Modus Operandi

Yesterday morning, as I was sitting in our office at home sipping coffee and going through my email, I ran across this blog post written by the indomitable Seth Godin.  In it he asks several questions to a fictional entrepreneur and then expounds on those questions.  He asks if they are aware of their cash flow; if they're building profit or equity; he asks if they would rather be a freelancer, an entrepreneur or a business owner (because there is a difference); if they're trying to build a team; he asks what type of risks are they willing to take; and finally, the most important question - why they're making the effort at all.

I put Scott and I in the role of the fictional entrepreneur, and asked these very hard questions.  They may not seem like hard questions at first.  But, as Seth points out, these questions often go unasked.  They certainly weren't asked when we were given the opportunity to buy the stationery department at Webster's.  After four years of operating this store, we've had plenty of time to refine what we're doing, and I'm very proud of that.  In one of the most harrowing, tumultuous financial eras in history, we've been forced to confront the unthinkable and still power forward, because we know that what we have to offer is valuable.

In his post, Seth points out that an entrepreneur is "an artist of sorts, throwing herself into impossible situations and seeking out problems that require heart and guts to solve."  Well, yeah....there's that.  We've certainly had to be entrepreneurs in these strange times.  We've had to plan, then re-plan, and then re-plan the re-plan, since things change so quickly here.  We're not complaining, though.  Rethinking your position is a good thing, no matter what type of economic climate you're experiencing.  Like he says - it requires heart and guts to solve the equation that is your business.

He asks about team building.  Are we worried about the bottom line so much that we forget that the most important aspect of local business is "trying to forge a culture, to train and connect and lead."  Train.  Connect.  Lead.  Those are the fundamentals, in our opinion, and ones we had long before this post of Seth Godin's came about.  You can read our Mission Statement right here on our blog (or on our Facebook page - see the info page), where it's been for four years now.  We believe that our entire business community can benefit from adopting a similar mission.

Seth goes on to ask the two most important questions....what type of risk are you willing to take and why.  Why are we doing this at all?  This is complicated to answer.  It's an answer found deep down inside both of us, one that comes from deep convictions born of familial values.  There is no "easy button", no fast way to rebuild trust in an institution that has been compromised, but we believe it's worth rebuilding.  We wouldn't be here otherwise.

This week, I felt compelled to answer a query on NBC's Facebook page about how small businesses are faring in this economy and if we were hiring.  I posted that we were struggling through the recession and simply trying to hold onto what's left of our crew.  I received a direct message from a reporter at NBC, asking if I'd be willing to do a phone interview for possible inclusion in an article she was writing.  Of course I was willing, and this is the article that came of it.

I answer Seth's last and most important question of why - why are you doing this at all - with this answer:  because we love this community.  We love what Webster's has stood for all these years (85 of them, actually), and we believe that we have an opportunity to do good things here in Altadena.  We knew there would be sacrifices to make when we took over the ownership of this store.  We've made them and we continue to make them because we know that in the end, this will be worth it.  Are we trying to build a team?  No, we're building a tribe - a tribe that has the interests of their community at heart.  Join us, won't you?