First and Last Impressions

We took a drive yesterday to a small town about 90 minutes from our house. We went to visit friends and also to check out a tacos and margarita themed food truck invasion and festival. We are in the process of building our first food truck and it's important to check out the competition. Besides, who doesn't like tacos and Margaritas?

To say we were underwhelmed would be an understatement. We were disappointed and fairly disgusted.

There were a handful of trucks and some of the local restaurants set up tables. We picked up food from two of the places and were barely able to finish the food. $70 all told and for what? We had McDonald's on the way home.

The town we visited is new and rapidly growing. It's still a small town with very few restaurants. These restaurants are benefiting from having essentially zero competition. It shows because they make zero effort.

One of the trucks was a barbecue outfit with an attached smoker and a very professional outward appearance. The meat was smoked well but that was where the effort stopped. There was very little attention paid to the rice and beans that accompanied the tacos. Basmati rice, which makes no sense next to a taco, and black beans straight from the can. No seasoning, no effort beyond a can opener and something to keep them warmish.

There were only five items on the menu. I ordered two of those five items and they somehow got my order wrong.

We bought tacos from a stand set up in front of the Mexican restaurant in town. Literally no seasoning on any of the food unless you count an odd, flavorless heat on one of the tacos. We ordered a Margarita, which turned out to be little more than warm lemonade.

Another food truck was Mexican-themed and while I didn't try their food, a friend of mine did and had to stop for a potty break on the way home. Their truck was cute but there was no contact information on the outside of it and they kept their windows, which were covered in the same style of graphics that covered the truck, were closed. This does not inspire confidence.

Another food truck, one selling carnival foods, was plain disgusting. Their side door was open and you could see their supplies piled on the floor. Where's the health inspector when you need the bugger!

I am not simply insulting my would-be competitors here. If I wanted to hurt them, I would post their names and pictures here. I would slam them on Yelp! or other social media. Rather, what I'm trying to do, what I always try to do, is find the lesson in this.

The lesson is that your image, the impression you make, is very important. These small businesses, which are in a very competitive space, decided to phone it in. They made very little effort because they know they have very little to lose. They are the only game in town.

Competition is good for all of us, not just the consumer. I run my businesses as if I can lose everything at every moment. I treat every customer as a precious gem to be treasured. Don't get me wrong, I have fired customers on more than one occasion, but the majority of customers are worth keeping. And if they're worth keeping, they're worth doing your absolute best for.

That means seasoning the food. It means having forks and napkins (the Mexican restaurant told us we had to go to the restaurant to get these things - so much for street food) and salt and pepper and all the other things that make your customers' experience the best it can possibly be.

It means keeping your place clean and smiling at your guests. It means thanking them for choosing you. It means doing things well. It means giving a damn about the people you are there to serve.

We went to this event partially to have a good time, but we were also scoping out the competition. I will admit that I was a little concerned about what I would find, but I left with my confidence soaring. If your competitors look at your operation and feel you're not a threat, you have a problem. I want my competitors to stay up at night worrying about me, because they spend a lot more time in my mind than I would like.

Adolfo Jimenez is the co-owner The Cafeteria Company, HoneyBee Party Rental, and Bubba's Hangover Diner. He and his wife, Abby, invest in small businesses and serve as consultants and mentors to small businesses. Adolfo is the author of several blogs and over seventeen books, including The Successful Vendor.

Why Shop Small?

 Why shop small?

It’s a serious question. One that, as a small business owner, matters very much to my success, even my survival. Why should people shop small? Why should people walk into your store? Why should they visit your restaurant? Why should they choose you, or me, over Amazon or Walmart or Chili’s or McDonalds? 

Give me one good reason why customers should choose you and I don’t want to hear the tired cliches about how buying small helps an entrepreneur pay their mortgage while buying big helps some fat cat CEO buy another ski chalet. I am a consumer. None of that matters to me. What matters to me is price. Well, not really price but value. All other things being equal, price is the deciding factor so I guess that means small businesses should probably shut down because we’ll never be able to compete against the big boys. Right?

