Job Creation

A hot topic right now is jobs.  The economy is still floundering and all the political pundits are screaming about job creation.  There was a republican candidate debate on TV last night and job creation was the most debated topic.  President Obama is set to speak tonight and the highlight of his speech - you guessed it - jobs. 

So where do jobs come from?  To save us all the boredom of a basic economics lesson, let me jump straight into a complicated graph.  Below we have the number of jobs in Oklahoma by year, spanning from 1992 to 2008.  The jobs are broken up into size and type of firm.  At the very bottom, we have the self-employed followed by various stages of business.  Each business stage is determined by number of employees.  Stage 1 businesses have between 2-9 employees.  Stage 2 businesses have between 10-99 employees and so on.  The non-resident stage is businesses with locations and/or employees in Oklahoma but with headquarters outside the state of Oklahoma.

So who creates the most jobs?  Small businesses?  Bigger corporations?  The lime green line at the top signifies Stage 2 businesses (those with 10-99 employees) create the most jobs in the state, followed by Stage 1 businesses (those with 2-9 employees).  Nonresident companies launched to the top around 2001 but took a sharp dive after that, landing them in third place for number of jobs. 

How do these results fit in with your perceptions?  Are you rooting for your community to host the next Google facility, large manufacturing plant or mega big box superstore?  These are great ideas but our support also needs to be given to the smaller businesses - as the data shows - they create the most jobs in Oklahoma.  I'd be interested to do this same analysis for Texas and Massachusetts.  Perhaps I could help Romney and Perry settle their argument :)    

Can you tell the difference?

The subtitle of my blog is: Helping Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Succeed.

Why didn't I just put small businesses or entrepreneurs?  Why include both?  What's the difference?  The difference is in the eyes of the beholder, based on their perceptions.  However there are more textbook differences as well.  I'll spare the dictionary definitions and move into my analysis. 

Small business owner - usually a mom/pop type business, less than 5 employees, with a goal to work for themselves and/or provide a product/service based on doing what they do best.  Typically the 'technician' in the business which just means they bake great cookies or can change tires really well.  They may or may not have loads of business experience, but they've managed to open the doors and keep them open.  Most people think of a pizza shop, a bakery, a dog groomer, a shoe store, etc. 

Entrepreneur - a business person geared to grow.  This can be a business, an inventor, or someone within a larger organization.  Many people can be entrepreneurs but yet still work for other organizations.  The key here is growth and innovation.  Most people think of Google, Microsoft, Apple, etc. 

A while back, I met a gentleman who asked what classes I taught at the university.  I told him Entrepreneurship.  He said 'oh, is that a science class?'.  The funny part of this story:  the man owned his own fence contracting business and had 28 employees.  He didn't know what an entrepreneur was.  Not that he was or wasn't one, I didn't get enough out of the conversation to make the determination.  He was in business to do what he was good at and passionate about. 

The point here is there is not always a correlation.  A small business owner may or may not be an entrepreneur.  An entrepreneur may or may not be a small business owner. 

So for now, I'll keep my blog subtitle as is.  Which slightly contradicts with the blog title.  Anyone have a suggestion for improvement?  I'm seriously open to some creative and fresh insight!

How's My Driving?

We've all seen the 'How's My Driving' stickers on the back of commercial vehicles.  They've been around since I was a kid.  In fact, back in the day when prank calling was still feasible, I always dreamed of prank calling those 800 numbers and making up stories.  But enough about last week, let's get back to business here... :)

The goal of the 'How's My Driving' stickers is to create accountability and provide other drivers on the road with an outlet to report reckless driving.  In essence, the sticker provides an opportunity for a conversation.

Social media is much the same way.  When a business makes a decision to start a Facebook page, a Twitter account or maybe a YouTube channel, they commit to being engaged.  The problem - they don't always (in fact, very rarely do they) have a strategy behind the commitment. 

If a business has a Facebook page and they don't respond to people's posts (either positive or negative), they are in essence posting a 'How's My Driving' sticker all over their vehicle (business) and not answering the phone.  But what if someone posts a suggestion or a negative comment on your Facebook page?  Then respond!  The sooner, the better.  What if someone posts a nice comment about your business?  Then respond!  The sooner, the better.  See the pattern here?  Otherwise, it's almost like picking up the phone to call someone, dialing their number, waiting for them to answer and then just quietly sitting there while they say 'Hello?...helllooo?'.

Social media is a two-way conversation.  When I was a kid and I'd get into a fight with my brothers, my dad would always say 'It takes two to fight'.  It didn't make much sense at the time, but now that I have two teenagers, it makes perfect sense.  The same concept applies.  In social media, it takes two!  (insert 1988 song lyrics here...better yet, a video!)

Entrepreneur Ready Claremore!

I've posted a time or two about the work underway through a federal EDA grant to create a corridor of entrepreneur ready communities in northeast Oklahoma.  We have our first community signed up to go through the process.  Read about it here...Claremore is set to be Oklahoma's first Entrepreneur Ready community! http://ht.ly/51FHE

Current Customers vs. New Customers

There's a bank in town that's been making substantial efforts to gain attention.  They're sending out two of their loveliest bank tellers each day to make rounds through area businesses, passing out pens, notepads and suckers.  I happened to be in a business when one of these 'cold calls' occurred.  The bank tellers stumbled in the business and stood awkwardly at the door, trying to quickly assess the situation and identify the decision maker. 

About three long minutes later, the business owner cut them some slack by acknowledging their presence.  This required neglecting the customer she was serving long enough to spout out a very kind 'Hi, can I help you find something?'. 

The girls grew the courage to step away from the door a few inches and assert themselves into the situation. 

