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An Interview with Jeanne Bliss on the Updated “I Love You More Than My Dog”
Dec 26th
The one time I uttered the words ”love” and “customer” in the same sentence I practically got laughed out of the boardroom. That was 17 years 3 months and 5 days ago and as you can tell by my razor sharp memory of the event, my ego is still smarting a bit from the experience.
So when I first read and reviewed Jeanne Bliss’ book I Love You More Than My Dog in 2009 (see my review), I have to say that I felt vindicated. Jeanne Bliss (@JeanneBliss on Twitter) outlined how some of the most beloved companies got their stellar reputations for having rabidly loyal customers. In her research, Jeanne uncovered the five basic decisions that companies made that generated this insane level of love and loyalty:
- Decide to Believe: Beloved companies trust their employees and their customers.
- Decide with Clarity of Purpose: Companies who decide to focus their operations on why they exist for the customer are rewarded with loyalty and love from their customers.
- Decide to be Real: To what degree do you “get” your customers? Companies know they can’t be real if they don’t know what it’s like to be their customer.
- Decide to be There: Beloved companies are “there” by giving their customers what they want.
- Decide to Say Sorry: It’s how a company says “I’m sorry” that makes them beloved by their customers
Introducing an Updated Release of I Love You More Than My Dog
In October of 2011, I Love You More Than My Dog was re-released in paperback and updated. So, I thought I’d follow up with Jeanne Bliss and get an update on the book and its impact on business. My interview of her follows:
How did small businesses embrace “ I Love You More Than My Dog “?
Jeanne: The small business community responded to this content very enthusiastically. My goal in writing it was for a small business owner / operator to see themselves in this book – both through the case studies and also through the challenges common to every type of business. The response and interest in pursuing these five decisions in the conversations I have had with small business owners around the world (and I love these conversations) has been what I had hoped – that these five decisions are relevant, within reach and not usually a cost decision but a direction decision. How should we decide to grow?
Which of the 5 decisions did many businesses easily adopt and why?
Jeanne: The most obvious and “easiest” of the five decisions to adopt is “Decide to be there” because this is about operational reliability, process and stability. That decision was the clearest for business owners to build a path of actions for how to be reliable. And in this world of social media, that is critical. If a customer can’t tell someone they know what they get from you and how they get it, then you don’t have the baseline for a story about the experience of your company.
The other decision that many “aha” lights have gone on for and many have importantly worked to improve in their business is “Decide to Believe.” This decision is about deciding to believe your customers by releasing many of the policies that protect a business from its customers and it’s about deciding to believe and enable belief in a company’s workforce by investing in training and development and by believing that people want to bring the best version of themselves to work. I am very encouraged that this has also been a focus area because this fundamentally is a shift for many organizations and is one of the true differences attitudinally between a “beloved” company and an “everyday” company.
Which of the 5 decisions did companies find very difficult to adopt and why?
Jeanne: Companies still struggle with “Decide with clarity of purpose.” I think that’s because most companies, especially when they are starting out have so much on their plate in the “doing” of the work, that focusing on “why” we are doing this regarding improving customers’ lives is not focused on intently. As business grows, this becomes more and more important to unite decision making across the organization. It’s hard to stop and find the time to have this clarity and make sure it doesn’t turn into a long protracted “mission statement” exercise instead of what it’s meant to be – which is an operational lens through which to guide decisions you make to run your business.
What is it that companies are most afraid of when it comes to adopting the 5 decisions of becoming beloved?
Jeanne: What has impressed me the most is that small business owners are pretty fearless! I haven’t seen fear as much as wanting to make sure that there is enough time to calibrate for making decisions in this manner and making these part of the fabric of the business.
Do companies really care about being beloved?
Jeanne: This is such a great question! The word “beloved” means that you grow and become prosperous because you are the kind of business that draws customers to you and keeps employees because they can’t imagine being a part of another mission, another organization. This word is pretty galvanizing as a commitment and is aspirational financially– what this book has proven out is that having clear direction for how you will and will not grow your business is one of the most potent arrows in the quiver of beloved companies.
But what these companies have goes beyond financial prosperity – to prosperity of the human spirit. Employees stay and become more valuable, and customers become the army that grows the business for them. Companies want this when it’s understood that this is what it means to be “beloved.”
