The Ingredients of Success: Unique to each business

‘Every dress that leaves here must be perfect to our capacity’: understanding the ingredients of success

This is another installment of thoughts and takeaways from our conversations with designer and entrepreneur, Selia Yang. We are focusing on Selia as a part of our inFOCUS series and are excited for the culminating soiree at the end of the month.

In addition to the focus on Business Direction and Goals (Selia’s decision to go bridal), we really admired Selia’s very clear understanding of the ingredients of her success and what ultimately matters in the way she runs her business.

‘Every dress that leaves here must be perfect to our capacity’:

Like all small businesses, Selia Yang feels the 24 time crunch. There is always a lot to do and a limited number of hands on deck. We are always interested in how entrepreneurs task out roles. What they do themselves and what they hire others to do.

As the business grew, Selia knew she needed other people and staff to help support the business. She hired her brother to be in charge of manufacturing and her sister-in-law to run her east village showroom. This primarily left the roles of designer, pattern-maker, and fitter for Selia herself (in addition of course to holding CEO-type functions and all the other marketing, promotion, vendor relationship necessary to make Selia Yang as successful as it is!)

It is interesting that Selia has maintained the role of fitter for so many years. It creates quite a different experience from purchasing any other gown. Imagine…the actual designer of the dress takes the time and effort to make sure that it fits exactly the way it should on YOU! While Selia does love the customer interaction and enjoys the fitting experience, these aren’t the reasons that she participates in the fitting process. To date it has been important to her to maintain her role as dress fitter, despite the many other things pulling for her attention, because of the critical role that it plays in the outcome of the process. Selia told us that “no matter what people pay for a dress, when the dress leaves the store the customer needs to love the dress and to have loved the experience. It needs to be perfect to our capacity.”

Selia has wondered whether her participation in the fitting negatively impacts the perception of Selia Yang the business. Does it make the business seem smaller than it is? Less serious? Does it make the designer seem not as important? I, for one, felt exactly the contrary. I was honored that the designer took time out of her day to make sure my dress fit well and beyond that, it clearly demonstrated to me just how much pride Selia took in her work and her business. It enhanced the experience for me for sure, and of course it allowed me to meet Selia. Forgetting that I am an entrepreneur, who obviously has a great deal of interest in “the woman behind the business”, I believe that affinities and loyalty is strengthened when customers get to know a business in a more personal way. I’m willing to bet most customers felt as I did.

However, recognizing that her plate is only going to continue to get fuller (especially with the launch of the wholesale line), Selia has been training a fitter to take over these very important responsibilities. And being Selia, of course she didn’t just go out and hire someone who has credible experience and let them loose. Instead, she has had someone trailing her and observing all the fittings for months. Only after they have seen months and months of work and hundreds of dresses will they able (maybe!) to fill Selia’s shoes.

This got us thinking about how important it is to be clear on the ingredients that make your business a success and how businesses can set themselves up to ensure the desired outcomes.

What are the parts of your business that are most sensitive, that ultimately make all the difference, and really serve as the ingredients for our success?

How is your business set up to protect these ingredients and ensure your desired outcome?

How can you better protect them without taking on more yourself?

Selia’s decision to go ‘bridal’: The importance of business direction and goals

This is a first installment of thoughts and takeaways from our conversations with designer and entrepreneur, Selia Yang. We are focusing on Selia as a part of our inFOCUS series and are excited for the culminating soiree at the end of the month.

During our talks with Selia Yang, several themes stuck out as not only noteworthy but as good lessons for other entrepreneurs. The first theme is the importance of Your Business Direction & Goals. (A favorite topic for us!)

Selia’s decision to go ‘bridal’:

It is so interesting that Selia Yang never had any intention of entering the bridal market. In her mind it seemed like lots of puff and little style. So naturally, like most clear-headed entrepreneurs, she resisted the suggestions and requests of her customers to lead her astray. She gave them the ‘I’m flattered but it’s not my bag’ routine.

However, as her relationships with her customers deepened and she was able to witness their own frustration with existing bridal options, she relented. One dress quickly turned into 10 and so on. After a couple years of dabbling however, she reached a nexus and felt compelled to make a final business decision on the bridal market. Was she in it? Did she want to be? What should Selia Yang be known for? What was her future? What was her company’s future?

While considering her options, Selia said that the biggest question she had to answer was not about viability or finances but “could I be happy doing bridal?” or more importantly, “Would I be content creatively to explore bridal as a designer? Could I do bridal without following tradition?” After some soul searching, Selia decided that she could and that by entering the bridal market that she could actually “evolve as a designer”. She could create a collection she was proud of, make beautiful dresses that make women feel great, and fulfill her passion, which is “to sell something that I have created”.

