As many of you know I own a chain of Coin Laundry’s. And yes we have an Association and even a monthly magazine.
As part of a regular feature, a section is written about Business Management by Stephen Bean. He is also a Coin Laundry owner and has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology.
I have attached his information at the end of this article.
The article this month is about the 10 most important concepts (in his opinion) that all self-service laundry operators and, of course, other small-business owners would benefit from understanding in the running of their businesses and in conducting their lives as entrepreneurs.
The Big Ten
The 10 most important concepts (in my opinion) that all self-service laundry operators and, of course, other small-business owners would benefit from understanding in the running of their businesses and in conducting their lives as entrepreneurs.
This list is in no particular order of importance. They are all important, especially if you view them as a group and benefit from their synergistic nature, meaning they are best when they work together in harmony. Individually, they are pretty cool, but as a group, I think they are even cooler.
When you read and digest them, they will make you think, and thinking (especially thinking deeply) will help you become more curious and therefore more creative – and ultimately more successful and self-assured. The Big Ten will provide more dimensions to your life because nobody’s life should just be one-dimensional.
So, repeat after me:
• I am not too set in my ways to learn something new.
• I am not too set in my ways to change my thinking.
• I’m not too set in my ways to change my perspective.
Now… let’s check out The Big Ten:
1. If your fundamentals are absolutely sound, the rest is simply a matter of detail.
For example, if you are constructing a high-rise building and your foundation is not structurally correct, I would suggest that nobody visit the upper floors because the original error in the premise will definitely appear in the conclusion. I think you get my point.
2. Put your customers into a state of willing suspension of disbelief.
The key word here is “willing.” A lot of people write advertisements, and a lot of people see them. However, the two most common words in advertising are “Yeah, sure” – meaning that we are so inundated with ads that we tend to disbelieve most of them.
If you write your own ads, you should understand the definition of the word “verisimilitude,” which essentially means the appearance of being truthful. If your messages demonstrate verisimilitude (they are scrupulously honest), you will enable prospective customers to willingly suspend their disbelief.
3. Owning a business means you are always in the uncomfortable situation of needing to know more information than practical reality will permit.
This is the one that gives you that nervous feeling in your stomach.
The bad news is that there is no solution to this problem. The good news is that the way you can manage this often-occurring situation is to develop the ability to be comfortable while being uncomfortable.
Just accept the fact that all business owners deal with this, so you’re not alone or unique. Also, accept the fact that business life is actually fair (despite the frequent bemoaning of others that you have heard to the contrary) because it’s unfair to everyone. That, logically, makes it fair.
This may surprise you. You don’t need to know everything about your business and what affects it to run it successfully. The best suggestion is to stop beating yourself up because you simply can’t find a way to know everything; accept this fact of business life, and counteract it by developing more creative skills.
I trust that your stomach is feeling better now.
4. People are mighty complex creatures.
And all forms of behavior have multiple causes. Nothing is simple when it comes to human responses. The more you know about human psychology, the better marketer you will be.
By the way, that’s why economics is actually a social science, despite all of the advanced mathematics involved. Economics is fundamentally the study of human behavior as it relates to and interacts with money.
Another important aspect of human nature is that – as American author William Faulkner wrote in his 1932 masterpiece “Light in August” – “Memory believes before knowing remembers.” What this essentially means is that the long shadow people’s memories cast influences and alters their perception of the present and the future.
5. Customers have more reasons to buy than you have to sell.
As business owners, we have only one primary reason to sell our products, and that is to make money. However, as I mentioned, the human species is mighty complex. People certainly don’t always tell you everything that’s on their minds. Most salespeople learn that lesson rather quickly.
I firmly believe there are five primary buying motives for all purchases: fear, greed, exclusivity, guilt and the need for approval.
The effectiveness of your marketing will improve if you weave in the five primary buying motivators into your ads in a subtle and acceptable manner.
6. Know the difference between show and tell.
Believe it or not, it has the same significance as the learning exercise we all took part in as kids in school. The idea is to advertise in a visual manner because using radio ads exposes the recipient to what has been referred to as the “theater of the mind.” In other words, it’s open to interpretation.
In fact, all communication is controlled by the receiver and not the sender. This is true because people are influenced by many intervening variables, such as experience, age, gender, cultural background and a host of others. So, their interpretation of received communication of all types is filtered by these personal variables.
