A twist on finding the best employees

This week  I watched a video, corner.stanford.edu/videos/2542/Culture-is-Priority-One, about creating the right culture in your company. The video talked about Zappos and how they pay they employees to quit. They do this so that they can find employees who aren't just there for the paycheck, but want to be a part of the business and the positive culture they are striving to achieve. Everyone who works for their company has to go through the same training as well as work in the call center for a bit. I love that idea, because call centers are the trenches so to speak. The customer service representatives are the front line of your company. They are the ones who are speaking and interacting with the customers. If you can create an environment where they are happy, then your customers will be as well. Having everyone experience that, will help them understand what their customers are looking for and the value of their front line.

I really loved the idea and the way the company went about achieving their goal. For myself, it is a great reminder that I am the voice of my company and that I need to do all I can to always be positive in whatever exchanges I have with customers.

This week I have pulled the glass and frit that I will be making my pendants for my $100 challenge. I am excited to make them. I just need to run to the hay market to top off my propane as some of the colors I am working with, develop better with a full tank. I still don't know why that is, but am happy to do what I can to bring out the best colors in the glass.

Finding your niche

This week we studied about how to find your niche, how to generate more sales through bundling and upsellling, and how to create an elevator pitch. I learned a lot this week about how I need to be more focused in finding my niche in the market that I am in. What is it that is unique about my products that will help me be unique and generate a good income from my sales in that market. When I find that, I also need to find ways to bundle products together in an effort go further generate revenue in a way that leaves my customers happy with their purchase and the value of their purchase. I believe I have found a good bundling price point for a few of my products, and now need to work on finding more.

For our $100 project, this week we needed to create an elevator pitch. I have to say I struggled with this. First, I was sick and couldn't even create the video and had to first just write out a script as I couldn't talk for a minute without coughing horribly. I was able to record my video tonight and even managed to get through it without coughing. It was difficult to cut down the script and to get out the message or pitch in a coherant manner that delivered the message or pitch that I wanted to get across. The sixty-two seconds drags on as you are recording, but goes by fast when you are watching it.

I am truly grateful for the challenges that this week presented me as it caused me to dig in a little deeper to find some ways to help my business grow.

Tithing

This week in my readings for my business class, we had the opportunity to read 2 conference talks, one was “Opening the windows of Heaven” by Elder Faust. In his talk he says, “Tithing is a principle of sacrifice and a key  to the opening of the windows of heaven.” I have experienced this in my own life. There were times that tithing were not being paid during my marriage, and boy did we struggle. I always paid tithing on what I earned from my business and while I was not bringing in lots of money, I have been operating in the black for years even when I haven’t been able to work as hard at it since my divorce. It has continued to provide for my family, just when I need it. I will receive an unexpected bill, and once within an hour of opening that bill, I had an order come in for the amount of the bill. Since my divorce I have been a full tithe payer, and it did take faith to pay that tithing at first because my numbers didn’t add up in my budget. However, I took that leap of faith and have been amazed at what has happened in my life. I have received raises, found sales, and have been able to pay my tithing, all my bills, and even put some money away. I truly have found that the promise of Malachi 3:10 has been true for my family.  “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

I have come to have a firm testimony of tithing and am grateful that as I have gone down this path, that I have been able to share the journey with my kids.

Plans.

This week in my class, we learned about business plans. There was a lot more than I realized, as I have never written on before. I never had to as my business is just mine, and I have never needed or wanted investors. It is small and I like it the way it is. However, as I read about all the various things needed in a business plan, I saw the benefit of making one for myself.

I was asked to create a one page business plan for my "big idea" and the "$100 challenge." I am grateful for the assignment. It allowed me to put down some very real goals, and some plans and steps on how to achieve them. I won't be sharing my business plan with anyone, but I believe it is a good thing for me to have created. It is a growing and living thing and can and will change as the year(s) go on. My needs and expectations for myself and my business can also change. That is the beauty of it being my business. It has the flexibility to be what I need it, when I need it.

I am excited about the $100 challenge and creating a fundraising opportunity each year in order to give back to the world around me. The business plan helped me fine tune my thoughts on how I was going to proceed with my fundraiser. It also helped me get an idea of how I can make this a permanent part of my business. I am looking forward to seeing just how much I can create with $20 of raw materials to donate to the charity of my choice each year.

Names.

Names. Names are incredibly important in helping create our identity as individuals as well as in business. As a parent, I took incredibly care in finding the right name for each of my children. It wasn't an easy task, and one that took more than a little time to consider. When one wants to name their business, they should take the same kind of care with it. It helps create your identity. This week, I read an article that talked about the importance of naming your business. It was an article written by Philip Davis called  "5 Company Naming Mistakes that Can Kill Your Startup." Recently, a friend asked me for help in naming her new business. She was following into a few of the mistakes that the article warns against. I am excited to share the article with her so she and her business partner can avoid those mistakes. I am also going to keep the information nearby as I search for names for different product lines I want to develop in my own business. I am going to be aware of them as I work on my $100 challenge for my class. As I have narrowed down what I want to do, I will need to create a name for the product/campaign that I will be promoting. I need to be mindful of the naming mistakes that could be an obstacle towards reaching my goal for the project.