Mom & Pop's

I'm Back

I'm sorry! I've neglected this blog. I can use tax season for a little of an excuse but that doesn't account for the total neglect for a long time. I promise anyone who is still following Mom and Pop's I will do better.

Create Fans

As I watched the news coverage of Steve Jobs' death tonight, I was reminded why Apple is one of most respected and sucessful businesses in then world. The maverick entrepreneurs decided what they wanted to create and built it. They had a clear vision of who their customer is and, not only what they needed, but dreamed of. They didn't try to be the biggest. They did what excited them and shared that excitement with customer. The customers became fans who stuck with them in bad times and helped the company grow. Just because your business isn't Apple doesn't mean you can't dream, dazzle customers, and build something you are proud of and makes fans. A few guys in a garage started what would become one of the biggest businesses in the world. More than that, they created loyal customers and fans. That's something you don't have to be Apple to do.

You're Own Boss

Let’s clear up a misunderstanding when it comes to owning your own business especially at the start- You’re your own boss. I know you have heard that and that might be one of the reasons you want to start your own business. But do you understand it, really understand it? Yes, it means you can work from home in bunny slippers, run the business the way you want it run, fire a good kid because there is no work, fill out tons of paperwork, deal with the health inspectors or the unemployment department, clean up the overflowing toilet. Have I got your attention?

Being your own boss is not just the good stuff. It is also knowing everyone’s job and taking responsibility for it. Too often, a potential business owner looks at their boss and is sure they can do that job. They see what the boss does and it doesn’t look so hard. But what is the boss doing they don’t see? And what is the boss’s boss doing that affects their job and the business as a whole? And don’t forget all the support people off to the side. Or, have you thought about the work that happened years ago to develop relationships with vendors and customers. Even if you are hiring people to cover some jobs, you still have to know enough to be able to supervise them, to make sure they are doing what they are suppose to be doing.

Sally worked in the shoe department for a big department store for years. She worked her way up from sales clerk to buyer. Sally dreamed of her having her own shop and finally she got her chance. “Sally’s Shoes” was very successful and closed within 2 years. Why? It could have been that Sally didn’t know enough to see that the accounting student she hired to do the books wasn’t keeping her payroll deposits up to date. Or, that Sally didn’t really understand cost of goods and pricing. Or she didn’t pay her bills on time and her vendors dropped her.

Starting a business is fun. You can spend hours on picking a name, finding a location, writing ads, preparing for opening day. Running a business is great. But you also have to be the boss, too. You have to understand and do the not so fun stuff. Things like labor rules, tax filings, cash flow, missing employees, bounced checks … I could go on but I’m sure you get the idea.

The best business concept won’t be a long term success unless the owner is willing to be the boss. A real boss.

 

Losing the Message in the Images

What do your email ads say about your business?

I get a ton of e-mail daily. About 20% is good stuff; clients, colleagues and friends, notifications from social media and bulletin boards, and a little bit of advertising I can use. The rest is junk. The sad thing is that I might be interested in some of the junk if the business that sent it took a little time to think about my needs when they designed the e-mail.

I have my e-mail client (Thunderbird) set up to be as efficient as possible. I’ve trained it to sort for junk, of course. But I’ve also set a limit on the message size that is downloaded from the server and I have it set not to show images. Those setting make downloads faster and I can always get the rest of the message or the images if I want them. It also makes it easier for me to delete messages. Your message. Most of what I delete isn’t coming from scam artists or questionable sites (actually the “junk” folder gets most of those.) What I am deleting, sight unseen, is advertising from other businesses. Some of them I’ve requested info from.

Have you looked at your advertising e-mails without the images? If you are primarily using text, I’m skimming your e-mail. The same happens if you just use a few images and put your message in the text. I may not buy, but I’m at least looking. But if you’re caught up in big images and little text or putting the text in the images, then I won’t try to read what you’ve sent. I’m not going to spend the time waiting for the images to download. Deleted.

