Casual Articles - Business

Innovation and the Experimental Mindset
When you’re watching a toddler learn to walk and she falls, you don’t wonder if she should quit trying to walk. Instead you know she is on a learning curve. Innovation requires experimentation. And experimentation requires a mindset focused more on learning than on getting it right.Key elements of that mindset?-- When something doesn’t come out the way you planned, it’s not a failure; it’s an opportunity to learn what doesn’t work. Just like that toddler learning to walk.-- Focus on relationships as a context for learning. If others are involved in the experiment in some way, make a connection with them. When we feel connected to someone, we are less likely to punish a “mistake” and more likely to support the learning.-- Think about a margin for error. If you’re changing a process, be sure you can revert back to the old process if necessary. That way you can feel free to try things that might not work. Although some advocate that you burn the ships when you land so there is no turning back, in many cases you can take more risks if you leave yourself a way back.What is the fastest way to kill experimentation? Develop a mentality that it's more important to blame someone for a problem than it is to learn from the problem. That will ensure that everyone spends a lot of time spent making themselves look good and distancing themselves from problems. When those are the priorities, experimentation, learning and innovation will die off pretty quickly.On the other hand, adopting the key elements above will help keep an experimental mindset alive in your organization. That can help you and your organization be more innovative every day and it makes work more fun!

loved by customers if excellent quality prevails there, but a crew that has part time drug users can ruin your business quickly. Labor will be an issue. Regarding a location in the town of Windsor as this study samples example:

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Notice the orange areas which would mean that it is zoned service area, least amount of issues with planning commission and easiest to get passed easily. Also near the mid center off ramp. Near the Retail Center, looks like a regional mall, near there is best on main road, but have to find an open location with no center medians. Looks like traffic issues there, notice the FWY interchange signaled intersections. It is not near downtown at all but would serve a small business owner better than a downtown revitalized area. A detail shop would be a better use of a closed down town area gas station, fixed up real nice. I have seen plenty in FL, GA, SC, AL, TN but also in Gold Rush Towns of CA, in the rural towns of north Washington state. Also your volume will come from a 10-mile radius, and you would be better served in the Suburban area near box stores, QSRs and strip malls. The demographics are good where in Windsor, lots of Bay Area rich refugees who bought right and modified their town. Took an existing town and developed the hell o

Direct Mail and Direct Mail Marketing for Auto Accessory Stores
Do you own an auto accessory store or automobile aftermarket auto accessory shop? If so you know you must increase your sales thru word-of-mouth advertising and referrals, but how do you get the original clientele in to start this landslide of new business?You need customers and the more you have the more that will tell their friends. How can you generate massive amounts of new business ASAP for your auto aftermarket shop?Well perhaps, a robust yet inexpensive marketing and advertising program might do the trick. Let me explain; you see, Direct Mail and Direct Mail Marketing coupon packages for Auto Accessory Stores and aftermarket auto service shops makes sense. This is because the return on investment to sending out direct-mail pays off with many new customers.Direct mail should be sent out from auto accessory stores at least three times per year to areas with in a 25-mile radius and specifically to those people who belong to car clubs as well. The important thing is to get the people into the auto accessory store to look around and know where it is and that it is there so that next time they need something they will come and buy.Additionally it makes sense to invite people using direct mail to come to a party or get together and this way you have more people out there telling their friends about your auto accessory store. Perhaps you might consider the value of direct marketing and mailing for your auto business as well? Think on this in 2006.

There is a continual trend we are seeing which I can remember participating in over a decade ago, when cities were trying to figure out how to increase sales tax revenues when the large box stores outside of town came into nearby or surrounding areas. For instance a big and easy example would be Wal-Mart. Sam was smart and built his stores just outside of town near towns, which drew from neighboring towns of 5,000 or more from three to five directions. If you look at an over lay of Wal-Mart stores to an atlas of that state you will see the rural America can get anything they need at the best price without driving all that far.

Unfortunately that awesome distribution system that Sam designed which accounts for nearly 12% of all retail sales in America today also made it tough for less efficient small town business owners on Main Street USA to compete. Since then many small towns have found a way to bring back and revitalize there towns. It is estimated that with 5-10 million most towns can totally revitalize their down town sectors and that maybe about the same amount of fees and permits to build the Wal-Mart in the first place. Since 1980 an estimated 19 billion dollars has been spent on such revitalization of down towns and made them a place to meet, shop, hang out and go.

