Election Hangover - and survival of the yeast

Wow; it has been a while.  I hope everyone has a good brew in hand because I hate to break it to you all.  The world is not over for the old U.S of A..  It has only changed.  Good or bad, it is the readers perspective.  The question you should ask yourself is how you, your loved ones can evolve and survive.

Now, like our friends the yeast, they are productive, no matter how different their individual environment are.  They create many different delicious beers as long as the key ingredients remain true.  So must we as business owners must be like the yeast and determine that what ingredients we need to survive in our keg (world).

Let's visit the basic list:

• Yeast - that's you bub.
• Water - this is our personal environment that we work in our sanctuary.
• Hops - Consider this your specific skill or talent.
• Grain - Our clients we serve.

Simple enough right?  Not so fast. Any brewer knows that without a sterile environment, and the right balance of ingredients is needed.  Let's start with the hops.  This defines your services as a business Columbus, Cascade, Citra all can create different varieties of different beer and knowing what the end result of your batch will be (Stout, IPA, Pilsner)  Next, with enough quality grain you (and your employees), can work off what you do best as happy little yeast.  The right clients are the ones you market to within the niche of your services. You are the yeast, of course, magically working to create a wonderful concoction. The water, and what it is stored in (keg, bottle, etc) is the final, yet most misunderstood piece.  The quality of the water and cleanliness of the vessel must be pristine.  Soap, chemicals, other types of bacteria, temperatures too hot or cold all are detrimental to the productivity in your beer.  Know the source of your water folks, and the vessel you have it in.

What is tainting your business' water?  Bad Clients? Bad Employees?  Lack of Leadership?  Political policy? Poor skill set? Negativity? Fear?

When diving into your wort is everything ready for you to do your best work?

Look before you leap folks,  that's what makes a great brew.

Cheers folks!

* Note,  like yeast at times we hibernate. I am happy to say that I am finally out of hibernation, back consulting clients about their technical problems they have with their business lowering costs and creating systems to increase profit margins.

The Valued ... Customer or Business?

Customers will make or break every business.  They pay for your goods (services) and ultimately are your profit.  A business thrives on providing a value to a customer's needs.  As a business you have the challenge of attracting customers, but not just any customers; the RIGHT customers that you can serve best.  An ideal customer knows what they want and understands that you can fulfill that need.  It's a symbiotic relationship of having the best experience for that person and the possibility of creating a great long term partnership serving each other.  You make them feel comfortable, take care of their needs, and ensure they are happy.  

Take the perspective of a customer:  I NEED  ________!!!!  

What is their main concern, what would a client appreciate more?  Best value?  Best quality? Consistency?  Customer Service?  Customers are willing to pay more for what they perceive as most important service when dealing with a business.  There are two business challenges here:

How do you provide a value or service that the client is willing to pay a premium price?  And what is your greatest strength that you provide that you potential client finds valuable when doing business with you?  Answer those questions and the better off you are focusing on attracting the clients you wish to work with.

Now for a bit of bad news... not every client you come across will be happy with your product or services.  Your initial response is to try to please every customer and spend time attending to their needs.  BUT, this can be a time & energy waste if you feel that they are never happy with your attempts to reasonably solve their needs.  This is where networking with your competitors comes in handy; if you can't best serve that customer maybe someone else with the proper skills can.  This can be both a win-win situation for you, your competitor and the customer that you don't want.  This is not about  you pleasing the customer,  but giving the customer the value they need (even though you are not the one providing it).

The golden rule treat the customer as you want to be treated, and build a customer base that respects and value your services.