Now several years later, Selia remarks that she “never knew I would do genuinely fall in love with bridal”. She feels very happy to be where she is and said that “hopefully this shows in what I do”.

Take it from us…it does!!

So this conversation really got us thinking about business directions and goals. We often talk about the importance of learning to say NO as an entrepreneur. Typically, there is no dearth of opportunity or creative ideas. The trick is really knowing which opportunities are right for you, when to say yes and when to say no. It’s not easy. The risk you run is saying yes to the wrong decisions and ending up hijacked by your business and building a business that you hate.

What we love about Selia’s story is how purposeful she was about this very big business decision. Not only did she try it out first in a comfortable and low-risk way, she also based her decision on her clear understanding of what brings her satisfaction as an entrepreneur – continually creative and inspired design, not just on the economics and viability of the potential market and business. If she felt that she would have to compromise her creative instincts and abilities within the bridal market, she would have said no.

Are you clear about your own goals? What must opportunities provide in order for them to help you achieve what you want?

How can you reevaluate opportunities with your goals in mind?

Sticking to your Guns – a.k.a. Staying true to your business goals

Last week in the New York Times business section I was struck by the following quote:

“ That is the American way – to expand without really thinking”
– Lydia Ezparza, co-owner of Great Lake Pizza Shop in Chicago.

The quote was take from an article, “Small by Choice, Whether Clients Like It or Not” by Kermit Pattison.

It is a great interview where the owners articulate their deliberate choice not to expand their business (as many would predict and encourage) despite their business’s booming success. I found the article incredibly refreshing as it is not that often that a small business - that wants to stay small - is showcased in national publication. I often come across stories and profiles of “successful” entrepreneurs.

These “successful” entrepreneurs are often running large companies that are venture backed. Don’t get me wrong, I completely applaud entrepreneurs who have successful grown a company through the help of financing. On the other hand, the community of entrepreneurs that I connect with on a daily basis are not interested in growing a company at light speed and often do not need outside financing.

Too often, these entrepreneurs are categorized as “lifestyle” entrepreneurs which to many (including myself) is a fairly offensive description of the type of entrepreneurship that I subscribe to. For myself, and many in the IGC community, their desire to become an entrepreneur was so that they could build a business that they would have for a long time, that they could support themselves over time and that they could scale at different points in the life cycle of the business. Many hope to make money (and for some lots of money), they want to be in control of the business and they may recognize that they want their business to mean different things at different times.

The owners of the Great Lake Pizza shop have a clear sense of their goals for the business, and they are willing to forfeit the temptation of expanding in order to achieve these goals. It is a wonderful and inspiring example for many small businesses that want to stay true to their business goals and by extent – stay small.

posted by Amy Abrams

Getting In Your Own Way: Are you your company's best asset?

I finished reading a great article this weekend in the New Yorker about John Mackey who is the CEO of Whole Foods. The article is fascinating on several levels: the contradiction behind the whole foods brand as the founder is not who you think he would be; the overall state of the grocery market, especially in light of the Walmarts of the world now carrying organic product and products; and the story behind the company.

What I found particularly remarkable was my reaction to John Mackey. Throughout the article I flip flopped from thinking that the guy is a total ego-maniacal kook to a clever, savvy genius. Regardless, he is undoubtedly a unique person and a successful entrepreneur. And he has good instincts despite the several notable hiccups he has experienced along the way. It has taken a lot to build Whole Foods into the business it is today, and John Mackey is a huge part of that.

It is clear that his personality and quirkiness have created trouble, from bad press to political boycotts to SEC investigations. It is not hard to argue that he gets in his own way. The question, by extension, is whether he will get in the way of Whole Foods growth in the future. Many are shocked that he is still holds the position of CEO, since Whole Foods is a publicly traded company.

But on the other hand, it is possible that all things considered he is still an asset to the company, and perhaps the overall category of whole foods shopping. Despite the fact that I disagree with many of his political opinions, his distinct personality makes an impact. Sure, he is controversial and unexpected, but on the other hand he is also a pioneer who has significantly contributed to getting the public to view “whole foods” as chic instead of crunchy.

While you can argue about whether that is a good thing, it remains a fact that John Mackey is high profile and has brought a certain amount of celebrity to the industry. And, I believe that this status and profile has been directed influenced and elevated by his personality.

Even in the midst of a media circus, John Mackey is someone you have a reaction to, someone people talk about and case in point, someone people write about.

