Dan’s Surfing Snippets

Over 250,000 homes and businesses lost power when the remnant of Hurricane Ike slammed into the SW Ohio area tearing down trees, light poles and damaging businesses and homes and causing fires that burned several down to the ground.

When disasters and other business interruptions happen more then physical damage takes place. There is an affect on our psyche.

We are stunned and can easily fall into a mental and physical rut.

Serious instances like the effects of hurricanes, floods, etc. cause a mental trauma that can impact you and your business.

Ideally a person needs to have a clear head and clear focus to carry on their business responsibilities. So how does a person bounce back?

The best way to deal with these feelings is to force yourself to do productive things. Yes, I said force because there is a tendency to procrastinate that has to be overcome.

Get back into the swing of things. Set up an appointment or lunch with a colleague or client. Start a new project.

Get involved, get involved get involved!

Recommendation: Join Solopreneurs.

http://www.solopreneurs.org/members/solopreneur/info/DanBarrett-join.html

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As predicted, the wind was steadily picking up from the remnant of Hurricane Ike. The forecast was for some rain and a windy Sunday. But no one in the Miami Valley of Ohio expected hurricane force winds that would tear down large trees and telephone poles and spew them across roads, on top of houses and cars and leave hundreds of thousands in the dark for a week!

Wow! One minute you are enjoying a lazy summer day and then in an instant no power.  

We sat in the living room watching the strong winds bend the large trees and talked in the quiet. Wonder where are all the little birds that we usually see? Where did they go to hide?

As first we didn’t know how long it would last while we still had daylight so we went to the store to stock up on batteries and other items.  The few stores that were open were running on generators and people were scrambling for supplies.

As night approached we hunkered down with no lights, no air conditioner, no TV, no computer. We had an old battery powered radio and through the static we heard that there were a lot of people in our situation.

My wife and I were concerned about her 94 year old mom who lives with us but as long as we stayed calm and gave direction and reassurance she was ok.

A little after 8 pm our lights came back on and we were relieved. We hurried to shower and take care of what we could before going to bed in case the power went out again.

We were the few fortunate ones as Monday we found out that over 225,000 in the Dayton area and 600,000 in the Cincinnati area were without power. Trees and poles were down everywhere. The schools and many businesses were closed. The County and City stated a State of Emergency and urged everyone to stay off the streets.

As the days past and businesses were slowly back on line I was able to communicate via email to many others only to find out that while they had power at work their home situation was very different… still no power. That meant cold showers and loss of food in the refrigerators and freezers.

One week later and still 60,000 customers without power!

We were all blessed that the weather this week has been beautiful so people without power were able to grill outdoors and clean up their property. We were also fortunate that although we lost our power, once it returned, most of us still had our homes in tact. Look at the devastation on the city of Galveston and the Texas-Louisiana coast in comparison. Yes, we were very fortunate and Blessed!

I also witnessed people helping others with food for those without electricity, especially the elderly, and jointly cleaning up their neighborhoods. It is a joy to see people coming together as Americans –Ohioans– do so well.

How did you weather the week the power went out?

Networking is about building relationships. However, it is not the quantity, but the quality of these relationships that actually help others and you to grow your business.

Networking is not hard but it does take time and effort for it to work. And, special attention should be placed on making better use of down time. A particular down time that many people overlook is the time you take for breakfast, lunch, a coffee break or dinner.

We get so caught up in our daily routine that it sometimes takes a conscientious effort to make room in our daily routine to prospect for new contacts, sales leads and additional business.

That’s why this book’s title got my attention. And, while I don’t promote trying to go crazy and schedule every meal with a possible client or referral contact, I do suggest that we all can ratchet it up a bit and make better use of sharing the time we eat with someone that can make an impact on increasing our business.

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time (Hardcover)

by Keith Ferrazzi

Two good friends of mine, Elizabeth Riley of Insignia Signs and Jeff Senney of Pickrel, Schaefer & Ebeling, have been making use of this concept for a long time and I have personally witnessed their business grow by leaps and bounds.

Not only do I see them at every networking event in the Greater Dayton Metro Area but they also make use of Not Eating Alone.  Jeff often states that he doesn’t understand how some business people will eat lunch at their desk all of the time when they could be having lunch with a potential client or a great referral contact. And he remarks, It’s not fun to eat alone anyway!