Probably true, but the good thing is that we don’t have to compete against the big boys, we can easily be better instead of equal. But we do have to work. Being small and opening your doors isn’t enough. We need to each find our edge. We need to find what Warren Buffett (no little guy) calls a durable competitive advantage. I believe as small business owners, there are a few easy ways to do this.

Be nice to your customers. My wife and I walked into a small shop in Charleston, South Carolina yesterday. The shop sold crystals and the like and had a yoga studio attached. A very nice, and inviting space. There was a clerk behind the counter. We said hello, she said nothing. Others walked in, carrying yoga mats and dressed for yoga. She was all smiles and hellos for these folks. They were people she knew.

Our daughter is a collector of crystals and although she wasn’t with us, souvenirs are a regular part of travel and I would have liked to have bought her something from this store, but alas, we bought nothing. The clerk finally did acknowledge us but it was only to let us know from across the room that we had to leave because the class was going to start and she had to lock the door since there would be no one to keep an eye on the place.

The clerk did inform us that she had called the owner, but the owner wasn’t around and so she had to ask us to leave. We were welcome to come back and spend our money when the owner deigned to show up. This wouldn’t have irked me so much if she had acknowledged us in the first place. The clerk may not have thought about her actions or maybe didn’t care, but she was rude to us and that is why zero of my souvenir budget will be spent at that particular shop. If she had been nice to us from the moment we walked in and walked over and explained the situation instead of calling across the store that we had to leave, we may have returned and spent some money with her. But no, she doesn’t deserve my hard-earned.

The sad thing is that the clerk doesn’t care or even know why the way she treated us will echo in her career, too. I will never spend my money there. I would never recommend this establishment. I would discourage people from visiting this establishment. I may even go so far as to recommend other places where the same goods may be acquired along with service and a smile.

Acknowledge your customers. Maybe this point should have come first but I want you to be nice. Don’t acknowledge a visitor just to turn them off with a scowl.  Be nice and acknowledge your customer. Say hello when they walk in. let them know you’re nearby and happy (not just available or willing) to answer any questions your customers may have. After all, if I want to be ignored, I can go to Target.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a bookworm. I found a lovely bookstore and went inside. The clerk behind the counter, who maybe was the owner, raised her head from what she was doing, looked at us and only said hello after we did. We wandered through the store without a word from her. I love books and I love buying books from small places but I walked out empty handed.

Contrast this to my favorite bookstore in West Yellowstone, Montana. I walk in and someone says hi. Employees roaming through the store offer assistance. The cashier makes small talk. I never leave that place without a book or three.

We walked through the market in Charleston and got both kinds of treatment. There were some vendors who made eye contact and smiled and bragged about their goods like proud grandparents. Others sat behind their tables and mumbled prices or said nothing at all, treating potential customers like an inconvenience.

Know your stuff. One of the greatest things about shopping small is getting to speak to someone who really knows their stuff. I don’t just want to know what the product is. I want to know its provenance. I want the person behind the counter in the small store to come out from behind the counter and tell me why I should spend more at her store than I would have to at a big box retailer.

We walked into a jewelry store a while later and the clerk took the time to tell us that all the pieces were handmade by the artist who owned the store and that she only made a couple of each piece. This immediately made the products more desirable and made price less of an objection. She asked us where we  were from and it turned out she was about to jump on a plane that very evening and head toward our part of the world. She also took the time to tell us about some other unique places we can visit and told us about a great restaurant we could go to for lunch.

She earned my business. Big Time!

So be an entrepreneur. Set up your business. Stock it, market the hell out of it and sell! But do the little things that are going to give you an advantage. Most people are price sensitive, but many of them will make price a secondary consideration for the right product, and maybe more importantly, the right experience and the right person. Be the right person and provide that experience to all your customers all the time. It costs you nothing, but will pay off handsomely.

Adolfo Jimenez is a small business owner and writer living in South Florida with his family. He is the author of The Successful Vendor, a guide to succeeding in the competitive world of small-scale retail.

