I’ve recently been talking with a gentleman from New Sweden about entrepreneurship, and things I’ve learned in the course of nine years about small business, mostly just by watching people. As we begin to transition into new phases of things, I’ve been busily dwelling on those things I’ve learned. Several things have gelled over time, as you watch patterns of behavior, mostly all good, some not so much so.
The first thing I’ve come to think over time has been the entrepreneurs who were willing to ask questions, listen to people around them, and then actually follow the advice of their accountants and attorneys were the ones who seem to get into and then stay in business the longest. The ones who kept good ties with previous owners, and didn’t make big changes out of the gate also seemed to have more success. The folks who keep talking to you (as a loan officer, accountant and attorneys) are also the same ones who also seem to have similar patterns of longevity.
Since I’m not getting younger, and have now crossed into the median age of Aroostook County citizens, the next comment is obviously biased: older people have better listening skills, and are more receptive to providing exactly what the customer wants. I have watched it in several different scenarios over time, and keep going back to it. When we’re young we seem to want folks to want what we want them to. But somehow the older we get we seem to be a bit more willing to let people be themselves, and not who we want them to be: which seems to translate into better business. Cater to the customer, first, most, and always, and stop trying to change his mind. If he wants poutine with chicken gravy, go with it. If he wants a well done steak, go with it.
I appreciate the youth aspect, that when we’re young we believe the best of ourselves and others. We believe in change, and we believe we will make a difference. Listening, and being receptive to input seems key to me as I watch people in business, whether they’re our clients, or members, or business people in other communities.
The funny thing no one told me when I first started at the CCC&I was I would feel as if our loan clients were mine: my clients, my people. When things are good, you’re happy with them, when they aren’t you hope you can point them to someone or something to help them. The very few clients who somehow don’t end up feeling as if you’re connected, seem inevitably to be the ones who don’t always make it. On occasion, there are those who you feel incredibly invested in, who still don’t make it, and those seem to be the worst ones.
Over time, talking with real bankers, I know this is the case with them as well. They feel very connected to their clients, and on occasion when things don’t work out, if they’re invested in their client (emotionally): they feel dreadful. Demand letters, court proceedings, and most especially, being the witness to collecting collateral, or an auction is miserable. I laugh and tell folks sometimes we really don’t want your toys, your tools, your equipment, your inventory (we could sell it in that wildly popular City Wide Yard Sale is part of the joke, but really …). We do not want to count it, confirm it, or ever have to sell it. We want you to have it, use it, keep it, and eventually be able to “release” all claims to it to you.
I suspect not all bankers feel this way, but I believe the majority of those in Aroostook do, and I equate the largest percentage of them as being the George Baileys, and not the Mr. Potters (“It’s a Wonderful Life”). I have been very fortunate to have had many really great bankers on our Board of Directors over the years.
I have questions I ask people now in the beginning of talking with them about their business plans, which seem like the afore mentioned markers, but one of the questions I invariably ask everyone when they tell me their “things” or “situations” (be they in business or not, wherever they’re at in the process), is “have you talked to your attorney? Have you talked to your banker? Have you talked to your accountant?
Talk to your banker. Talk to your accountant. Talk to your lawyer. Keep talking. Just a few things I’ve learned from people we’ve been fortunate enough to have met or worked with!
Remember, we’re having a Caribou Cares About Kids bash this weekend. Check us out on Facebook or Twitter, or come down and be a part of the party!
Wendy Landes, MPA, is the executive director of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She can be reached in person at 24 Sweden Street, Suite 101; by telephone at 498-6156 or via e-mail at wlandes@cariboumaine.net.