Here’s what too many businesses forget, I don’t owe you my time or consideration because you send me an ad. I don’t care how beautiful that ad is or how great you think the offer is, if I don’t read it, it is wasted effort on your part. So, look at your e-mails without the images before you send them. You might not like what you see.

No, You Should Not Start A Business

Consider this an intervention. My goal is to make potential business owners think about whether they should start a business.

I get asked occasionally, “should I start a business?’ Sometimes they have a specific type of business other times it’s a general question. I usually play nice and ask questions about that they are planning and clear up their misconceptions about being a business owner (no, it is not a tax loss generator). However, a part of me wants to bluntly answer, “No, if you have to ask if you should, you shouldn’t.”  If you are ready to own a business, you don't need to ask if you should do it. You do it! Yes, you want to get advice and talk to friends and family. But, if you have the passion, then little will stop your dream. I’m talking about someone who has had a dream for years to start a restaurant, farm, or manufacture their invention. That kind of passion is great and will get them through the tough times. The other startup group I see pulling though includes those who are looking at their business as a way to earn their living and providing for their family. Income and passion are powerful motivators. And motivation is something a business owner must find within themselves not from an outside source.

I see people who are excited about some business venture they have started. They spend hours planning the details and getting everything together until something happens. For some, the initial excitement dies or a new idea pops into their head. Some find that owning a business is harder than they thought and they aren’t willing to put in the extra effort or follow the rules. Unfortunately, there are some small businesses that will be hit with an outside force they can’t control and have to close or regroup. It’s the owner’s motivation that keeps the business going or re-starting. Excitement gets you though setting up the business but motivation is what sees you though employees not showing, potential clients canceling, bad weather, law changes and too much competition.

A new business owner needs to be honest with themselves about their motivations and what they are willing to do for their business. Can you get excited about what you’re doing? Are you willing to follow rules and regulations? Can you handle all the bad times? Can you put most of your energy into the business? Are the results worth the hassle? It doesn’t matter if your business is full or part time. What does matter is that you find the motivation to work the business not play the hobby. If you have that motivation, my “no” won’t bother you at all.

Welcome

This blog was a 4am idea. One of those things you think about when you can't sleep. Then, in the light of day, you realize that it wasn't as good an idea as you thought. Except the more I looked into the idea, the more it seemed like a good idea. There might be tons of blogs written by small business owners but they aren't making the blog lists or first several pages of Google. This one might not either but I'm going to give it a try.

My name is Trish McIntire and I am the owner of McIntire Tax Center in a small Kansas town. I've been writing a tax blog since 2004, Our Taxing Times. I write about taxes, tax law changes, operating a tax practice and sometimes just about business. I've been spending my summer, so far, on a series on starting a business because so many of my clients seem to be thinking about starting a business or do have one. And it got me thinking.

What I didn't find as I tried to talk myself out of doing this blog was a lot of focus on the very small businesses. The trendy term is "micro" business. But most of us think of them as Mom & Pops, the small local shops and services in our neighborhoods. I found blogs on marketing and venture capital, several that were run by companies with something to sell to small businesses and a lot of general theory. But nothing providing tips and info to the micro business owners. That is my goal with this blog. To be a resource.

Because of the sources I follow for my tax blog, I get a lot of info that most business owners might not see. I plan on sharing those and other ideas I come up with. I'll rant sometimes but we all have problems we need to get off our chest. And it's good to know that others have problems too. And please comment. If you disagree with me, let me know. Warning, I won't do a blog war but I'll listen to what you have to say. If you have a tip or suggestion, let me know. I'm still waffling on the idea of creating a Facebook page to go with the blog. (I'm afraid if I add another Facebook page or Twitter account my friends will stage an intervention.) I may not blog every day, and I'll disappear for weeks during tax season, but hopefully I'll provide you will info that will help you in your business.