Stress to distress

You have to know the difference between stress and distress, and be able to tell when you move from one to the other - it is incredibly important. As a business owner (or future business owner) you are going to have to handle a ton of stress on multiple levels. It just comes with the territory.

Ordinary stress is perfectly fine and is often an asset to a business owner. Aside from making your hair fall out, stress can make you focus, work hard, and deliver. It cannot be avoided no matter who you are or how 'chilled' you are, so you need to learn how to focus it and make it help you.

The biggest danger with stress is it's ability to escalate into distress. The difference is simple: stress is something that has a solution; distress is something that doesn't. Having a deadline is stress, but if you focus and work you can meet the deadline and that stress goes away. Distress is losing your cool in a traffic jam. There isn't anything you can do but sit and wait for it to clear, but often you will work yourself up into a frenzy and blame everyone from the stupid drivers to the traffic department. You will make a pact to never pay tax again because the traffic department are idiots. Your brain will blow something quite simple completely out of proportion and this is incredibly dangerous. A stressful situation can quickly cause distress if you don't keep a check on it.

There are many things a business owner faces every day that can escalate into distress, and when they do you will become completely useless and defeatest. Don't let it happen! Keep things in the stress zone, identify their end points and work towards those calmy. If you don't you are likely to become a detriment to your company and yourself.

When companies stop caring

All it takes is a trip to a Pick n Pay hypermarket to see what happens when a company doesn't care about its customers. I stupidly went to Pick n Pay on Saturday and these points will sum up my experience:

1. I asked 3 separate staff members for help and all 3 told me it wasn't their department
2. I eventually found the correct staff member lingering in the corner of the store having a chat with someone on sms
3. After waiting for him to eventually acknowledge me, I asked where to find the product I was looking for and he mumbled out an aisle number and returned his focus to his cell phone
4. Still not being able to find the product I approached a group of 7 staff members having a casual chat and wasn't surprised to hear that it wasn't their department (even though they were standing in that department)
5. Only half a dozen tills were open (out of a possible 50) so the queues were massive.
6. When I eventually got to the till the teller was so engrossed in a conversation with a colleague that she didn't greet me, look at me, or thank me for shopping there.

I am now going to go out of my way to never shop at Pick n Pay ever again, and I hope I'm not the only one. It is truely astounding that a company can treat their customers so poorly and with such disregard.

The upside is that there is an opportunity for someone to crush them by opening up a competing store. I do love how their tag-line is such a blatant lie! An honest marketer would have gone with "We'll show you our backside"

Where to attack

Companies waste so many resources attacking their competitors and never seem to get anywhere. Your research will give you a nice long list of your competitors weaknesses, and that's all you need right? WRONG! Small incremental amounts of market share can be stolen by targeting your competitors weaknesses but that gain is often not worth the cost.

More often than not, a company's weakness exists because the market doesn't care. This isn't always true, but most weaknesses exist because that aspect of the service ranks far down on the customers list of requirements.

The best form of attack is to attack the weakness that is inherent in your competitors biggest strength. Identify their best strengths and find the weaknesses within those strengths. If they are a massive company, they aren't likely to be agile. If they have massive overheads then they are less likely to be able to compete on price. It may take some time, but when you see it you will know how to exploit it.

*In the cola wars, Pepsi was number 2 by a mile and then some. Coke had invested millions in creating the brand around the iconic glass coke bottle, and when they invested heavily in a bottle factory to create the bottles, Pepsi struck. Pepsi knew that the bottle was Coke's biggest brand asset, but the inherent weakness was that Coke had to stick with it until they had realised the investment in the factory.

Pepsi hit the market hard with plastic bottles with double the volume of cola at the same price at a Coke bottle. Coke were powerless to react and Pepsi scooped up massive amounts of market share. That moment put Pepsi on the map, and the 2 have been battling it out ever since.

*from the book "Marketing Warfare" by Jack Ries & Al Trout

Market leaders and competition

A quick scan of the press releases issued within an industry and you will notice that multiple companies claim to be the market leaders in their industry. Theoretically, only one company should be able to claim the title of market leader, but in practice, the title can go to a number of companies.

A company can be the market leader in a number of areas:
1. Market share
2. Revenue
3. Unit sales
4. Innovation
5. Customer satisfaction

So which one is more important? All of these measures in their own right can place a company as a market leader, and you should work at becoming the leader in all of them, but innovation and customer satisfaction are the 2 most important measures. These 2 determine all of the others and these are the only 2 that guarantee future success. Without innovative products/services and satisfied customers, a market share and revenue leader can quickly see itself sliding to the bottom of the heap.