7. You don’t need an operating manual.
There are hundreds of franchises available to today’s investors. These businesses are appealing because they come with a book of instructions from the franchisor. If you own a franchise, you not only pay a hefty signup fee, but it’s also common to have to fork over a percentage of your gross sales for the honor and privilege of being a franchise.
By contrast, entrepreneurs have no manual. Your operating manual can be found in the mirror. However, the tradeoff is that you pay no signup fee and no percentage of your sales to anyone. You’re on our own.
But, because there is no manual, you must be creative and energetic – and, by being so, you are entitled to all of the upside rewards without having to share them with a parent organization. In addition, you determine your own advertising, controlling its content and cost.
I have always believed that franchises are great for those who require a specific set of directions. However, I’ve noticed that non-franchised small-business owners tend to not require a manual and are more the types to rely on themselves; they’re likely more creative by nature.
Therefore, view yourself as what you are – unique, creative and self-sufficient. I’ve heard it said that living with uncertainty is ultimately more profitable than living with certainty. You’re living your dream by being willing to bet on yourself.
Congratulations! You are a pure entrepreneur. Relish the experience. You most certainly have my admiration.
8. Don’t ever make your customers work harder than you do – if so, you’ll regret it.
That’s not a misprint. This is an all-too-common occurrence, not only in small businesses but in large ones, too. In fact, I actually have a long list of irritating examples of how this can occur. I’m sure you’ll recognize some of these from your personal experiences:
• When calling a large company and hearing, “All of our representatives are busy talking to other customers. Your wait time is 25 minutes.” (Get more representatives!)
• When calling a doctor’s office and hearing, “The first available appointment time that the doctor can see you is in four weeks.” (Get another doctor!)
• When ordering dinner in a restaurant and hearing, “Absolutely no substitutes. Your order comes with fries. A baked potato will be a dollar extra.” (Find another restaurant!)
• Not being able to talk to a human being when calling a company. (Do business with another company!)
• When at a large store and only one checkout lane is open, causing an insultingly long wait time. (Put your items back on the shelves and leave!)
• When calling a company to buy something and hearing, “We will call you back at our earliest convenience.” (Their earliest convenience? They have it backward!)
Essentially, all of these events require the customer to work harder than he or she should have to. The moral of the story: if you make the customer work harder than you do, your days are numbered as a business owner. It’s just a matter of time before it all comes crashing down on you.
9. Smart business owners get comfortable with the ubiquity of risk.
Risk underlies and affects every move a business owner makes. Certainly, there are risks and costs to taking action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of lethargic inaction.
Your business is not a static enterprise. It’s dynamic. For example, look at consumer electronics behemoth Apple. To remain a market leader (or simply to just stay in business, for that matter), Apple must constantly develop new communications products – and these products must hit a home run each time they roll them out.
Of course, the same applies to automobiles and many other products
Constantly step back and look at your business objectively. What can you add or subtract? What can you improve? How can you innovate it and stand out from the crowd?
If you don’t do this, I can guarantee that one or more of your competitors surely will.
10. Get very familiar with “the parrot joke.”
Here it is: “I bought a parrot that talked, but it never said it was hungry. So, it died.”
This joke can have a slightly deeper meaning, which I suggest you take to heart. Much like the parrot, your customers often don’t talk either, especially about the aspects of your business they don’t like.
Therefore, it’s wise for you to speak with them as often as possible about what they like and what they don’t like about your store. Find out what they’re really thinking.
A word to the wise: study your prospects more than the product – doing so will prevent your market share from slowly dying off.
There they are…The Big Ten.
Get ’em? Got ’em? Good!
I have shortened the article and removed most of the laundry references. The full article can be found at http://www.planetlaundry.com/business-management/2014/big-ten
Summary: Stephen Bean is the owner of Universal Coin Laundry Machinery, LLC, a distributorship based in Royal Oak, Mich. He also operates a large, 24-hour laundry in Detroit. In addition, Mr. Bean, who holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology, has been published in numerous trade journals and spoken extensively on the subject of marketing throughout the United States. Mr. Bean is available for personal coaching and one-on-one marketing consulting. To reach him directly, email: smbeanuniversal@aol.com.
If you have any comments please post them below.
Ken Barrett
Very interesting article with a lot of valuable info. Thank you so much.
Thanks for the feedback. One of the items is very similar to a comment in the HTA training.