Just like the song "Down Town, everything's great when you're downtown" great song and that is the goal. It is a feeling, a place to be, a destination location. And it has just about everything you could want, that is everything you cannot find at the mall or at Wal-Mart. Sure many of the typical stores have gone out. Such as the stationary stores, photo developing, pharmacy, video rentals, sports equipment, auto parts, grocery, pet stores, etc. But you can shop for antiques, something to eat, a movie, used books, lots of items that work well in that setting and many types of businesses, which cater towards those types of atmospheres. Such as Starbucks, certain food places and small mom and pop shops, florists, gifts, specialty, entertainment/liquor establishments, restaurants. If you look at cities like Pittsburgh for example you will see a well-served and thriving downtown area. In other cities you see a combo mix and made up facade downtown of tilt-ups prefab buildings, I can think of many like the Limited Groups Downtown area in North Columbus OH and it is hopping with people and spending. A place to go, and it works.

But many so many smaller towns have done well to rebuild the downtown areas where for lease and out of business signs abound. Why? Well all money made in town leaves town, it does not stay to re circulate. Just like those who get a paycheck in the big city have moved to the suburbs and therefore the subs get the first use of that flow of money. Why? Well city planners in the subs attract through incentives car dealerships and other such businesses and put them on the main roads surrounding the residential areas of single family dwellings and then allow multi-family town homes, apartments, etc on the same main thoroughfares, one city I recently reviewed in CA had done exactly that. These areas of businesses surrounding the residential areas serve as a net to trap the money from leaving their area. Well the downtown revitalization tries to do the same thing, attract people into the area to hang out and enjoy themselves and thus have time to spend their money.

If you look at this city Windsor CA you can see some of our observations: Now then some might think people in CA are all a bunch of Hippie Dippies. Such as the Cheech and Chong Comedy team, but as a whole People in CA are generally smarter than most due to oxygen level as most live near or around sea level. Better weather makes year round activities and human interaction easier and therefore more is learned both academically, physically, observationally and literally. So it is not much different than a city in Mass, NJ, VA, but with more ideal weather. The town of Windsor is an okay town. We have no problem with it. Some of everything there. Protectionism and good ole boy networking alive and well, this can be to your advantage by working the system a little and being in the right non-profit groups. It is doable. But it is not worth the headaches for our company to participate in anyway due to the CA mentality on business. These good ole boy networks want to make money in their downtown businesses but do not often allow the progress to revitalization until which time they get off their butts and visit a town which has revitalized their down town, then they immediately go and join the Main Street Program which currently has nearly 1800 communities which participate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

I recently visited Franklin TN where the downtown was cooking along as a matter of fact you could smell the aroma from nearby restaurants, see a movie, get a beer or your favorite rendition of a Latte. If this is your dream to put in a car wash near downtown go for it. But watch out for the traps. Environmentalists who do not understand the cleanliness of the industry or water usage. Underground tank rules with regards to fuel or reclaim tanks. Labor issues if you do more than coin-op, automatic. Full serves are loved by customers if excellent quality prevails there, but a crew that has part time drug users can ruin your business quickly. Labor will be an issue. Regarding a location in the town of Windsor as this study samples example:

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Do You Have to Be Aggressive to Make Sales?
A few weeks ago I was onsite at a company that had hired me to train their sales team on how to stop using traditional selling and start using the Unlock The Game™ sales approach.After one coaching session, one member of the sales team came up to me and said, "Ari, your approach makes complete sense -- but I'm afraid I'll lose sales if I stop being aggressive and start being passive!"Whenever I hear a comment like that, I want to scream, because it means that the person just doesn't yet understand that removing pressure from the sales process doesn't mean being passive!But...I didn't scream. I took a deep breath and then explained that Unlock The Game™ is the reverse of passive.Rather, it's an active attempt to create pressure-free conversations with prospects.However, to do that we must eliminate behaviors and language that prospects can perceive as "aggressive."We all know what these are -- continual e-mail and voicemail "followups" in which salespeople try to pin down the status of a potential deal -- is one common example.The problem is that prospects react to aggressive, or perhaps we should say "overaggressive" sales behaviors by withdrawing and evading us.We could say that Unlock The Game™ actually takes the "middle ground" between passive and aggressive by being authentically unassuming, yet effective - and that this is the most stress-free and effective way to sell.What do I mean?I mean that you have to shift away from assuming that every prospect is a fit for your solution.It's sort of like the legal concept of "being innocent until proven guilty."We can't afford to make any assumptions about "fit" until our conversation with the prospect indicates that we've mutually arrived at that conclusion.T

own, everything's great when you're downtown" great song and that is the goal. It is a feeling, a place to be, a destination location. And it has just about everything you could want, that is everything you cannot find at the mall or at Wal-Mart. Sure many of the typical stores have gone out. Such as the stationary stores, photo developing, pharmacy, video rentals, sports equipment, auto parts, grocery, pet stores, etc. But you can shop for antiques, something to eat, a movie, used books, lots of items that work well in that setting and many types of businesses, which cater towards those types of atmospheres. Such as Starbucks, certain food places and small mom and pop shops, florists, gifts, specialty, entertainment/liquor establishments, restaurants. If you look at cities like Pittsburgh for example you will see a well-served and thriving downtown area. In other cities you see a combo mix and made up facade downtown of tilt-ups prefab buildings, I can think of many like the Limited Groups Downtown area in North Columbus OH and it is hopping with people and spending. A place to go, and it works.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