Hundreds of businesses go out of business every day, and many of these were the titans of their time. Established companies often get complacent and stop innovating, and they become revenue focused and forget about customer satisfaction. This is where the opportunity lies for small businesses to strike. If you can successfully target these weaknesses then you will have given yourself the best opportunity to rapidly gain market share and revenue. Just don't forget the lesson when you get to the top!

The joys of litigation

Many people will tell you that when it comes to lawsuits, only the lawyers get rich - and they would mostly be right. Going to legal route to solve an issue is always dangerous and costly, but you should always consider it as something you may need to do.

Small companies and start-up's often don't have the time nor the money to see litigation through to the end so it makes it even more important to make sure you have solid contracts, detailed reports of meetings and discussions, and that you get everything in writing.

Litigation is generally only necessary when the matter in question isn't clear so if you have followed a strict regime of keeping written details and only working on contract, then you should be able to settle all situations without going near a courtroom.

Be as anal as you need to be, but the best form of protection is preparation, and if you have it all in black & white then you can focus on making yourself rich and not the lawyers! Lesson #1 in the small business survival guide - don't be caught without a contract!

To be the best

What does being the best mean to you? Thousands of people and companies strive to be the best in their respective fields, but what many lack is the understanding of what it means to be the best, and a plan on how to become or remain the best.

Being the best means being the best at every single little aspect of what it is that you do. The process starts by identifying the components of your product and/or service, listing those components, what those components entail, and detailing what being the best means for each of those components. You can study competitors and even other industries to define where they are the best and what makes them the best. Finally, build a plan for becoming the best at each component. Don't be afraid to list even the simplest of components, like how staff answer the phone – EVERYTHING has an impact.

It sounds incredibly simple, and it actually is, but it is amazing how many companies never take the time to do this exercise. Often companies become the best in their industry by chance, but not having a detailed plan for remaining at the top can lead to a speedy fall.

Here is the perfect example of how this works: Tiger Woods is the #1 golfer in the world, and is already regarded as the best golfer ever. Tiger knew from a young age that to become and eventually remain as the best golfer, he would need to be the best at every single component of the sport, and even beyond the confines of the sport. Golf, like business, can be broken down into components: driving, iron shots, bunker shots, putting, etc. To be the best, Tiger aims to be the best at each of these components and the combined effect of that has put him at the top. But Tiger is now a brand, and that too was not by accident. Tiger added to his list things like press interviews, charity events, fan recognition, and many more. Not only does he work at the components of his golf game, he works hard at all the other components that a celebrity sports person needs. The brand that is Tiger Woods has been worked at and improved on a continuous basis, and the results speak for themselves.

If you want to be the best at what you do, you need to be the best at every single part of who you are and what you do. The combined effect of that is what defines you.

A talkative client is a happy client

My client meeting scheduled for an hour this morning took over 2 hours to conclude, mostly because my client and I spent well over an hour talking about all things from cars, to sports, to dress sense, to what she had for breakfast. We hadn't had a meeting in months so we had a lot to catch up on and it was good to spend the time with non-work talk. When we finally got to the work portion of the meeting, we whipped through it efficiently and quicklywent back to the social chitter chatter.

Here is what I learnt from that meeting:
1. It's incredibly powerful to have a relationship with a client that moves beyond the confines of work.
2. She was excited to meet with us because our work made her look good, and when you do that you are greeted with big smiles
3. The client has absolute trust in us moving forward, so much so that she was happy to receive a quick update and then leave us do what we do
4. I learnt a little more about how to keep my client happy. I already knew how to deliver, this was getting to know the person, and that enables me to keep her happy as both a client and as a person.
5. My dress sense needs some work.

I'm looking forward to our next meeting - weird that isn't it?

I can't wait!

This is just 7 weeks away. Skiing in Switzerland for 2 weeks - I CAN'T WAIT!!

This is the actual chalet where we are staying, and that is the actual snow I'll be jumping in like a 3 year old on lucozade!

Street!

When hard work pays off

I have just returned from a meeting with a very long standing client of mine. Our company is almost 5 years old and this client has been with us for 4 years now which is a testimony to the value we add to their business. However, they have never been a financially valuable client - not until now at least.

For four years we have have worked pretty hard on this client and have never charged them very much for the work we do. We were just a tiny start-up when we signed them and were simply happy to have the business, regardless of the income. Having their name in our client list is valuable so we have never pushed them to increase their spend with us, our focus has instead been on continuing to work hard and deliver.

