Building Your Business -- The Focus Is On Success

A trip starts with the first step. Most trips have one thing in common – a destination. You know where it is you are going on a trip. As a business owner I have a destination too – profit.

Looking for Profit? The mind is a very powerful tool. If you focus it, your mind will help you get to a strongly held end result. It will also tell you when you are off track. Your mind will provide suggestions of better ways to get to your end result. It will help you be lucky, or in other words recognize good opportunities on which you can act. The more your mind is focused on the end result the more likely that end result will occur.

We describe this focusing process by different names; affirmation, business planning, and priority lists are just a few examples. Figure out what works for you and then use it as many times every day as you need to keep focused on the end result.

Two things I use most often, affirmations and pictures. An affirmation is a statement of fact or belief, a reminder of the end result. Example: My Business earns $x,xxx,xx profit every month. I bank $x,xxx,xx each month. In picture form, I have a card with a bank check design that says: $x,xxx,xx and the word “PROFIT” in the memo section, with the check written to me.

Every major goal in my life has been accomplished using these tools. If you know where you are going it is much easier to get there. Focus and remind yourself to keep on the track to profit. That is a formula for a very successful trip

Building Online Business –

Internet Tool – Dry Out that Drowned Cell Phone!

This article space is usually dedicated to introducing a useful Internet tool. However, if there is anything more ubiquitous than the Internet, it is the cell phone. Last spring, I made a miss-step and plunged off a boat dock where I was fishing and into the lake, cell phone and all.

After getting over the immediate embarrassment of pretending to be a whale, I started to panic over my drowned cell phone. I headed home.

The first thing I managed to do was to remember, “NOT to turn on the phone!” I got out an old towel, and a roll of paper towels and a can of compressed air. I took out the battery. If your cell has a SIM card pull it out. Put the various parts on a dry part of the towel and pat dry with paper towels. Next, I used the canned air to gently blow out as much of the water inside the phone body as possible. Remember if you get the nozzle too close to the phone you can create water spray, going into the phone. So hold the nozzle away a bit. You can also blow on it with your mouth if you don’t have canned air.

I remembered that if you get the phone too hot, you can damage it, so I used the low heat high fan setting on a hair dryer to remove more moisture. It turns out that was the right move. I went back and forth between blowing unheated air and low heat.

I then found a place out of the way with some air circulation and put all the parts on a couple layers of paper towels. I left it them for nearly 24 hours before trying to turn it on again. And when I did, the phone worked!

The sooner you can start the drying out process the better. I was reminded that there are other things you can do as well. This link to an article by Kim Komando has some of these other ideas. http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=6937&page=1 You can’t always resuscitate a drowned phone, but it’s certainly worth the try.

Small Business Profile – Buddy & Howie’s Old Fashioned Sweet Shop

Location: 739 Point Brown Ave NW, Ocean Shores, WA 98569

Phone: 360-289-0255

Buddy and Howie a pair of sweet-toothed small stuffed bears show up on all the advertising for this old-fashioned candy store. They also sit on the shelf right behind the cash register! John Bruno and Melanie Rice own the store and they make sure their customers have fun in their store. They do great customer service.

One customer service example: Two people came into the store and were bagging up taffy kisses, when one of them came over to John and asked if she could buy just a couple of these to taste, “just so we know we would like them.” John said, why don’t you just take a couple and taste them? That way you know. He got a big smile from the customer, and probably sold another pound of taffy.

When asked to describe their business, one quipped, “fun with a few calories thrown in…” and the other, “Candy, lots and lots of Candy.” The store is full of product from the newest confections, like candy coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds, to the old-fashioned green licorice bites I bought as a kid.

Melanie and John both came out of the marine industry in Seattle, where Melanie says she used to give a lot of candy to her ship crews. But the candy background goes deeper than that. Melanie’s family has owned Estes Park Times and Old Fashioned Candy in Estes Park Colorado for 35 years; the store has been open for over 50 years.  “I worked there during the summers when I was in College,” Melanie says.

They have patterned their business after that one, now run by her sister and brother-in-law. That looks like a built in business plan to me. And it must be working; they have been open two years this month in Ocean Shores.

When I asked them why they moved to Ocean Shores, “we love the storms and the small-town atmosphere.”  And when asked, “What’s the best part of doing business in Ocean Shores?” their answer, “We love meeting all the people, and the commute to work on the beach is great. We love
the support we have received and we have a great time with everyone who have made us part of their visits to the beach.”

I know that John commutes to work by driving from his home all the way to downtown Ocean Shores on the beach each day. He showed me some small Japanese plastic floats that he found just this week! Not a bad way to commute!

John and Melanie, as well as Buddy and Howie are all great supporters of the community and the Chamber of Commerce. I asked them what they would suggest to anyone contemplating starting up a new business. Their answer, “Do your homework and be unique with your ideas, work hard and learn that you have to make the most of your efforts in the summer.  Be patient and have fun with it.”

They continue to learn how to better serve their customers and their community. They are some of the friendliest people in an already friendly town. And if you happen to mention you have a dog, well they have a special treat just for the dogs! I think Buddy and Howie get jealous about that, but they don’t really come out and say it. I say, “Thank you Melanie and John – keep up the good work.”

Holly and I are taking this opportunity to announce that we’ve recently signed a contract with the Ocean Shores / North Beach Chamber of Commerce to act as their Executive Director Leadership Team starting April 1st. We are very excited about this opportunity. We have a supportive board and a wonderfully active membership. We’ll report on our progress from time to time.

This issue contains our first “small business profile” article. We hope to make this type of article a regular addition to the newsletter. Let us know how you like it, and please feel free to nominate a business for a future article

Correction: In February’s addition I introduced Jenna Norman incorrectly. She is Program Support Staff, not Program Coordinator, for the Coastal Marine Resource Committee Program. If you are interested in volunteering for a local MRC, call her at 360.902.2658 or email her at Jenna.Norman@dfw.wa.gov. Thanks Jenna, for letting us provide the right information.

As always, suggestions and comments are welcome. Send them to info@plackettenterprises.com

The Plackett Newsletter

March 2009

What's working with your business? Do you have a business website?

Download the March 2009 Newsletter HERE

April 2009

E-mail marketing - Business Planning

Download the April 2009 Newsletter HERE