The Un-Importance of Parking Spaces

 I'm pushing a flatbed cart along a parking lot. It's loaded, piled high with goodies for my business. This is my second such trip today but will not be the last one I make this week. I visit warehouse clubs several times a week to buy product for my business. I run school cafeterias as well as a couple of ghost kitchen concepts, a bakery, and a catering operation. This is in addition to the deliveries I have made once or twice a week.

I buy a lot of stuff.

I buy this stuff so I can sell it. I work a lot of hours. I am typically up before five and I am at work before 6:30. Oftentimes I store supplies in my garage at home. I have an upright refrigerator/freezer and a deep-freeze in my garage for this reason. Dry items and paper goods will often spend the night in my van. 

I wake up early because I walk my dogs and I like to take a little time in the morning to think about the day ahead. Nothing formal, just visualizing. Sometimes my thoughts wander. This lasts about ten minutes. After that, it's off to the races answering emails, checking electronic deposits, walking dogs, loading stuff, waking my wife and getting my kid up for school. I am busy from ten minutes after I wake up until I go to sleep.

This is why I don't wait or even look for a good parking space. It's a waste of my time. People will spend ten minutes looking for and waiting on a "good" parking spot when they could park just down the way and walk an extra two minutes.

This doesn't make sense to me. I don't have the patience or the time to wait for parking spaces. I spend so much of my day walking and carrying things that I don't need a gym. I could still stand to lose a couple of pounds. (Maybe a couple dozen but who's counting?)

I treat my time like the precious, limited commodity it is. I am not going to spend an extra moment of it waiting for a parking space. I don't have that kind of time or patience. I would be embarrassed to be the kind of person who does that.

If you are one of those people who searches and waits for the perfect parking space, examine your life. Think about how many hours you have in a day that are truly yours. Think of how many years you have left to live. Then think of how many of those you want to spend waiting for a parking space. Time waits for no one. No one should wait for a parking space.

Adolfo Jimenez is an entrepreneur, author, poet, and blogger. He lives in Hollywood, Florida. He has published ten books, which you can find here. Adolfo is the co-owner of The Cafeteria Company, a commissary outsourcing firm. He also co-owns Soup -n- Sam, Le Velo Macaron, and Starlight Catering.

Walking Away

I own a wonderful little business called Le Velo Macaron. We specialize in one product, French Macarons,  made in dozens of flavors. I believe we make a better macaron than anyone anywhere. I have seen and tasted nothing to make me believe otherwise.

Like all entrepreneurs, I want to expand my business. We are talking to various shops and outlets who may be a good fit for us. We know some will work out and some won't. Them's the breaks!

It's important for a small business owner to make the right connections and to nurture those connections into relationships that will benefit both sides. Like any relationship, a business relationship must be based upon mutual understanding and benefit. It also helps if you don't drive one another crazy.

As important as it is to get the business, there may be a point where it's no longer worth the money you might make. Sometimes the demands are too much Sometimes the time needed to nurture the relationship outweighs the benefit. I am not trying to say money is the only consideration. Your mental health matters, too. If a client is looking to you to solve all their problems, to be their therapist, to save them... walk away. 

If you have a client that's something of a control freak, who needs to have their fingers in everyone's business, including yours... walk away. I worked with a prospect recently who fit this description. She trusted none of her staff. It had nothing to do with her staff, who seemed to be great people. This attitude extended to her interactions with us. She asked too many probing questions about recipes and operations. Even offered to make space in her facility for us to work more closely with her. While I have no problem with partnerships, this was feeling more like a shotgun wedding.

So, I walked away. It wasn't easy. The Dead Presidents catcalled me as I left the room, but I knew it was the right thing. It was the right thing for my business, but also for my health. While I do have clients and I work as a Life Coach, I don't coach clients of my other businesses. It creates the kind of conflict I am not interested in.

So make the tough decisions. It's like medicine. It tastes like crap but you'll feel better in the long run.



Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, consultant, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron and other businesses.