A month ago they got a new MD who flew out to SA and we had a meeting with him today. I went in thinking that we may either lose the account or have to re-pitch, but instead he told us how integral we were to their local operation and told us that he doesn't want us on a mickey mouse retainer any more, that I must send him a proposal for a full-blown monthly retainer for our services.

I was over the moon. This client has just become a very financially valuable client, all because we had put in the work for 4 years. Yes, there are people who will tell you that 4 years is too long to wait for a client to become valuable, but they are wrong. That is the kind of attitude that will only ever see short term gain. Even though they never paid us much, they did pay us for 4 years and that must never be overlooked.

Value your clients because they pay your salaries, always be prepared to work your ass off (even if it's for little financial reward), and always respect and value the fact that they want you to be their service provider. If you can do that for one client, then you should be able to replicate it with others - and that's when you can claim to have a successful business.

Numbers - aaargh!

This morning I played golf with some friends of mine. They are business partners in a very successful company and most of the on-course talk was about their recent mergers and share deals. Some big numbers were thrown around, but for the most part I didn't understand a damn thing!

I'm a business owner. In fact I own a number of businesses, all of which are successful, but what they were talking about was daunting. Why didn't I understand any of it? Am I missing something?

Later on in the round, when I was a number of shots ahead of everyone it dawned on me. I didn't understand them because I chose a long time ago not to try and understand it. If the time comes, I will hire someone who knows that stuff and they can worry about it. I became flush with pride because I knew that I had chosen to do what I love (crazy-idea start-ups), I had chosen to lead those companies with passion and vision, and I would leave the mind-numbing rubbish to the people like my golfing buddies.

It was a concious choice from years ago that I would leave time in my life for things like golf, which is why I was able to beat them. While they spent their lives crunching numbers, working out interest and exchange rates, and calculating stock depreciation, I was doing what I wanted to do.

Some of the best business owners don't have a clue about the finer details of accounting etc, but they do understand their business goals, their staff, and most importantly their customers. Let the CA's handle the maths - as long as you worry about your customers, the CA's will always have money to count.

I love this car!

Would you look at this! It isn't every day you get to see your dream car on the road so I had to take a photo. I'm not even jealous because I'm happy for this guy, the same way I'll be happy for me when I get one :)

In case you don't recognise it, this is the new Murcielago. Bastard!

Dot Com Boom - the sequel

It's coming for sure, the 2nd dot com boom is on our door step thanks to the promise of Web 2.0. But what is different this time? There are a few things that I think will be different:

1. Investors will be more wary which is a good thing because it will help to weed out the weaker ideas and give legs to the stronger ideas.
2. The internet has grown up, and so have the users. This means that there will be more actual value and less promised value
3. Ideas won't cut it anymore. This time around investors won't put money into internet ideas. VC companies won't consider business plans without an actual company and product already in the market.

The lesson here is, if you want to be the next internet billionaire, you will need to build your idea, carve out your market, and be profitable long before the time comes for cashing out! Better get cracking because you are already behind.

This little piggy

I was driving up Grayston drive and the cop driving in front of me was passing the time by talking on his cell-phone in clear view of everyone without a care in the world. I took out my phone and took a photo from behind. When I pulled up next to him to get a better shot, he threatened to stop me for using my phone while driving. Can you honestly believe it?!? I was pissed that I never got the photo but I did get some satisfaction from laughing at him and showing him the finger. Pity he didn't decide to follow me.

The pain of persuasion

I'm in a bit of a quandry - how do you know if an idea is a good idea before it has been implemented? When I explain my idea to people they all seem to think it's great. But is it a great idea, or did I project my desire for it to be a great idea onto them? I sell my idea hard because I really want it to be great, but sometimes I think that my ability to sell the idea is greater than the idea itself. And is that a bad thing?

Crap, I'm confused!

Acceptable behavior - me thinks not!

I recently came in contact with a large multinational company that makes millions of Dollars a day. They have awesome products and advertise themselves as an awesome company, but they really aren't. My dealings with them are always rather painful, and there is a sense (at the SA office at least) that the staff expend more effort trying to avoid work than actually working.

Where does a culture like this come from? Right from the top I tell you!! The worst dealings I have had have been with the managing director and as time passes, more and more of his staff are starting to act like him. He has set the worst example possible, and his actions give consent to everyone else to behave the same. Now the company is full of people who miss meetings, don't take calls or return messages, ignore emails, and leave work unfinished.

The lesson is that you can't enforce a strong culture, you have to live it!