How to Build A Successful Business?
Starting a business and becoming successful is often part of the American Dream. But there is a difference between starting a business and building a successful business. Many businesses fail within the first few years of existence due to the lack of planning for the long-term. There is not enough vision and there is not enough done to strengthen the business properly from the ground up.If you want to start a business there is an easy way to get a better understanding of why some businesses fail and others don't. When starting a business think about it similar to building a house. If done right it is protecting you against any kind of storm or danger of the outside world and will last for a long time. It offers shelter and protection. For you and your business that could be translated to that you want to have a business that is able to weather economical ups and downs (=storm) and that will provide income to pay the bills (shelter and protection).When building a house there are several different steps you need to follow to have the house build. You know you want a house, but you got to pick a location and get an architect to plan everything out. In the business world that would be: you know you want to start a business, but you have to come up with a business idea and work out a business plan. The next thing for the house would be to build the foundation (and eventually the basement) for the house. In the business world - you got to build the initial infrastructure (example: connecting with vendors, find a manufacturer for your product, create a sales team, rent office space, get a delivery truck, etc.). Once that is in place you able to actually do business and earn some money. But you are not completely done yet. You need to build a frame, put in windows and you also need a roof on house

ke those who get a paycheck in the big city have moved to the suburbs and therefore the subs get the first use of that flow of money. Why? Well city planners in the subs attract through incentives car dealerships and other such businesses and put them on the main roads surrounding the residential areas of single family dwellings and then allow multi-family town homes, apartments, etc on the same main thoroughfares, one city I recently reviewed in CA had done exactly that. These areas of businesses surrounding the residential areas serve as a net to trap the money from leaving their area. Well the downtown revitalization tries to do the same thing, attract people into the area to hang out and enjoy themselves and thus have time to spend their money.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

Why I Left Corporate America in Pursuit of the Perfect Squeegee
I’m the founder of Cleret, maker of the coolest looking squeegees on the planet.It all started in 1986 when I let this big burly contractor talk me into putting fancy clear glass shower doors in my brand new bath - BIG MISTAKE!After bathing, there were all these unsightly water spots on my new glass shower doors and puddles everywhere. And then it started to mildew and turn green and stink. My bath looked horrible, and it looked (and was) dirty all the time. To combat this, I began to wipe down my bath after each shower with my bath towel. But by the end of the week I had a mountain of towels piled nearly to the ceiling in corner of my bath. Ugh!I was at a loss as to what to do. Then one day it hit me: a squeegee…in the shower! A couple of quick swipes right after bathing and it was bye, bye ugly water spots and grunge. But unfortunately, because I had to leave the squeegee in the bath so I would remember to use it, it was also hello UGLY squeegee in my dazzling new bath. The contraption gave my bath a neo-janitorial look, I suppose, and that just wasn’t the statement I wanted to make.I got to thinking one day, “What's a guy like me doing with an ugly squeegee in my bath? I'm a little more hip and stylish that that. Why don't they make something that looks better?” Well, the cruel reality was that they didn't. I looked everywhere: bath stores, hardware stores, department stores…but I found nothing! Then it dawned on me, why not go to some trendy product designer and have them design something, you know, cool looking. Something ergonomical. And so I did!Before I went to the designer, I talked with as many women as I could to help me with squeegee colors, shapes, sizes and so on. They flooded me with super ideas that I would never have thought of as a guy with not-ve

f Windsor is an okay town. We have no problem with it. Some of everything there. Protectionism and good ole boy networking alive and well, this can be to your advantage by working the system a little and being in the right non-profit groups. It is doable. But it is not worth the headaches for our company to participate in anyway due to the CA mentality on business. These good ole boy networks want to make money in their downtown businesses but do not often allow the progress to revitalization until which time they get off their butts and visit a town which has revitalized their down town, then they immediately go and join the Main Street Program which currently has nearly 1800 communities which participate in it and they are really learning a lot from each other, as to what works and what does not.