That’s one of my great goals in writing … to try to transport the reader to these environments so they could feel how differently it was to be inside of one of these companies – and whey they earn the right to growth in good times and bad.
What are companies who DON’T adopt the philosophy of being beloved missing out on? What don’t they get?
Jeanne: There are a lot of companies who are proficient and professional. They do the work, they get it done, but the spirit is different inside of their organization. Their customers are not fiercely loyal to them. Customers shop them on price frequently because there is not an experience and an attitude wrapped around the delivery of their products and services that magnetically pulls them and keeps them there. And their employees see the work as important – but they often miss and don’t connect to the higher purpose of the organization. People come to work, they execute tasks, they go home. Customers buy products and services but aren’t out in the marketplace with the megaphone of the internet selling their company for them. Interactions are transactional – there’s no relationship, no bond. And by the way these five decisions can and are successful in both B-to-B and B-to-C businesses.
Customers at the other end of our decisions are human beings. And we all respond when a company decides to conduct itself along these five decisions. In fact what we see is that in B-B when this is more unusual, the beloved companies prosper even more.
Do you have any examples of a small business who adopted the principles you discuss in your book?
Jeanne: One of the great adopters of these five decisions is a beloved small business called Simplicity Sofas. The owner Jeff Frank is a zealot about how he will and will not guide his company toward growth – and they are adopting every one of the five decisions. In a depressed marketplace (especially for the furniture industry) their results are astounding.
What are some of the updates that you’ve included in this book?
Jeanne: With the paperback coming out this year, we had the benefit of looking back at how the companies who run their business with these five decisions have done in the financial downturn. So we embarked on redoing all of the financial research for these businesses. And the results are that they have ALL prospered during the downturn. They are above their competition even in a depressed market, some of them having had their best years during the downturn!
Why should people who have the original get an updated copy of the new book?
Jeanne: With these new updated financials inside this book - get it to prove to your people, your board and the people who manage your financials – that making these five decisions pays off. And get the paperback in volume – because with this greatly reduced price, you can use the contents to continue your transformation toward becoming “beloved.”
How do you recommend that people read and use the book?
Jeanne: Reading and absorbing content is a pretty personal thing. But here’s a few ideas/suggestions:
- For leaders – read the book all the way through to at least understand the five decisions and how they impact you. Go to the last chapter and determine how proficient you are in making the five decisions today. From there you can prioritize the order in which you’d like to make some changes. If you’d like you can send your organization through the electronic version of the audit. And if you email me, I will also send you a paper version. Info is below.
- For folks leading teams throughout the organization, we’ve found that some companies have reading groups where they read a chapter a month and then focus on each of the five decisions.
Most importantly, understand how your organization needs to customize your business to your translation of the five decisions in your operation. Do this thoughtful work with multiple cross functional groups in your organization.
Is there any supporting information such as a web site, etc?
Jeanne: There is! What I really wanted to do is provide folks with an ongoing journey for using this information to guide their business growth, so there are quite a few resources I offer at no charge on my website along with a few that have a bit of a price tag associated with them.
Here is a list of the free items you’ll find on the Customer Bliss:
- The first chapter of the book
- A ten question high level snapshot
- An Depth Online Diagnostic
- Videos: Difference between an everyday company and a “beloved” company and Impact of beloved and prosperous companies
- Culture Kick-Start: 45 Cards to Change Your Culture
- BELIEVE “In a Box”: Nurture a Culture of Belief Shared by the Beloved Companies
An Interview with Jeanne Bliss on the Updated “I Love You More Than My Dog”
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Hugely Popular Job Interview Guide: Unspoken Rules Of Getting Hired
Dec 6th
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Hugely Popular Job Interview Guide: Unspoken Rules Of Getting Hired
What good interview questions are actually trying to discover
Nov 4th
How long are you willing to keep pushing on a good project until you give up?
How hard is it to get you to change your mind when you’re wrong?
How much do you learn from failing?
How long does it take you to learn something new?
How hard is it for you to let someone else take the lead?
How much do you care?
The rest is merely commentary, either that or they’re interviewing you for a job that’s not as good as you deserve. For those jobs, the only question they’re really focusing on is, “will she fit in around here?”
