I feel a sense of obligation as a businessowner and more importantly as anAmerican to respond to this economicsituation. Let me make it abundantly clearthat I am in no way an economist. However,I do feel a sacred duty to keep things inperspective. My views and opinions aremerely an attempt to encourage businessesto stay positive and focused.
As business owners what do we doto maintain a sense of realism amongstthe consumer confidence crisis we areexperiencing? The first aspect is to remainpositive and focused. The last thing anycustomer wants when they set foot into yourestablishment is to feel a sense of anxiety ornegativity. It is your job as a business ownerto ensure customers are overwhelminglypleased with their experience when theyleave your business, whatever type ofbusiness it may be. It is not just aboutservice, but more importantly hospitality. Itis how we make people feel when we delivera good or service. This entails training yourstaff and management and holding themaccountable. We must continually entertain,motivate, and offer valuable insights into theart of managing people.
At a time when economic pressures arewearing our customers down, the need fora third place, “your place” is more importantthan ever before. “Third Place” is a term usedto describe the need for everyone to have aplace other than home or work to relax andfeel a part of the community.
With that said, people are far morediscriminating about where and how oftenthey go out and spend money. This is whywe have to be diligent about getting it right.We must be spot on because our customersalready may feel unsettled before they walkthrough our door. They have little patiencefor our mistakes and they look to you tomake them feel better, not worse.
I cannot stress how important beingoptimistic is. Many professionals say thereare two things that make people successful;talent and hunger or drive. However themost important factor is optimism. If youdon’t believe you can overcome failure, ifyou do not mentally rehearse success, thenyour talent and drive will be nothing onceyou have been knocked down. In addition,optimism directly dovetails into attitude.Attitude is a little thing that makes a bigdifference. Thoughts, whether negativeor positive affect our decisions. Our viewof a problem determines that decision’soutcome. I saw this countless times when Iplayed professional soccer. There were manyindividuals who had tremendous talent,but their attitude or their pessimism causedthem to be no more than mediocre.
As a business owner you must learn to lead.This helps lend a sense of calm to others. This isa very important characteristic because withoutit you have no direction, which is importantfor the community and for business. DwightEisenhower used to demonstrate the art ofleadership with a simple piece of string. Hewould place it on the table and say, “pull it,and it will follow anywhere you wish. Push itand it will go nowhere at all.”
In other words, leadership is notsomething that comes automatically justbecause you have people working for you.A leader has to have followers. Leadershipis the ability to make people want to follow,willingly. As business owners it is importantthat we teach people these skills. After allthis is what life is about — learning from allpeople.
Finally, maintain a sense of humor. Idon’t mean a knack for telling jokes, butrather the ability to bear setbacks and stillsee that the world has not come to an end.I believe that if you can keep from takinga situation or yourself too seriously, youwill end up achieving better results. Thereare always things in any situation that arestill amusing; things that can still make yousmile, especially the media getting into afrenzy about everything. Yes, much of it isrelevant and important, but remember thistoo shall pass. A smiling, cheerful leaderinvariably wins more cooperation than agrin or gloomy one.
If all we do as patrons, as Americans,as employees, as human beings in a crisis isadd to the fuel and confusion, people willlose respect for our abilities under pressure.But if we can maintain a sense of balanceand humor when everything is chaotic,people who depend on us will show theirappreciation in business and with moreloyalty. We must all get in the habit of takingour problems and ourselves less seriously. Inorder to gain a perspective of real problemsjust travel around the world and see whatothers deal with on a daily basis. Let’s learnto smile at the world and ourselves. Overall,we’ll have more of a good thing to smileabout.
Business owners should see this asa perfect opportunity to put an extrafocus on regular customers and establishnew regulars. The key is to adapt and getcreative to the matter at hand. Whether it’sintroducing new menu features, coupons, orincreasing marketing initiatives, let’s makelight of the depressed economy during thesedifficult times. Sitting on your hands is notthe answer. Bear in mind if there was no bad,we would not know what good is.
Never lose sight of your position as athird place provider. Remember peopleare going to be seeking stress relief of onekind or another. Whether as customers oremployees, let us continue to stay absolutely,unequivocally focused and positive. Let’s allmanifest positive thoughts and change ourthinking; this is the greatest way to changeour lives. I believe this will make us allsuccessful business owners, leaders, patrons,and most importantly Americans.
Thank you and remember to Keep It Real.