So perhaps rather than getting in his own way, he is really paving the way.

posted by Amy Abrams

Don’t be Mission Impossible: recognize the limits and purpose of your mission

I was recently speaking with someone who was quite upset about a customer who didn’t seem to “get” or her business mission with same amount of fervor as my colleague would have liked. It seems that my colleague’s customer was supportive of the mission but was also very focused on the benefits of the service being offered. Pretty fair, I think.

Anyhow, it got me thinking….

Are customers who don’t “get” your mission really bad customers?

In the case of for-profit enterprises should mission really be a stumbling block?

Is it a good idea to base your outcomes on your mission alone? Or does that in fact, limit important customer diversity and short change the success of your services and products?

I realize there may be some differing opinions about this, but some guidelines I believe to be true (at least in the case of for-profit businesses - I realize that non-profits have a different relationship with mission):

1. Don’t expect your customers to do something because it is important to you. If you want to motivate specific action then either make it important to them too or align your needs with theirs.

2. You can’t mandate your mission. Sometimes people won’t get it or won’t care. We can’t expect customer to appreciate every bright shiny feature of what we offer, and that certainly includes our mission.

3. Similarly, you can’t dictate the customer experience. Some really great clients will only enjoy 15% of what you have to offer while others may have motivations or outcomes that are different from what you expect or anticipate. It is unfair to expect each client to be 100% in and an all-out evangelist.

4. Don’t expect your mission to drive the sale. Sure, sometimes customers might choose one service over another due to mission and some customers may be enthusiastic supporters of your mission, but don’t forget that ultimately you are selling a product or a service

Instead…

1. Use your mission as strategic guidepost. It should help you determine the best direction for you and the company and serve as a litmus test for various business decisions. When presented with a new choice, ask yourself “is this on mission?”

2. Recognize that your mission is for YOU. It may also appeal to your customers but it is not their primary focus and it is not really created or articulated for them.

3. Embrace customer diversity. Each client will have differing motivations, experiences, needs, and outcomes and that is GREAT! see what you can learn from them. Also, diversification often cultivates more security and stability.

4. Leverage your mission as a way to enhance your business and add meaning and purpose for YOU. Strengthen the significance of your business by giving it a strong mission that you believe in and are willing to ferociously pursue.

5. Remember that your mission doesn’t need to be charitable. There are thousands of innovative, admirable, and social responsible purposes who don’t have charitable missions. Your mission could be qualitative or quantitative, but it should define WHAT you want to achieve and be:

Motivating

Clearly articulated

Attainable (meaning it can be ticked off a list)

Long-term

I feel proud to work with so many mission focused businesses and I personally believe that they have tremendous strategic importance. But it is worth reminding yourself about their limits and purpose. They aren’t the sum of the business.

posted by Adelaide Lancaster

The Business Owner's "Imposter Complex"

(photo courtesy of Megan Horsburgh)







In a recent consulting session I was struck by a client's poignant statement. She said that after 8 years of running a successful business (in which she has supported herself and several employees), she finally feels like a "real-business owner". Hum... I scratched my head and asked. "what do you mean?" She said that she had always felt like a fake and that it was mere luck that had been propelling her business forward over the years.

Ah ha, I realized she had suffered from the Business Owner's Imposter Complex!

A quick and easy definition provided by wikipedia of the Imposter Complex is when "sufferers are unable to internalize their accomplishments. Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study or what external proof they may have of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced internally they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are actually frauds. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they were more intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be."

On further reflection, I thought about just how many business owners we connect with who also describe this same experience. Despite their talent, hard work and success they often do not own their identity as a REAL (and successful) business owner or entrepreneur.

When we started In Good Company, our mission was to "elevate the status of women business owners".

This goal was twofold:

First, to help increase recognition of an often overlooked demographic and the large economic impact that demographic is continuing to make at a breaking pace.

Second, on a more local, and arguably important level, we wanted to help more women see themselves as "REAL" business owners.

It reflects a critical shift in thinking, to go from thinking of yourself as a X (consultant, nutritionist, photographer) to understanding that you are truly an entrepreneur. To date these are the best kinds of testimonials and feedback that we receive!

-posted by Amy Abrams

Re-Incarnation and The business lifecycle

There were two throught provoking articles in the New York Times magazine this weekend. The first, “Facebook Exodus”
by Virginia Heffernan, was a great read as it articulated why many members are moving on.

Heffernan profiled several members who left facebook for reasons that included the discomfort of having facebook knowing too much about you, overexposure about your life to others, a waste of time, and a feeling that facebook is stalking them.