View full post on Seth’s Blog
Interview With Ilana Eberson of NYC Business Networking Group: Wishing for a Clone
Nov 4th
The problem for many entrepreneurs is that there’s only one of them. Ilana Eberson, founder of The New York City Business Networking Group, wishes she had a clone to help her host the ever-growing number of networking groups she runs:
“I have really become the brand of my own business, which is a double-edged sword.”
Eberson really could use a few copies of herself. She travels to the cities where she’s launched new groups, including Sydney, Australia, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The Business Networking Group is doing so well, it plans to continue developing branches in the U.S. and Australia during 2012, and over the next five years, Eberson hopes to develop a presence in Southeast Asia, Israel and Europe. It’s this global domination that earned Eberson the title of Small Business Influencer Champion this year.
What’s Worked and What Hasn’t
Eberson may not have enough hours in the day to get it all done, but she strives to be hands-on at all of her events:
“I try to help all our members make great connections, and they realize that I do my best to give them value for working with us, and that I’m helping them make money and be more successful.”
Along her journey, she’s learned a few lessons the hard way. Like many networking group founders, Eberson put her group on Meetup, a mistake she now regrets:
“It has been the biggest hindrance to my business growth and has had more negative impact on my business than anything else in the last four years.”
The spammers, she says, are the downside to using the free meeting site. She has a global website in the works that will bring all the groups under one umbrella, something she wished she had done years ago.
Another lesson Eberson has learned is to value her worth. Her mentor, Inc. Magazine Senior Editor Norm Brodsky, has encouraged her to get paid what she’s worth and understand that, in his words, “if you’re not making money, you’re not in business.”
If she’s not sure what to charge a client, she thinks to herself, “What would Norm say?”
“It’s been a sobering experience to struggle to put a number on the value of what I bring to business,” Eberson relates. “We take many of our own talents for granted, and most people can’t easily put a dollar amount on what we are worth.”
She’s certainly not alone in that!
Ilana Eberson was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With Ilana Eberson of NYC Business Networking Group: Wishing for a Clone
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview With Jerry Mills: Take a Break to Be Productive
Oct 14th
You might not expect the author of two business books, speaker, contributor, and founder of B2B CFO® to be into yoga and tai chi, but that’s exactly what helps Jerry Mills stay balanced between work and life. He practices regularly and also strives to read nonfiction books:
“I often have my most creative business ideas after I have lost myself for a few hours in a good murder mystery. It seems that the human mind needs a break in order to be most productive.”
And productive he is. His firm, B2B CFO®, provides part-time CFO services to small and midsized businesses. Currently, the company boasts 200 B2B Partners who serve more than 750 clients with combined annual sales totaling $5 billion dollars. In the next five years, Mills expects to have 400 partners and $45 million in sales. It’s no wonder he made the list of Small Business Influencer Champions this year.
Mills attributes his firm’s success to recruiting top professionals, being on the cutting edge of technology and hiring a stellar public relations firm.
Jumping in With Both Feet
Mills was reluctant to start his business back in 1987, but some valuable advice got him moving:
“A man named Roger gave me some good advice. He said, ‘Jerry, the hardest thing you need to do is to make the decision. Once you make the decision, everything else will fall into place about what you need to do to grow your business.’ He was 100 percent correct.”
And while technology is a huge part of B2B CFO’s® platform now, if Mills has any regrets, it’s that he didn’t dive into technology sooner. He says he wasn’t proactive enough upfront about technology, and wishes he had spent more time and money investing in it early on.
Back to Balance
We hear a lot about work/life balance, but few business owners truly practice it. Mills insists that it be part of every leader’s life:
“If every small business owner had an extra hour in their day, they should rotate that time doing two things: (1) exercising and (2) reading good non-business books.”
If reading good books and practicing Pilates will give us the success you’ve got, Jerry, we’re on board.
Jerry Mills was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With Jerry Mills: Take a Break to Be Productive
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview With John Lawson: I Wasn’t Cheap, Just Enterprising
Oct 7th
If you’d met John Lawson when he was a teenager, you might have been one of the kids who called him “cheap.” If you rode in his car, he’d ask you for gas money. If you came to a party at his house, he’d charge an entry fee.
“It’s not that I was cheap; I was just enterprising,” he recalls.
