Great Companies do not Fear Economic Low Tides

“In a climate as unforgiving as this, stasis is death.” So begins the first tip in an article entitled “10 STEPS YOUR BUSINESS SHOULD TAKE NOW TO THRIVE IN 2011” in the December 2010 issue of one of my favorite small business magazines, Entrepreneur.

That statement certainly grabbed my attention because I fully agree. I am a small business owner. With my daughter I own a coffee and sandwich shop in a small first ring suburb of Kansas City. We are coming up on our fifth birthday. We started when the economy was still riding high. We were still trying to make our mark in a four-block downtown area when the 2008 slide began. Since day one we have sought innovative methods to reach our target audience. We never took a break.

The economic slow down has been rough but we are in the black. Why? Because as step one of the article contends, stasis is death. I am convinced that means death in any economic atmosphere. We discovered that we if didn’t draw attention to ourselves everyday, people forgot about us. Even though we were their favorite stop for fresh and quick food and well-shot espresso drinks with perfect crema. The public is fickle. We must constantly remind them that they love us.

The article makes several excellent points from creative marketing to firing your D grade customers to firing up your staff. I recommend it to every small business owner.

I would like to comment on the step regarding employees. Yes, it’s important to motivate staff. The author’s idea of keeping them abreast of financial and business decisions, goals and results, and then rewarding them when goals are reached is a method of management which bears much unspoiled fruit. But motivating and involving employees can lose its long-term impact.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins makes a wise point that was not mentioned. Before you spend time lighting those fires, make sure you’re lighting them under the best people for your business, not the stubble. If they don’t share your vision, it’s nothing more than a waste of time as you watch the fire ignite and peter out quickly. And, the wrong folks on board can potentially damage the overall image, let alone bottom line, of your baby. The team is invaluable when it shares your passion; when each member claims parenthood to your baby. Then motivate the team who is already inspired to make your company more than good. They will work with you to make your small business great because it belongs to them, too.

Great companies can weather any storm and always come out unscathed and on top.


Cheryl Ann Wills
co-owner The Hard Bean Cafe, Grandview, MO

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