On Tuesday 3rd August, we set a World Record - a foursquare event. What’s foursquare? Go to www.foursquare.com and see. This blog is about the motivation, inspiration and dedication that made it happen, in spite of our hurdles.
How do I do it? Did I just wake up one day and say “let’s set a world record?” Sort of. I said it then I did it. From inception to execution it took 14 days. And fear only ever set in on Tuesday 3rd of August at about 12.30am. Along with the cyclone winds, electrical blackouts, cancelled trains & buses.
This was an experiment, an idea to see if social media could actually create real business for small business. Money business. Countable (new word) money business.
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It has seemed in the past (and still perhaps) that we have been quiet as business owners with regards to how we are treated by our politicians and government.
We have tended to keep our head down and get on with the job. Our job, our risk, our problems. We are almost pre-disposed to accepting what is dealt to us with little if any opposition. Interest rates going up, up and more up, banks reducing funds access to small business (when we were not the ones over borrowing), our overheads skyrocketing - power, gas, fuel, stock, wages….. When will it end?
I went to a fundraiser recently for a group called Legs On The Wall. They are a performing aerial theatre company who integrate acrobatics, dance and circus skills into theatre. They really do get their legs on the walls. It was a fun evening, partly because I was with some really nice friends and partly because I felt quite sophisticated being out with the arty world. Of course in between all those warm fuzzy feelings, I began to examine the concept of the fundraiser vs. growing a business and in whose hands it would all be better off. Should artists be responsible for raising money for their ‘company’ and should a company use ‘artists’ to grow or get legs for its business?
Does your business have legs? Is it walking, running or strolling? Can it balance by itself or are you propping it up? Are the training wheels still on? Have you identified what’s missing, if anything? Too many questions? Maybe.
I have been travelling around Australia since March for The Commonwealth Bank Small Business Forums with the esteemed Peter Switzer. I have had a lot of fun, learnt a lot and experienced a little peek into the corporate world. I normally do almost zero travelling, after all my business is land locked in Sydney and specifically George St. I’ve never had to struggle with packing or doing three states in two days with six flights. To suddenly become this business traveller has made me appreciate my routine at work and how glad I am to come home and be home.
Generally speaking, small business owners are emotionally attached to their business. We build it up, sometimes from less than nothing; we nurture it, develop it and sometimes strangle it. Like any baby or child that inevitably grows up, sometimes we don’t know when to let go or we let go too much.
It’s a confusing situation, complicated by finance and entangled by feelings that are fuelled by fear. Fear of the “what if” - what if you take a step back and the business suffers, what if you run out of ideas, what if you find a challenge that can’t be defeated? What if you actually stop mothering your business and it flourishes, does that mean you were holding it back?
Well, the Government has seen fit to announce how wonderfully thoughtful they have been to actually take into consideration small businesses. Whoopee. If they keep doing us favours like these, we may actually topple over - from sheer frustration. When will any Government really look at easing the burden small business carries? They just keep dressing things up hoping we won’t notice that we are actually being undermined again, that we are being asked to pay yet again, that we are going to bear more pressure, again.
Sure, lower Company Tax sounds good. If we were ALL incorporated. Most of us are not, we are small business partnerships and sole traders. There is a clue in there somewhere - SMALL. Of course, even if you are a Pty Ltd, you can wait a couple of years can’t you? Surely your profits are so huge that the increase in Super payments to employees of 12% wont wipe out this gain will it? After all, we are known for posting those billion dollar profits each quarter, why not give some back. I’m all for giving - give more to electricity, give more to gas, give more to rent, give, give, give.
People have many faces but that’s not to say that they are liars, some just present different parts of themselves at work or in negotiations or even in the day or night. Some people find it hard to blend their personal views with their business agenda and hospitality is a perfect example of that, in fact retail or sales in general as well. Take for example waiters (non gender specific); their job is to be hospitable, welcoming. They are in charge of your customer experience. When they look at you, do they make eye contact? Does their face reflect their feelings or their words? Are they sincere, going through the motions or openly bored and can’t wait to finish their shift?
It’s always a huge task when we spring clean our cupboards at home, we plan to do it, then we hope to do it, and finally we succumb when we run out of excuses.
It’s one thing to let your linen, socks or pantry get out of hand, but consequences are slightly more dire when it’s your business that is at risk. When you declutter at home, you let go of stuff that you have been keeping ‘just in case,’ you eliminate broken or old items and you generally minimise your clutter. Sometimes just to make room for more stuff, sometimes to give the room a whole new look. Business is not that much different.
5.00am: It’s a typical day at VIVO Cafe.
Of course I say that in the car while driving to work. I listen to AM radio in the hope that I will know a tiny bit of what’s going on in the world around me. Sometimes my work bubble extends so much over my life bubble that it can, does and will totally take over. Especially on a day like today, that is about to send me over the edge. So far all is as it should be, but not for long!
5.01am: First phone call, two staff have already missed the train, they will be one hour late. As it’s against the law to SPEED and I can’t magically appear at work, I now have the ‘drive of stress’ to contend with. The one where you develop road rage against everything because the world doesn’t get that you need to go to work faster. Right now. We have over 100 booked for breakfast starting at 7.00am and we need to unpack furniture and basically get ready for the entire day. Breathe. Even after 25 years as a business owner, or maybe especially because of these 25 years, I still get worried when calls start early. It’s never good. It always gets worse. This isn’t pessimism, or a self fulfilling prophecy or me being negative. This is life in a small business and in the cafe world when you start to run late early on, you very rarely get ahead.
We walk a fine line sometimes in business when we make decisions about either being vocal regarding our beliefs or publicly supportive to others who represent our beliefs. Should our customers know which way we swing, or our team for that matter? Could it jeopardise sales? Are we scared that we will be judged?
I know that many large companies donate to both political parties to hedge their bets, while others are more open. Small business can’t always afford to be open about anything. My feelings are that my own political beliefs are no one else’s business but mine, even though my Greek culture, heritage and background say otherwise. However, I also believe that you should be active in this world. If you don’t like something then do something about it besides whine. After all, that’s how we build/built our businesses, by following through on our actions and dreams. Hence, I have a personal dilemma.