Facebook is still a growing giant, attracting 87.7 million unique visitors in July. The article made me think about the lifecycle of businesses and wonder if facebook, like other business that grow very quickly and have a lot of hype will be sustainable in the long run.

I then flipped the page to find that Rob Walker’s article, “Cleaned Sheets” continued this line of thinking. Walker’s profile of Linens ‘n Things is an insightful view into a fascinating business model.

When LNT filed for bankruptcy in 2008, they closed 586 stores throughout the country. They also had assets that creditors purchased during liquidation including a database of 5 million email addresses, the Linens’s and Things name (= brand), and trademark.

They formed a new online company called lnt.com and opened a few months ago with the same concept but exclusively online. Imagine opening a company online but starting off with a database of 5 million customers that already know (and perhaps trust) your brand. Genius!

Taking these two articles made me think that in some cases, re-incarnation is the most important step in a business’s lifecycle. Even if Facebook would lose some of it's novelty, their database and information would most likely be repackaged.

Perhaps you can look at your own business and evaluate if it is time for a re-incarnation? Or what your possible reincarnations might be?

Entrepreneurship: Meaningful work for your mind, body, & soul

I would describe myself as an entrepreneur who has created meaningful work that allows me to think creatively and affords me the luxury of utilizing skills and talents that are natural, enjoyable, and at most times do not feel like work.

As I read Matthew B. Crawford’s “The Case For Working With Your Hands” in The New York Times Magazine, I felt that he was articulating a daily experience that many satisfied entrepreneurs could relate to. (I also think this article should be required reading for all career seekers.)

His experience details his path - for all intents and purposes – towards entrepreneurship. As I read his story, I felt he was describing an experience that so many of the dynamic women in the In Good Company community have expressed themselves.

For example, he writes that:

“A good job requires a field of action where you can put your best capacities to work and see an effect in the world.”

Many of the women in our community started their businesses with this very desire in mind. They wanted to do what they did best. And not only that, they believed that they could also have a direct impact on their own life (in terms of how much they work, or what they choose to pursue, or how they balance all the other aspects of their life) while simultaneously having a direct impact on those who they work with or the creations that they make. For many women, this is not always about making the most money but rather engaging in work that is meaningful, impactful and, is on their own terms.

We created In Good Company because we found that while on their entrepreneurial journey many women experienced road bumps when it came to “running the business side of things”. The new territory of entrepreneurship and the steep learning curve that comes with it made them crave a connection to a community of women in the same boat. Crawford also speaks a community that he tapped into for resources, information and support and the important role that that community played. Sound familiar?

Crawford’s entire commentary on the state of work in our society is poignant and thought provoking, so please don’t short change yourself by not reading it, but I will share this excerpt with you in order to spark your thinking.

"There is good reason to suppose that responsibility has to be installed in the foundation of your mental equipment — at the level of perception and habit. There is an ethic of paying attention that develops in the trades through hard experience. It inflects your perception of the world and your habitual responses to it. This is due to the immediate feedback you get from material objects and to the fact that the work is typically situated in face-to-face interactions between tradesman and customer.

An economy that is more entrepreneurial, less managerial, would be less subject to the kind of distortions that occur when corporate managers’ compensation is tied to the short-term profit of distant shareholders. For most entrepreneurs, profit is at once a more capacious and a more concrete thing than this. It is a calculation in which the intrinsic satisfactions of work count — not least, the exercise of your own powers of reason.

Ultimately it is enlightened self-interest, then, not a harangue about humility or public-spiritedness, that will compel us to take a fresh look at the trades. The good life comes in a variety of forms. This variety has become difficult to see; our field of aspiration has narrowed into certain channels. But the current perplexity in the economy seems to be softening our gaze. Our peripheral vision is perhaps recovering, allowing us to consider the full range of lives worth choosing. For anyone who feels ill suited by disposition to spend his days sitting in an office, the question of what a good job looks like is now wide open."

posted by Amy

image courtesy of henatayab

Adaptation: What is your company's 2.0?

While the economic uncertainties of the fall seemed to deliver an air of pause, caution, and consideration, the new year - and the resounding revelation that the soured economic climate is here to stay - seems to have helped usher in a call for action.
The last few months have encouraged many of us entrepreneurs to recalculate and recalibrate. And now it is time to move. Ah, adaptation - the plan previously unforeseen, the unplanned path taken.