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

What Does It Cost To Make A Sales Mis-hire?
Think about how much time and energy it takes to hire a good sales person. Think about how much it costs to carry a good salesperson on your payroll, and then think about the amount of revenue needed for your company in order to help you accelerate your sales. Finally, add in the opportunity costs for your company if during a given period, particularly a long one, instead of selling a million dollars a year, you have an under performing rep. When you add in all of these factors, it’s very costly to make a mistake when it comes to hiring sales people.This is why hiring sales people is best left to the experts and why bringing in a good recruiting or search firm to do this kind of work makes absolute economic sense to your company. Most people resist bringing on recruiters and executive search firms because they don’t want to have to pay the fees. What are the fees for hiring a sales person? Well, the range is between twenty and thirty percent of the base or total annual salary, which typically means you could be paying a fee of somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000 in fees. Contrast those fees against the actual cost of salary, benefits, travel, and training time, particularly during the time when you’re waiting for a new salesperson to come up to speed. Analyze how many months it typically takes before you can see results from a new salesperson. Is it 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 months? A lot of that depends on the sales cycle and learning curve in your particular market.The rule of thumb for the ramp-up of a new sales professional to hitting their sales target is typically the sales cycle, plus the learning curve, plus 3 to 6 months.Suffice it to say that you could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and potentially lose millions of dollars in sales if you make a mis-hire. By cont

http://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/LandUseMap.pdf

In Windsor, CA, if you end up North West side where all the orange is there could be issues with visibility and you could be cut off by C-Stores with rollovers, car wash for $3.99 with fill up. But the middle to upper middle will not take their SUVs through there thus you advantage. Buying an existing car wash might be a better play, but car washes go out of business for a reason, it is not always poor service. It could be location issues. Generally a combination. Towns tend to grow North and West higher end your city has interesting trends not normally seen with the middle class center, probably due to the East Windsor area thus it is growing North West while the west side of freeway has remained the older area. But I cannot tell for sure without spending much time. Typically an area with a regional type mall if it has thee Old Navy Type stores which go in next to each other are trendy places of spending consumers that is good, but also need to be cognizant of the need to be by or near Happy Meal Station, or other QSRs. This is well documented in the annals of car washing guru's best advice and written articles. By putting the car wash near that off ramp you will not cut yourself off from your 10-mile radius sphere of influence where 80% of your customers will be coming from. now realize that those town homes or multi-family units, apartments that were built for the city to take advantage of matching Federal funds for low income housing years past will be a significant base not to mention the up the street Golf Course crowd. Like the Viking customers you will be paying through the nose for property, sewer hook-ups and hidden fees (taxes) and you will feel like Popeye the sailor by the time your all through and want to through some tea into your reclaim pit. So before you decide to put in a car wash in a town like Windsor or buy a piece of property, you should look at the layout of the town, determine where they filters or nets of wealth or money flow is going.

If the down town is going to be revitalized a car wash some where between both or a detail shop in the down town with a hand wash valet parking or just good old fashion look will put your business at the top of the food chain with the local founding families of the town and the powers to be of that fiefdom. Whatever you do it is important to do it right and to do well, or just don't do it. Regarding the question of car washes as a business in CA. Yes it is viable, but more money is made building up car washes and selling them in CA than in running them. The IRS likes to audit them a lot. Car Washes being a cash business by nature tend to hit all the red buttons. With the Tax cut and $100,000 immediate expensing it is a worthy endeavor, but risky too.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-mssp/carwash.pdf

Having been in the industry 27 years washing stuff, I have to agree with much of the thinkin gof this gentleman with regards to downtown areas and possible car wash locations.

http://www.carwashinstitute.com/management.html

Steve is also good people and will take care of your needs. Investing in a car wash especially in CA with the real-estate prices is a difficult match to the intended ROI. But if planned properly with the proper location, it is a good business, once all the delays are done and the city approves it. The city planner of this particular city went to Chico State and is probably laid back so he maybe easier to deal with than the ultimate planning commission or all the yuppie liberal cream cake granolas which come out of the woodwork in their 1969 Volvos with leaky rings spewing Carbon Monoxide smoke and proclaiming themselves the environments last chance, all the while spreading the Redwood tree pathogen all around the forest each day as they go for nature walks and chain themselves to trees when the forest service is attempting to allow thinning as to not burn down the entire forest with 120 tons of debris and dead wood fuel per acre. Heck I could go on all night. Once opened toe the line and stay totally politically and non-profit group active, but keeping piece near paradise is not easy. They will claim noise pollution, water pollution, air pollution, toxic chemicals, none of which is true. The demographics are right provided there are less than two other car washes which are full service within 7-8 miles of your wash, having a more convenient location will net you the soccer moms if you choose full serve. If you are self serve probably across the freeway where land is cheaper since those self serve bays are only good for $1300 per month gross or so?

With that explanation told on this subject of location based businesses, you have to ask yourself which business models are viable for a down town sector to really thrive and attract even more people. This example goes into depth of the kind of thinking that needs to be thought of when setting up a downtown revitalization project, but with each type of business model. For instance ask any developer of property manager of strip malls of retail large income property and they will tell you the types of anchor tenants needed to make the center survive or strip c

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