In This Issue
* The Human Dimension of Doing Business
* Would your company like to advertise at no charge in The 610 Business Journal?
* Determination
* Staff Box
* News You Can Use - June 9, 2010
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The Human Dimension of Doing Business
If you are a small business owner, early on, make it a point to get to know your potential clients, referral partners or deal partners. Yes, there is a time to talk business. But uncommon wisdom tells us that one of the best things you can do is to build a personal relationship with business contacts. Why? People choose to do business with people they like, they trust and in whom they have confidence.
You will discover an unexpected development that arises out of doing this. If you just take the time to find out who they are and what they like to do, you may find folks out there that you really like and with whom you actually want to do business. After a working relationship has been established, it is a great way to lessen the pressures of business to be able to share time at a business event with an established client and never touch on a business topic. There is nothing immediately at stake, except the opportunity to keep that relationship alive and well. Today, the client may not be in the market for the service or product you sell. But if there is an established relationship, when they are ready to buy, you are the person they are going to call. Such clients will become a reliable source of residual sales or referrals. And when someone asks them to recommend someone to provide the services you provide, they will recommend you. So doing business is not just about advertising what you sell, pitching clients or closing the sale. Sometimes it is just about relating to the person as a human being, listening to them tell you what is important to them and really finding out about them in a context other than that of their being a client.
And the best part of this approach is that in doing so, you can even momentarily escape from your business concerns for an hour or two and just have some fun. This evening, I attended the InHouston Mixer at The Tasting Room. Among the people with whom I wanted to connect was Mark Valker, an executive and personal coach here in Houston. There was a matter I wanted to cover with him. But when I found him, the most business we talked about was what was the best attire to wear to an event like this. From there our conversation covered everything but business.
We found out we both came from Chicago. We talked about family matters and he told me he was leaving early to go to Champps to watch the hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers. When 7 PM rolled around, he invited me to join him at Champps when I was through at the mixer. We shook hands and he left.
I did join him and his friends across the way at Champps. It had been a long day and it was a relief to lose myself in the hockey playoffs. I had a great time watching the game. But even better, I had the opportunity let my guard down and just share an exciting sports moment with a group of really congenial people. Anything related to business was effectively left at the front door of the restaurant before any of us entered to watch the game. When I left, I saw a side of Mark that I would not have seen in the normal course of business affairs. I expect that he saw a different side of me as well.
So what does this have to do with doing business? The people who become our clients, our referral partners or deal partners are people first. We are looking to establish a long-term relationship with them. We need to get to know them and they need to get to know us... it is a two way street. They are not going to necessarily do business with us immediately. And one of these folks just might be the critical person who moves our company over the tipping point at which we experience major growth. One never knows who that person will be. So we continue to do this, in order to connect with those individuals who will be the key to our growth or for whom we will be the key for their success.
This is one of the intangibles of doing business. It is the human side of business that makes doing business a whole lot more pleasant and civilized. And you know what. Among the people with whom you forge working relationships, a few of them may become enduring and life-long friends. And that is not a bad thing. So in learning the strategies of succeeding in business, add this one to your toolbox. It is a great way to gain new friends and achieve a higher level of success at the same time.
Howard Fireman
Editor and Publisher
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WOULD YOUR COMPANY LIKE TO ADVERTISE AT NO CHARGE IN THE 610 BUSINESS JOURNAL?
I very much appreciate the individuals and companies which have visited this publication on a regular basis. As a way to show my appreciation, I am extending the offer to provide a limited amount of advertising space at no charge until September 30, 2010.
We can handle two display advertisements, each no longer than six column inches long and a display of eight business cards each issue. This publication currently has circulation of between 400 and 500 subscribers.
Starting next Monday, The 610 Business Journal will be published every Monday morning.Issues will be published on the following future dates: June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29, 2010. As we get closer to August, we will list the publication dates for August and September. The deadline for submitting ads for a particular issue is the Thursday prior to publication date.
If you or your company is submitting a display ad, please submit it as a scan-ready document. Please email it as a jpeg attachment, to Howard Fireman, editor, at howard.fireman46@gmail.com, with your request for inclusion. Please include your name, your company name, your office/cell number and company address.
If you wish this publication to include your business card, please scan your business card and send me the jpeg file of your card as an attachment in an email. Please include the same information as we requested in the paragraph above.
If you have any questions, you can reach Howard Fireman at 832-754-1913.
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Determination
Lenore LeBlanc, the administrative assistant at AlfaTeck Texas Medical Systems, told me about the challenges she faced in simply trying to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks this week.
On the way to Starbucks, she realized that she had left her cash card at home and had no cash on her. She proceeded over to Starbucks anyway. She knew that Starbucks did not accept checks, but she asked the fellow at the register anyway. He politely told her what she already knew.
So she left and went over to Randall's to cash a check... which was declined. Why? Because she had not cashed a check there in several months (she normally used her cash card), they would not accept a check from her. It was company policy. Oh well. She went back to her car and was driving out of the shopping center, when she spied a branch of Wells Fargo. She turned her car around and went there. She cashed a check and headed back to Starbucks.
As she went up to the counter to order her coffee, the fellow at the register told her, "I knew you would be back. I could tell you were really determined."
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News You Can Use - June 9, 2010
A short course in managing cash flow, by Matt H. Evans
This course contains an introduction to cash flow management. This is a great opportunity to get a grasp on one of the very critical aspects of financial management of any company