It’s that enterprising spirit that landed Lawson on the Small Business Influencer Champion list. These days, he may not be charging for gas money, but he’s still finding ways to make money. Lawson is the founder of the ColderICE.com ecommerce blog, consultant to small businesses on ecommerce, and CEO of urban clothiers 3rd Power Outlet, but he never planned to be the guru of all things ecommerce.
Years ago, Lawson was on the brink of bankruptcy when he had an idea for selling “urban accessories” online. It was a good enough idea to keep him from going bankrupt, and a business that continues to grow today.
The Key to Success
Every small business owner has a different answer when asked what the key to success is, but we all benefit from Lawson’s idea:
“The key to success is patience.”
Patience, persistence and understanding what he wanted all contribute to Lawson’s success as a CEO, keynote speaker and television personality. Business success, he says, is never how you dreamed it, and it never happens overnight. He’s got patience enough for the long haul.
Another factor in Lawson’s motivation is a quote from Wallace Fard Muhammed:
“Big fields are awaiting for the wide-awake man to work out.”
What he takes from this quote is that the world is wide open, and there’s no reason to box yourself into one area. “[This quote] opened my mind to possibilities that I could do things outside of what I had done in the past,” he explains.
Start With a Blank Page
Lawson makes a habit of focusing on the bigger picture of his business, not just the day-to-day operations. The best time to do this? Early in the morning, before his head is cluttered and when he is more conscious. He recommends all business owners do the same thing: Think about what you want out of your business, how you want to market it and where the business should be in a few years.
“Sit down by yourself in a room with pen and paper and just let your brain wander.”
Great advice for all of us.
John was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With John Lawson: I Wasn’t Cheap, Just Enterprising
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview With John Hewitt: Still Learning and Listening
Sep 30th
While many business owners would attribute their successes to their customers, John Hewitt gives all the credit to his employees. Hewitt, recently honored as a Small Business Influencer Champion, says his company, Liberty Tax, “hires for attitude” and gets some of its best ideas from employees, as well as franchisees.
Hewitt, who founded two of the top three tax companies (the other is, as you might have guessed, Jackson Hewitt), puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to his employees:
“Our goal is to be the number-one tax service in the universe by 2020. Our team is challenging performance at all levels. We have just issued a million-dollar challenge with monetary rewards for those pushing their customer service and work standard to that fanatical level.”
Anyone within Liberty Tax can nominate another employee or franchisee for a “Fanatical Award” of $1,000 for going beyond the call of duty to the fanatical level.
His Door Is Always Open
Hewitt has helped Liberty Tax grow to 3,800 Liberty Tax offices in the United States and Canada from just five offices three years ago. He’s done this by paying attention to ideas from both franchisees and employees:
“Most companies make the mistake of thinking they know everything and managing from the top down. Some of the things I invented as an employee, like a referral fee coupon, were shot down by management, but are now practiced by all of the major tax companies. So I’m still learning, and I’m definitely listening.”
Get Out While The Getting’s Good
If not for some advice Hewitt’s father gave him, he might still be an employee of H&R Block. The advice was on when to get in and out of a career situation. When his father suggested they get into computerizing taxes, Hewitt quit his job to develop the first tax-preparation software for the PC. The rest, as they say, is history.
As for his own advice to fellow entrepreneurs, it goes beyond the office:
“Reward yourself with some personal enrichment time, and valuable time with family.”
John was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With John Hewitt: Still Learning and Listening
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview: Mike Blumenthal Talks Search, Local University
Sep 29th
Whether we’re talking about the SoLoMo revolution, how consumers find local information or how to avoid bad reviews, one thing is clear – it’s getting more difficult to be a small business owner. Luckily, there are resources out there to help. In my opinion, among the greatest opportunities for SMBs are the Local University events that take place around the country and provide tactical, sales-free advice.
To learn a little bit more about the events, I recently conducted a short email interview with local search expert Mike Blumenthal to talk to him about why SMBs need to develop a Web presence, how they can compete in local search, and why an event like Local University may be just their ticket to attracting new customers.
You’ll find my interview with Mike below.
Mike, can you tell SmallBizTrends readers a little bit about the Local University events that are held throughout the country? What is the goal of these shows and what does a typical agenda look like?
A number of folks in the local search space (David Mihm, Mary Bowling, Matt McGee and I) wanted to create a training session that would travel to cities not typically served by the current search conference circuit. We wanted to provide training that was readily affordable for small businesses and to offer them a comprehensive view of local search marketing that wasn’t predicated on selling them something.