We have talked and worked with many who are in the process of adapting their company, product, service, offering - in other words creating the 2.0 version of their own company. Maybe, for your company, it previously made sense to do one thing, but now, another. Perhaps a former best-seller is replaced by a lower-cost version or a new suddenly-in-demand product. Or, alternatively, the climate change has brought about opportunities and markets that didn't exist before. On a smaller scale, it could be that your offering remains the same but your pitch and positioning has changed to match the new marketplace.

With adaptation on the brain, we spotted some interesting examples from a Fast Company
article this month. The larger article highlights "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies", but a few adaptation examples stood out. In each case, these adaptations have been in the works long before the economic downtown began, however, they demonstrate the type of thinking (mirroring customer need) that is required today.

Amazon - no description needed, as everyone is familiar with the online marketplace GIANT. However, CEO Jeff Bezos had something really interesting to say about Amazon's recent foray into the product market with the recently launched Kindle reader. "There are two ways to extend a business. Take inventory of what you are good at and extend out from your skills. Or determine what your customers need and work backward, even if it requires learning new skills. Kindle is an example of working backward." Read Fast Company's profile.

Etsy - originally an online handmade artist community cum marketplace, Etsy is continuing to adapt and change its offering to meet the growing needs of both its buyers and sellers. Some of the new projects that they have integrated into the offering are their "This Handmade Life" - an opportunity for sellers to establish a personal relationship with buyers by profiling themselves and their business through images, text, videos, etc.; "Virtual Labs" - online meet-ups that can be used (by sellers, buyers, and observers alike) as trunk shows, workshops, and special interest groups; "Custom Section" - an opportunity for buyers to post their specific need and receive bids from interested crafters and artists. Read Fast Company's profile.

Zappos - innovative and adaptive from the start and a fantastic example of entrepreneurship, Zappos began by bucking the status quo in online shopping by taking a very customer-experience-centric perspective. Not only do they provide free shipping BOTH WAYS!, but they incorporated multi-view product images to help incorporate a primary advantage of traditional, off-line shopping. Read Fast Company's profile.

We suspect that this will be a prevalent theme and business challenge for some time to come. So, if you haven't already started to think about your company's 2.0, now is the time!
If you have already started to think about it or act on it, then great! We would love to know! Share with us how you have adapted your company in response to the changing economic climate.

Need some inspiration or guidance?
An excerpt in the Lyles Center newsletter, and originally from Donald Kuratko, offers a helpful overview of what they call "source of innovative ideas". We think of them more like game changers, things that shake up the marketplace and create opportunity, such as unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs. It may be helpful to think about how these 8 shifts apply to your business. We want to know:

In what ways have you ADAPTED?
Services?
Products?
Offerings?
Positioning?
The customer experience?
Your operations?

posted by Adelaide

Hijacked: When your business goes off course

One of the most appealing aspects of going into business for yourself is that you are finally your own boss. You can make your own schedule, work when you want, on your own terms. As an extension, your job can take into account what is important to you. Whether it be income, hours, flexibility, autonomy, the creative process, etc. How exciting! How refreshing!

Fast forward to weeks, months or years after you launched your business to find yourself working 24/7, with no flexibility in sight, making less than you'd planned, managing operations instead of creating, knee deep in the weeds. And did we forget to mention, not feeling very happy, productive or successful?

What happened?

You have officially been hijacked, yes hijacked - by YOUR own business.

How did this happen?!

Mostly likely, you haven’t paid proper attention to the way in which you have grown your business.

Let's back up a few steps and explain.

We all know that most businesses grow and change over time...production used to be in-house and is now outsourced... It used to be 100% service, and now there is product... You used be in one location, and now you are in several... You have added all sorts of fancy communication tools, or programs, or classes, or staff, or additional lines...

But it is hard to think about what changes will come when, instead, you are focused on what is immediate - going to market, getting the first client or account, paying the bills.And, during this heavily focused phase we are inclined to think that any growth is good. That means it is working, right? It is what many of us want, right?

Often, yes - Growth is Good!

BUT, what we neglect to recognize is that we have choice over HOW this growth occurs, WHAT direction our business takes and WHY.

We forget that we actually have control over these things. And, that instead of growing in the direction of least resistance (the next easy client, reemploying tactics that have worked in the past), we can actually chart the course of our business and make sounds decisions that continue to account for our individual goals and needs.

You can continue to run and grow a business that gives you the flexibility, income, autonomy that you desire by being very clear about your business goals and needs right up front and all along.

Your specific needs should be at the top of the agenda right up there with making money!Doing this is the only way that you can make your business WORK FOR YOU!

And, considering all the work and sacrifice you have given to your business doesn’t this seem only right?

Don't let yourself be hijacked by your business.

shared by Adelaide & Amy