategy will help build the playing field to get the gold. This will require a standard operating procedure (SOP). Some fear this combination of words. That feeling is expected. To get where you are now you had to break away from the pack a bit. Or you are afraid the SOP’s will strangle the creative abilities of any employees you hire. All valid fears. The cool thing is any successful business has SOP’s, so start small. Attached is a report “Ten simple rules on how to write a standard operating procedure.” Download it and try to create one. The benefits of SOP’s are steppingstones and really boil down to providing yourself and/or your employee with one way that will work. The main aim is that information be of “reliable quality and reusable” (Hollmann, et al., 2020). Keep that in mind for any document you create. Information automation is vital for business continuity.
Do Not neglect the advice that creation of the SOP needs to be repeatable
Workflows like on the right can aid in the process from ideation to completion
Creating a playbook for a playbook’s sake is not and will not solve all business issues. The main issue that a playbook solves is creating, supporting, elevating quality on deliverables. So when should you write one? When there is a “separation of roles” (Ronzio, 2021`). It seems like a small answer, and it is. However, adding people to a deliverable. ns there are areas for cracks to form. One new person in a team can mess things up. For example, if you are into sci-fi movies and watched Prometheus, I was not happy about them casting Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland but then tried to age him with prosthetics. They should have just used an older actor.
So now you are thinking about creating SOP’s. But where and Who? This one could not be easier. You and your staff can do this right at the office. Use it as a training tool and help create buy-in to your mission. Detail things when they happen and have a point person keep the data and assemble the procedure over time. Investopedia claims the number two reason businesses fail is due to poor management (Horton, 2022). In the case of their article, in part due to unwillingness to delegate. This is precisely why a playbook is needed.
HandPrint Content has the resources to help you write your playbook, do not wait any longer. Do not be a statistic for Investopedia or the SBA. Let us get you covered.
Works Cited
Hollmann, S., Frohme, M., Endrullat, C., Kremer, A., D'Elia, D., & Regierer, B. (2020, September 3). Ten simple rules on how to write a standard operating procedure. PLoS Comput Biol .
Horton, M. (2022, October 29). The 4 Most Common Reasons a Small Business Fails. Retrieved from Investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/120815/4-most-common-reasons-small-business-fails.asp
Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press.
Ronzio, C. (2021`). The Business Playbook. Lionscrest Publishing.
U.S. Small Business Administration. (n.d.). 10 steps to start your business. Retrieved from business guide: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/10-steps-start-your-business
5P’s of protecting your business
A discussion on strategy components to incorporate into your everyday business happenings.
Years ago, I was in the Army, and I had a sergeant always say “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance Private” – of course his version had 6 P’s. The point was clearly made and usually backed up with numerous pushups. The lesson still stands today with the 5P’s.
The funny picture above was an example my son was describing that pushes this thought.
His explanation of the situation was this “dad, you see, the bounty hunters have been celebrating but they didn’t leave someone on watch.” And he continues “so since bounty hunters are disliked by both the good and the bad, they teamed up and are about to ambush them.”
That’s what can happen in our business too.
Too much partying and not enough planning.
Michael Porter, in Competitive Strategy, and strategy genius of the business world, highlights five sources that a buyer can influence our bottom lines (let’s call them the 5-Porter’s) (Porter, 1980):
1. If a “buyer purchases large volumes of your sales work” – they can alter your future.
2. If the products, you sell are similar or standard or “undifferentiated” in the industry.
3. The buyer “faces few switching costs” to purchase your service.
4. Your product is “viewed as unimportant” in the big scheme of the buyer’s organization.
5. And, if “the buyer has full information” of your organization.
The 5-Porter’s may does not have a great alliteration sound however these are the five basics you must control against. The good news is, answering and strategizing with these scenarios in mind can give you a leg up on the battlefield of market share.
So, what can be done?
Unfortunately for the bounty hunters in the picture, sadly not much. But for you, let’s get to work. Below will be an answer sheet to combat this.
1. If your business has all its egg in one basket for profits, start to diversify. In the cleaning industry, margins are tight already so do not just focus on one type of client. Some may say that is too broad of an approach and they are mistaken. Your business may have started with one type of client, and you feel comfortable in that space. Any change could be devastating. For instance, if you run a day care cleaning business then universal pay gets passed by the government, people will be staying home more, and your need goes down.
2. If you are selling a “differentiated” product – watch out. And let’s be honest, most cleaning companies are similar in nature and delivery. Best case scenario finds a significant product that only you create or have a signed manufacturers agreement to be the only customer to use. If everyone is using orbital scrubbers, what will be your difference?
3. Switching costs. This can be a great strategy. As long as the buyer of your service shares some of the burden. Then they have buy-in to make the situation work. Of course, your product must be worth it. If you bear the whole cost of switching from one vendor to you it is no skin for the buyer to drop you.
I would suggest taking the strategy building slow at first with focusing on the above three scenarios. I say this because the problem every business must contend with is the failing social situation. This leads every organization to focus a large amount capital and energy towards culture building. These efforts must have a place in your P/L statement. To leave this off will erode your bottom-line. A later report from Porter says.
“Business is now setting out to address critical societal issues such as those mentioned previously, and serving a broader set of stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders. Business has begun to move beyond maximizing profit, to advancing society.” (Porter, The Changing Role of Business in Society, 2021)”
Social agenda building may help keep some employees in the cleaning industry longer if they thought the organization is committed to solving a problem in the world instead of just barely paying a higher wage. Most companies pay a comparable wage, this has been the standard in business for a while. However, does this have to be that way? Is that really working? Only to keep the employees long enough to wait for the next higher paying company. Again, this concern must be represented in your P/L to secure business continuity.