Here's a brief rendition of the uncomfortable conversation:

Shaking girls:  'Hi, we're from XYZ bank and we brought you some pens and suckers to give away to your customers.'

Business owner:  Okay, thanks, just leave them on the front desk there.

Shaking girls:  Sure thing, we also want to remind you, we're open on Sunday.  If you bank with us, you can make your business deposits on Sunday.  (keep in mind, the business they were soliciting isn't open on Sundays and would never in a million years need that feature)

Business owner:  Oh, okay.  I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

The nervous girls were happy to have finished their prescribed task and wasted no time exiting the business.  Mission accomplished.  In their mind anyway. 

The problem with the scenario starts far above the girls just doing what they're told.  The problem is in the overall business level strategy of the bank.  The bank is obviously reacting to lack of customers at the local branch.  The real issue isn't lack of new customers but instead is unsatisfied current customers.  There's a reason people don't bank there. 

This leads to the point that I've preached a million times:  marketing is everything one does to promote, educate or sell the business.  XYZ bank is pulling out the promotions puzzle piece while ignoring the customer service, bank hours, policies and procedures, etc.  Having been a customer at that bank before, I can honestly say that every experience left me with a bad impression of the bank.  They don't have a local number, they don't return phone calls when you finally do reach a human, they don't open on time, they don't over solutions when a customer has a problem, and the list goes on.  I've wondered quite often how long they'll remain open because their business practices are unbearable. 

But keep sending your tellers out to spread the free pens and suckers - that will help.

Bug Report

Each semester I assign a project to my students called the Bug Report. The students are required to make a list of things that bug them in life. I don't mean things like 'my wife' or 'my kids'. I mean things like:

1. headphones get tangled
2. my lip gloss is too sticky
3. takes too much time to load toilet paper on the hook

The Bug Report is the first assignment they do in my class. They usually over think it because it's college - it's supposed to be hard and cumbersome. I don't intend for the assignment to be hard, in fact, it's probably the easiest college assignment ever. I just try to spur creativity and the assignment is a great prelude into writing a business plan.

The overall purpose of the assignment is to generate ideas about problems we face in life. Before innovation can occur, problems must be identified. In fact, the entire point of marketing is to solve problems. One of the most difficult things to do in marketing is solve a problem people don't know they have.

I just ran across a website that takes the Bug Report concept and puts legs under it.  http://www.quirky.com/.  The website has anything but quirky ideas. The products sold are truly useful products. For example, the Boil Buoy - floats in the pot, rings when it's hot. Or how about the Plug Hub - your desk, untangled. My husband is convinced that headphone fairies appear at night and tie our headphones into knots. Some call them headphone fairies, I call them kids. Either way an inventor has invented the Wrapster, wrangle the tangle.

Not only are all the products actually very cool, they are priced right and would make great gifts! What makes the site even better is it supports local inventors and gives a great sneak peek into the process of turning an idea into a commercialized product. The cost to submit an idea is $10. Ideas are picked and the process begins. Innovative website, we'll watch and see how it progresses. 

Preservation vs. Stagnation

I read an article recently about the distress caused to small-town America by online businesses. The article insinuated that by shopping online, Americans are single-handedly destroying communities. The article left me hanging because while it presented a very clear problem, it didn’t offer much of a solution. So instead of ostracizing shoppers, let’s provide them with a solution to meet their needs.

As a former retail business owner in two different communities, I wholeheartedly agree that shopping local is imperative. I used to own a Sears Dealer Store where we sold appliances, lawn & garden equipment, electronics, tools, etc. I recollect the time I saw a big box out of town appliance store delivering a new washer and dryer to the city mayor, who was my neighbor at the time. If the mayor of a small town didn’t understand the importance of shopping local, who would? The fact that he didn’t buy from me is okay. It’s the fact that he didn’t shop me that’s upsetting. If the bigger metro area had better prices, I understand. I was just asking that he let me compete with a bid. But I digress…

As a board member of Claremore Main Street, our communities’ downtown economic development authority, it’s my job to ensure preservation and revitalization of the historic downtown district. I’m also chair of the Economic Restructuring committee, charged with the following mission:

Economic restructuring strengthens your community's existing economic assets while diversifying its economic base. This is accomplished by retaining and expanding successful businesses to provide a balanced commercial mix, sharpening the competitiveness and merchandising skills of business owners, and attracting new businesses that the market can support. Converting unused or underused commercial space into economically productive property also helps boost the profitability of the district. The goal is to build a commercial district that responds to the needs of today's consumers.

In other words, my committee is tasked with the job of historic downtown preservation, while trying to diversify the economic base and bring businesses (and customers) downtown. Throw into this mix 21st century technology and we have quite the dilemma. This leads to my point of preservation vs. stagnation. Maintaining the districts historic preservation is one thing. But standing by to witness a business halt progression is another.

To sustain a strong community, we need to do at least two things:

1. Bring outside dollars in – from other communities, states or countries
2. Stop the leakage – keep dollars from flowing out and spent in other communities, states or countries

Most retail businesses can add an online presence and single handedly take care of these two things. When someone in Minnesota shops Claremore’s doll shop (My Doll Castle) online, we’ve just accomplished #1 listed above. When the local art gallery (A Gallery of the Arts) provides competitive products/services to meet the needs of the community, we’ve just accomplished #2.

I remember playing ball with the neighborhood kids when I was little. If I didn’t like the rules, I could go home. If they changed the location, I could skip out. If they switched from baseball to football, I could jump rope instead.

I suppose one could do the same thing in business, but then it’s no longer a business, it’s a hobby.

If the playing field has been moved online and you want to stay in the game – GO ONLINE and compete! Don’t just sit back and complain about the online shopping environment because it’s not going away. We need small town America to switch fields. Our communities depend upon it.