Most big search marketing events are either too far away or too expensive and do not attract small business owners. We felt that SMBs were the ones that most needed to hear about the online opportunities in local search, so we are taking the event to them.
The course provides an overview of the full gamut of local online marketing options. We will be covering the basics of website optimization, social marketing, local search and analytics. We offer tactical advice as to what to do and how to do it. There is information as to how to do it yourself or hire a professional. We provide SMBs with a framework for when to take each step and we show them free or very cheap tools that will make their jobs easier.
That’s awesome! One of the next Local University events will be held in Western New York, where Google has stepped in to not only make an appearance, but to offer 25 free seminar tickets to local college students. Do you think their presence is a testament to how important it is for SMBs to educate themselves about local search?
We are really excited to have Google both presenting and helping to sponsor the event. Google clearly recognizes the need for small business education and they are actively starting to reach out to small businesses with their own seminar series. Getlisted targets a slightly different audience and content, and having Google’s help in reaching these SMBs is a real asset. It really demonstrates Google’s commitment to the market segment and the need for education.
Their sponsorship has allowed us to provide other “scholarships” to area college students in related fields. This is the first time we are able to do so and we are hoping that exposing students to these ideas earlier in their education will change how they look at the online opportunities and online marketing.
There’s so much for a small business owner to be concerned with these days – from best practices in SEO to social media to mobile. How does attending an event like Local University help them stay on top of everything and compete? Is it possible for a SMB to do everything they need to in order to be competitive?
Clearly there are many elements to online marketing and it is not possible for an SMB to do “everything” in that arena. But our goal at Getlisted is to help them understand the context of online marketing, help them assess where they stand in that matrix of choices, and help them understand which ones are a good fit for their business.
Most significantly we help them understand that what is important is taking the next step in marketing their business online, not trying to take every step. If they have a website, then perhaps they need to look at SEO and local search. If they have their local search elements in place, perhaps they need to look at a review management process. If that is under control, perhaps they are ready to move onto blogging or social media.
Getlisted tries to provide an overview of best practices so that the SMB can decide what has to be done to get to the next level in this brave new world of online marketing. Our goal is to educate, inform and provide an understandable framework for each business to develop their own plan for success.
What would you say to a small business owner who thinks he or she doesn’t need the Web or that it’s not worth their time to develop a presence online?
If small business doesn’t need new customers and they are currently doing no marketing then maybe a website isn’t needed. To all the rest I would say: Get over it.
Besides your business name and phone number, your website is a key building block of trust and prominence in local online marketing. If a small business wants to be found by new customers and if they want to convey their message in a controlled and long-term way, then it is past time for them to build a website.
For SMBs just now beginning to develop their online presence – what’s most important? Where should they start to help market their business online?
You have to walk before you can run. From a strategic viewpoint, understanding what your business does and who your customer is is the first step. You need to make sure you have consistency in your presence: one name, one phone number and a consistent image.
Before you get involved with Facebook or Twitter, build a great website based on a simple content management system on your own domain. Be sure that it actually answers your customers’ questions. Realize that Facebook, like MySpace, can go the way of the Edsel in very short order, but your website can stay with you forever.
If your website uses an easy-to-use content management system like WordPress, it will allow you to quickly and easily keep the site up to date and fresh. From there the likely next step before “going social” is doing what is necessary to make your business prominent in Google Places and the blended Google results. There are very few online marketing options that can put more customers in your reach more quickly and inexpensively.
How can readers find out more about the Western New York Local University event or future events that may be happening in their area? Is there a way to request that Local University visit their home town?
They can learn about the Western New York event at Getlisted.org/wny.
For more information about the event in general and other upcoming venues, visit getlisted.org/university. You can also email us with questions at localu@getlisted.org.
We are always looking for towns that want us to come. Everyone should feel free to get in touch with us to express their interest.
We have learned that we are most successful in locales where a strong local marketing firm partners with the local Chambers to promote the event. Because the event is a non-selling event, we have found that the local marketing firms provides the SMBs in attendance access to professional advice once we have left, and partnering with the Chambers clearly communicates the message that the event is purely educational. It’s been a great combination.
Fantastic, Mike! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with the SmallBizTrends community!