He continues, Its one thing if you have a project that has to get out and you grab a bite to eat while working on the project. But this doesn’t happen all the time. You need to get out there and meet people. Get out there and make things happen.

Elizabeth will also do something called a tag team, which is, calling on clients with a colleague to serve both as an introduction for that person and also as a customer courtesy to see if they have any needs. Then the process gets reversed. They call on the colleague’s clients and Elizabeth gets introduced. This is a great sales technique and my hat is off to her for taking the initiative and time to get out there. She also meets with business people for breakfast, lunch, coffee and dinner!

Doug Barry of BarryStaff has also used this technique for many years.

So the next time you have lunch think about these thoughts and ask yourself if you are networking or just eating alone.

I am very pleased with my lawn care company, Yardmasters (937-275-3800). Besides giving me great service, dependability and a great price they won’t do things that their competitors do when we don’t get enough rain and the grass isn’t growing and looks like straw on their own, without me having to ask… they don’t cut the grass!

They don’t cut the grass!

That says a lot about a company that puts the needs and pocket book of their customers above their own cash flow. They earned my respect!

My neighbor is not as fortunate. Every Monday, rain or shine… yes, even in the rain, their lawn company is out there cutting the grass! And on weeks when the grass isn’t growing and is dry like straw, they are still out there cutting the grass!

People don’t like to be cheated and people are not stupid. Eventually my neighbor will catch on and end up firing that company and getting another one. But for the time being, that company is not looking out for their customer. They are more concerned with generating an invoice than in giving good service.

I like companies that have high integrity and put their customers first. Elizabeth Riley, Marketing Director and Owner of Insignia Signs (937-866-2341), is such a person and company.

I have witnessed on numerous occasions how she would not only give a customer a better price than her competitors, but also went that extra mile to deliver a better product and on time! Consistency like that says volumes. And she does it all with a smiling face. Now that’s refreshing!

There are times when Elizabeth actually turned business away and recommended another vendor because the customer could be served better and for less money. They don’t cut the grass!

I see abuse in my field too of Website Design. When I initially meet with a client I spend a few hours with them so they have a better understanding of what it takes to have a website and how it should be properly marketed. I do not charge for this time because I feel it’s about building a long-term relationship. Some of my competitors call this Discovery and bill their client a substantial amount. More cutting the grass!

Another great example is Jessica Purple of BE Centric. Her main job is to make sure that everything is running smoothly for their customers. What a refreshing idea!

So take a look at your vendors and see if they are utting the grass when it doesn’t need cutting or are they doing what they should be doing looking out for you!

You can debate this question from both sides of the fence whether or not we are actually in a recession. Semantics or definitions aside… does a label really matter?

Some segments of our economy are doing poorly while others are not. What matters is how your individual business is doing and what are you doing about it?

It also boils down to a mindset. When adversity arises some people complain and mope around and do nothing but continue to complain. Others look at all adversity as an opportunity, exploring ways to make things happen.

It is the old glass half full and half empty argument and perception is key.

For many it is not easy and I am not negating hard times. Many people and businesses are truly hurting. I do not mean to downplay any suffering.

Downturns in the economy seem to go in cycles and when you talk to business people who have been around for a while you see that times get better and times get worse.

So it comes back to how you deal with life and its bumps. Stuff happens!

Preparation is important. Most times we don’t concern ourselves enough about the future. We think that we can deal with things as they come or we don’t even give the future any thought.

Katrina has taught us all the lesson of not being prepared and not reacting properly to adversity. As hurricane Gustav approaches this weekend I am pleased that detailed plans have been implemented to avoid another catastrophe.

Do we do the same with our personal lives and business position? Do we plan for any future downturns in the economy, like eliminating debt rather than adding to it? Or, stocking up on extra items in advance?

Making bad choices in life can make a bump feel like a mountain. Sometimes reflecting on past decisions and giving better thought to future decisions can avoid a problem. Life hands us enough problems so why add to this burden by not having a game plan?

Having a positive attitude seems key. When you look at successful people you see the common thread of being positive and getting things done.

In looking around me at the business people I know, most are very successful and despite our present economic situation, they are doing very well. I see them all actively marketing themselves and their businesses mostly through word of mouth networking and staying active in meeting people and getting things done. They give their customers great service. They have high integrity. They are not afraid to think outside the box.

Suggested Reading: I Refuse to Participate in a Recession! By Ivan Misner, Founder of BNI. See also: Metro Dayton Ohio Chapter of BNI.