Over the years, I’ve discovered that a lot
of cleaners pay very little attention to planning and goal-setting.
They consider it difficult, time-consuming and not necessary, but they
couldn’t be more wrong.
Making a plan or setting a new goal isn’t
hard, but it is something you have to do for yourself. Nobody’s
going to do it for you. It can be as informal as you want, but it has
to be in writing. If it’s not written down, it can’t be
communicated or measured and for all practical purposes, it
doesn’t exist.
With that in mind, here are seven ways to improve
your business and personal situation in the coming year. You
don’t have to tackle all of them. Choose what you think you can
implement to bring you the biggest return.
1. Get yourself into peak physical shape.
Eat right, sleep right and get your body into the
best shape you possibly can. Start today! Just this week, I took a
phone call from the wife of a close friend, a drycleaner, who had just
suffered a heart attack. His doctor checked him out only a week earlier
and suddenly he’s struggling for his life. It’s time now to
get serious about your health.
Your business will probably run better if
you’re able to actively work at it.
Here are a few tips to get started:
• Start a walking program. Set specific and
measurable goals: “I am going to walk three times a week for 20
minutes.”
• Be optimistic and realistic: “I will
lose 10 per cent of my initial body weight in one year, not 15 pounds
in one month.”
• Seek support. Exercise with a friend.
You’ll find the time you spend together is more enjoyable.
• Seek guidance. Think about meeting with a
dietitian and fitness professional.
2. Listen to your customers.
Each time one of your customers asks a question,
voices a complaint or raises an issue with you, write it down.
Get together with your sales staff on this one.
Encourage them to become your ears. They need to keep track of all
comments made, both good and bad. Review these each week for ideas on
how you can improve your service and your business as a whole. Learn to
brainstorm.
Encourage your employees to contribute their
ideas. Focus your efforts on solutions, not problems.
3. Take a technical course.
It makes sense to take a course in something
related to drycleaning.
For example, you could enroll in a spot removal
course or a course in silk finishing or you could visit a suede and
leather plant and see how they treat cowhide and pigskins. Watch the
process. Learn the differences involved in cleaning something that was
once worn by an animal but is now a high-fashion item. It will help you
deal with customers on your counter.
Of course, you could look into something
unrelated to drycleaning… such as database management. Now
there’s something that will come in very handy should you decide
to start marketing your business in an intelligent, organized manner.
4. Attend a seminar.
At least once during the next 12 months you
should attend a seminar. Not the kind they feature on the web where you
sit with a coffee cup in front of your computer screen and not one
that’s put on by your local chamber of commerce either. This one
should be out of town… requiring an airline ticket, a hotel
reservation and a close companion — someone who will be able to
relate to and benefit from the subject matter and someone whose company
you can enjoy for a full weekend without yanking out your hair.
5. Hire someone to do the “busy
stuff.”
How do you spend your time now? How would you
like to spend it?
If the answer to these questions is the same,
you’re perfect for the job… keep doing it yourself. But if
the answer to the second question is different from the first, you
should hire somebody to do the first job for you while you pursue your
dream.
A friend of mine spends 50 hours a week running
his main plant and fixing equipment. What he wants to do is build a
pick-up and delivery service. He’d like to be the driver and the
salesman and I think he’s perfect for the job… so perfect,
in fact, that I suggested that he hire a plant manger and fire himself.
6. Measure your marketing and track the results.
As a small service business, the only type of
marketing you should be using is direct response. You have to be able
to see where every dollar of advertising goes and be able to measure
its effectiveness.
Advertising that can’t be measured, such as
image ads, should not be used by a small business with a limited
advertising budget. Everything else, including postcards, co-op ads,
newspapers and Yellow Pages must be tracked and the results measured in
order to calculate your return on investment.
7. Work less and earn more.
Plan a get-away with your family or friends.
Leave the business in the hands of someone you can trust and enjoy some
time to yourself. Just get away from the pressure of work. Time away
from the business works wonders. You’ll come back with new ideas
on how to run the business more efficiently and profitably.
A few years ago, I was invited to take a trip
with a drycleaner friend. He wanted time off to check out some cleaning
businesses he had heard about… so we went together. All of the
cleaners we visited were friendly and accommodating. They showed us
their plant operations, shared their best marketing ideas with us and
even treated us to dinner out.
So there it is. Your assignment is to choose at
least one of these tips. Make a plan to improve in that one area during
the next 12 months.
On a personal note, I’ve challenged myself,
in the same period of time, to pursue a life less complex, free from
hurry. I desire simplicity.