Interview: Mike Blumenthal Talks Search, Local University
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview With Janine Popick: Go With Your Gut
Sep 23rd
Janine Popick’s family has no idea what she does. They think she’s “into computers.” In fact, she runs VerticalResponse, a provider of self-service email marketing, social media, surveys and direct mail marketing. She also writes for Inc.’s Girl Power: Female CEOs and has been featured in USA Today, Entrepreneur Magazine, ClickZ, B2B Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, San Francisco Business Times and Inside Direct Mail. She’s got a shelf full of awards, including three Stevies for Best Entrepreneur three years running.
To say she’s “into computers” doesn’t do her justice.
The success of VerticalResponse, in Popick’s mind, starts with her staff. “They care about our customers, they advocate internally for new and better services, and they genuinely like our customers and their peers. This translates into happy customers who tell their friends about us,” explains Popick.
And the adage about it being cheaper to keep a customer than to acquire a new one isn’t lost on Popick and her staff: in fact, it’s something that affects decision-making every day. They work hard to keep their customers top of mind.
Growing Into New Areas
Popick says that as a small business, VerticalResponse has grown off of its profits for the past six years. She anticipates that the company will grow 20 percent organically over the next year, and over five years, looks at moving into other areas that help small businesses communicate with existing customers as well as get new business.
“This might involve acquisitions of companies that service SMBs in the marketing automation space and social media space as well as the CRM space. This would allow for much higher growth than we’ve been enjoying organically.”
Trusting Her Instincts
Like many of us, Popick has been reluctant to go with her gut, despite her husband advising her to trust her instincts. “Over the course of 10 years there have been many times when I’ve said, ‘I told you so’ to myself!!”
To other entrepreneurs, Popick stresses the importance of tracking and monitoring public opinion online:
“Watch and react to what people are saying about your business, either positively or negatively. So many businesses are scared to do it; they’re scared of the ‘bad.’ There is so much that can be done for your business by jumping into conversations and shaping them.”
Janine was recognized as a Small Business Influencer Champion for 2011. Read more of our Small Business Influencer Champion interviews.
Interview With Janine Popick: Go With Your Gut
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Interview With Laurie McCabe: Jumping Headfirst Into the Recession
Sep 16th
Most entrepreneurs wouldn’t start a business in the middle of a recession. But that’s exactly what Laurie McCabe and her co-founder, Sanjeev Aggarwal, did. Because there really wasn’t a research firm focused on the small business market, they decided to start one, which became SMB Group. McCabe’s company researches the niches that make up the small business market to provide quality research to businesses.
Before running SMB Group, McCabe acted as Partner at Hurwitz & Associates, where she co-authored Collaboration for Dummies and led SMB-related projects. Prior to that, Laurie served as Vice President of SMB Insights & Solutions at AMI-Partners for five years. Her 20-plus years in IT mean she’s in demand as a speaker, blogger (she contributes to Small Business Computing) and writer.
The Future Looks Bright
Despite some hurdles in starting and running SMB Group, McCabe is eager to see where she can take the company in the future. She and her partner hope to double the amount of business they bring in this year, and she plans to add new services in SMB adoption of emerging technologies.
The success of SMB Group, says McCabe, comes from the relationships they build with their clients, and the free research they give in exchange:
“We go out of our way to provide our clients with focused services to help them achieve their goals. We also spend a lot of time developing relationships with SMBs and bringing their perspectives into everything we do for our vendor clients. In return, we give back by providing free research and insights to SMBs. I think the fact that we provide a strong link both ways has really helped us succeed.”
Having the right business partner has also contributed to the company’s success.
Taking and Giving Advice
McCabe was an inquisitive student in her youth, and that’s helped her as a small business owner. “Most of my teachers encouraged my curiosity, although I’m sure some of them might have gotten sick me asking questions all the time.”
By asking the right questions, McCabe has taken on new career paths, and learned to be a better entrepreneur.
Her advice to other small business owners?
“…do something fun–exercising, playing with your kids, running with your dog, going out with family and friends. I think most small business owners work super hard–and taking time to relax and enjoy life is essential to recharge your batteries so you can think more creatively about new opportunities.”
Advice heeded.
Want to get more advice from our Small Business Influencer Champions? Read more interviews here.
Interview With Laurie McCabe: Jumping Headfirst Into the Recession
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