I know, this all sounds great, but we still need to win the bid.
I’m glad that was brought up. If you are happy being comparable and undistinguished, then keep low balling the bids and get the work, then hope to get the reup on the contract later. If not, start to work on a strategy to include the 5P’s in your business day. Shoot me an email and let’s dig out the data and see where the shoring needs to happen. I would also suggest training for all your managers, training that has a follow-up function to make sure your spending has a reasonable ROI.
Bibliography
Porter, M. (1980). Competitive Strategy. New York: The Free Press.
Porter, M. (2021). The Changing Role of Business in Society. Harvard Business School.
3 Easy Steps to Avoid the Experience Curve in the Cleaning Industry
Enough of the learning curve, let us talk about the experience curve.
Every company has a learning curve, but what is an “experience curve”?
Typically, in established organizations the learning curve can be steep, the cleaning industry however has an experience curve to worry about. This is mostly because most frontline employees are shared employees from past contracts. For those that do not know, most large contracts require too large of a workforce draw, so instead of having a large bunch of people on the bench, trained and ready to go to the next big client, most cleaning companies hire the previous employees back. Although this is typical, it is not always the best choice.
When hiring past employees, in the guise of “we are the nice new company coming in, stay with us,” organizations struggle to retrain workers on new, and proprietary knowledge, since work cannot stop, and the company is short staffed to begin with.
This has been my experience…
So, the understanding is that the cleaning company promises to take over the contract, staff to the fullest, train staff, and deal with startup product change outs. These are all time-consuming activities that should not exist side by side. When that happens items and details are missing, and experienced project manager or integration manager (or even an aspiring new manager) should be a part of the process. The traditional model for cleaning industry contract takeover follows the same pattern for each company.
Get the contract based on qualifications and cost, spend time on building staff and product changeouts, start the maintenance on contract, push towards renewal times, worry about renewals, retain contract with a basic raising of contract cost based on CPI probably. This may be a positive for the client or may be a time to lose a client. In most cases the clients are fearful the quality will drop after the signing of the new contract. Then there is the promise of more staff. An interesting article from the LOHP (Labor Occupational Health Program, University of California) that workloads have increased while conditions have remained.
“From the outset, janitors raised explicit workload and workload increases over time as key concerns tied to worker health and safety. In response to a request to estimate to what degree their workload had changed since they began working as janitors, over a third of participants said their workload had increased by 1.5, 28% estimated it had doubled, and 21% stated it had more than doubled.”
This trend is something I have seen personally as repetitive absenteeism the workload is at constant elevated levels. Upper management, at times, seem to be unaware or purposely avoid the situation as labor constraints are the largest cost to cleaning companies. This trend is prevalent in major companies performing in the same markets. For the new companies trying to disrupt the elder companies change will have to happen. There is a fear that eventually the new entrant will become the standard old players in the industry.
But what about the 3 Easy Steps to Avoid the Experience Curve in the Cleaning Industry?
We are getting to that. All the above points to an industry that is barely moving the needle on innovative changes in the needed areas. Instead, they are hoping for the technology world to create better tools that will save time. Chemicals that will save money. Instead of spending time managing the biggest part of their business, their leadership.
The three…
1. From our industry friend, Mike Sawchuk, “Ensure Basics – provide effective/proper onboarding” (Sawchuk, 2022). This applies to managers also. Not having a firm description of what the job entails will be a disaster waiting to happen. Unclear goals for new managers or changing duties on the fly causing confusion from the start. Be careful with this situation.
2. Having a clear picture of the duties to complete the Scope of Work (SOW) is critical. Reviewing the Request for Proposal (RFP) and then arbitrarily assigning a price for service because you feel you will get the job is a setting for failure. This is the reason most companies are worried about the end of the contract and the hope of renewal. The reason for the worry is because deep down it is known that the contract details have not really met.
3. Be careful of conflicting leadership messaging. As an example, placing a leader in a position you are entitling that person to give direction and make decisions. Any time a senior leader gives direction around the middle manager you devalue the relationship between frontline staff and that manager. Others see this too and see that leader in a devalued lens. Unfortunately, this has compounding effects as others who may be thinking about becoming a leader. The potential leader will, even subconsciously, worry if that will happen to them.
To wrap up this dissection, we need to discuss the “ugly mirror.” The “ugly mirror,” as Laurie Schultz mentions in HBR article The Leap to Leader (Bryant, 2023). Casting a blind eye to the ugly in the situation would mean everyone is drinking the proverbial cool aid. It is one thing to think you are invincible but that needs to be in reason. The ugly mirror is a way to cast a real lens over the situation. That usually entails discussions on KPI’s and accountability.
References
Bryant, A. (2023, July-August). The Leap to Leader. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2023/07/the-leap-to-leader
Sawchuk, M. (2022, August 19). Invset in Leadership. Retrieved from CMM Online: https://cmmonline.com/articles/invest-in-leadership
Teran, S., & Dommelen-Gonzalez, E. (2017). Excessive Workload in the Janitorial Industry. Labor Occupational Health Program - University of California, Berkley, 3. Retrieved from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.dir.ca.gov/chswc/Reports/2017/Janitor_Report_LOHP_3-10-17.pdf