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn

Who Gets The Credit?

The days of the ego are behind us. Even a figure as beloved as Barack Obama has been ridiculed for suddenly showing up and trying to take credit for things he said can never happen. Of course, the guy who replaced him isn't exactly a humble fellow. Now more than ever, there is no I in TEAM.

And no one likes a showoff.

While we still fawn over Warren Buffett and Steve Jobs, we live in a time when CEOs are sharing the credit for successes while hoarding the blame. Not all of them of course. As long as there are people, there will be assholes.

I received an email from a colleague yesterday forwarding a note where someone was blatantly stealing an idea that was mine. I wasn't annoyed. I wasn't upset. I'm proud I created something worth stealing.

It was a concept that is not meant to be profitable. I took no steps to protect or patent it. This was something I wanted to share with people.

Please note that this is not to imply that I am a pushover. You steal something of value from me, I'll eviscerate you. 

I have experienced this before in several organizations I've been involved in. I choose to think of it as  if I brought the idea to a certain point and then handed it off to someone willing and able to take it further.

I am not in it for the glory. I am looking to benefit as many people as possible.  I choose to see these events as force-multipliers. I can be more effective at anything if I put it in the hands of others than if I try to do everything myself.

A wise man once said it's amazing what we can accomplish if we don't care who gets the credit.



Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, consultant, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron and other businesses.

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn

The Only Easy Day

I woke up yesterday like I always do. Very early. I took my dog for a walk. I made breakfast. Answered emails. Took care of business. I did the things I do. And I felt miserable about it. I felt burnt out. I was depressed. Truth be told, I still am.  This happens to me. I am not above telling you that I have dealt with depression since I was in grade school. It comes and it goes. If just so happens I am going through one of those phases.

Not sure why. I don't know why some days are harder than others. I can't tell you why some days I feel ready to tackle the world and other days I feel like it's rolled over me.

We all feel that way sometimes.

On these days, you have to simply work harder. You can't pull the sheets over your head. You need to put your feet on the floor and get moving. This is what personal trainers will tell you about exercise, but it applies to the daily grind.

Anyone can do it when they're in the mood. What separates winners from runners up is what they do on the days when they don't feel up to it.

Navy Seals have a saying: The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday. It's how they tell themselves that there are no easy days. Every day is a challenge. If you're working hard toward a goal, it will require effort, sometimes more effort than you want to give. Give it anyway. That's the only time it matters.


Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, consultant, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron and other businesses.

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn

 

Thinking With A Group... Not Groupthink

In "Think and Grow Rich," Napoleon Hill wrote of the importance of creating a Mastermind Group. The names sounds ominous, particularly in today's hypersensitive world, but the idea has merit.

A Mastermind Group is a group of individuals who meet regularly to help each other solve problems. It is a peer-to-peer mentoring concept. Call it what you will. It works.

I have participated in many Mastermind Groups. Often as a facilitator, but that just means I send out the emails and move the conversation along. I benefit from these meetings as much as anyone else in attendance.

I run a weekly book club that often spends half its time on the book we're reading and the other half helping each other with challenges we are facing in our businesses. We didn't plan on the book club becoming a Mastermind Group, it just did.

I've facilitated Masterminds through conference calls. I've broken off into one-on-one sessions from these Masterminds. I have helped others and others have helped me.

The idea is that our collective knowledge can be shared to the benefit of all. None of us is as smart as all of us.

That being said, it's important to not allow your Mastermind group to engage in Groupthink, where everyone is agreeing with everyone. No one person should dominate the conversation. It isn't even about trying to convince people to see things your way. It's opening minds and sharing points of view. It's kinda like leading a horse to water... and then leaving him there. He'll figure it out.

I'm always interested in new perspectives and challenges. If you'd like to join or start a Mastermind group, let me know.


Adolfo Jimenez is an executive coach, entrepreneur, consultant, book club nerd, and family man living in Hollywood, FL. He is the owner of Le Velo Macaron and other businesses.

You can find him on Instagram and LinkedIn