Kathy and I were visiting a new city and wanted to experience local food. The hotel concierge recommended and called a restaurant for reservations. At first, the restaurant refused to take our reservation. Our concierge pressed on until we were finally promised a reservation at precisely 6:45, not earlier or later. The next night we were excited to try ...
In this series, we’re discussing preparing for economic storms. With inflation and interest rates soaring and the stock market crumbling, the storm clouds appear to be rolling in. One of my favorite indexes is the National Federation of Independent Business Optimism Index. Because it’s a survey of small business owners’ perceptions, it has helped predict economic storms. In ...
In this series, we’ve been discussing advantages for small businesses. Our fifth and final advantage is local products and services. For example, in Kansas City, many companies have tried to identify their brand with the Kansas City Chiefs football team. People are often fond of their hometown. If potential customers feel you are part of their community, rather than outsiders ...
In this series, we’ve been discussing the advantages of small businesses. The fourth advantage is personalized service. Commercial lending to small businesses used to be a personalized service. Then, large national banks began looking for ways to make small business loans more profitable. This led to decisions and loans being made by people who never met the customer. Jesus emphasized ...
I’ve worked in large corporations and in small businesses. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but I personally prefer working in small businesses. In this series I want to unpack some of the advantages small businesses can leverage. The first advantage is local decision-making authority. When I worked in banking, nothing frustrated customers more than to be told their loan request ...
Kathy and I have frequented a car repair business over the years that has been extremely customer friendly. Recently, however, this business felt different. For efficiency, they began routing our calls to a call center and instituted other new procedures. Also, some of our past contacts are now gone, leaving us feeling disconnected. We later learned that this business is ...
Recently, I was trying to secure a female speaker for our Summit conference. This person told me that she needed to check with her assistant about her schedule. With busy business leaders, it can take weeks before you hear back. In this case, I was amazed when I received a return call 30 minutes later. Although the news was disappointing, ...
Last month, Ryan Brandt, a waitress in Arkansas, received a tip of $4,400! The customer requested that she split the tip with the other waitress that served this group. Brandt’s manager, however, demanded that she share it with the whole staff, counter to the restaurant’s previous practices. The customer learned of the manager’s demand and asked for his tip back ...
Over two thousand years ago, there was a business owner having a good day. With his motel 100% occupied, this entrepreneur even rented out his stable when a pregnant woman and her husband requested a place to stay. Imagine this businessman’s possible thoughts 35 year later when he learned that he had hosted the King of Kings in his stable. ...
In this series, we’re highlighting the enemies of building trust in your business. The final enemy is lack of transparency. Long ago, I went into a men’s clothing store that had no price tags on any of the clothes. While I was shopping, a man asked the owner of the store, “How much are these pants?” The owner quoted him ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
