Stand

Oftentimes, we're asked for advice from various friends, acquaintances, even customers of ours, on starting or growing a business.  Most of the questions we get center around operating a business in a down economy, like "how do you hang in there when it's so tough?".  Others couch the question differently, like asking what motivates us to keep showing up on a daily basis. Multiple paragraphs could be written about this subject, but we ran across a recent blog post from uber-entrepreneur Seth Godin that pretty much sums up our advice to anyone starting out:

What does your brand stand for?

If you tell me about service and quality and customer focus, you haven't answered my question, because a hundred other brands stand for that. If you are what others are, then there's nothing here to own or protect or build upon.

Compared to what? Compared to all those that you compete with for attention, for commerce, for donations and for employees, what do you stand for? Are you one of a kind or even one in a million?
Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton... they don't actually stand for anything, do they? They can't, because they stand for precisely the same thing. Puma vs. Adidas vs. Nike... They all want to stand for winning. How substantial are the differences?

Make a list of the differences and the extremes and start with that. A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much.

---Seth Godin, May 30, 2013

It was never much of a stretch for us to differentiate our store, because we had to.  Due to the circumstances of our purchase into this long-standing family business, we were actually a new store, born from the carcass of the old.  From day one, we vowed to stand for our community's artists, writers, for hand-made, for local, and stand we have.  It's allowed us to help bring our area's artists to the attention of potentially hundreds of people.  It's also allowed us contribute to several of our town's non-profits, schools, and causes - maybe not with thousands of dollars, but as one retail friend told us, "even if it's only $100.00, it's $100.00 more than they had before".  With that philosophy, we joyfully give whatever and whenever we can.

Another great piece to read is Jonathan Morrow's post about fear, entitled The Cowardly Entrepreneur.  When, in the body of his post, he writes "The lesson is that courage isn’t about acting in the absence of fear; it’s about acting despite it", he had our attention.  This, along with Seth's post, really nails it in terms of advice for those just starting out (or those who need a jump start) in their businesses.  To quote Seth, "Go -  make something happen"!

Along those lines, we're hosting a book signing event on Thursday, with author Carol Woodliff.  Carol is a healer/shaman, and this event will be very exciting, with readings and demonstrations.  You'll find the event notice on our Facebook page and we hope we'll see you there!

We'll talk again next week, friends - enjoy!

Lori and Scott

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?

Trust Issues

"I've learned to listen to myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it"
                              ----Sarah McLachlan

In our talk about sustainability last week, I mentioned a survey about businesses in Altadena that was conducted by the Altadena Chamber of Commerce .  News of the survey and links to it appeared in AltadenaPatch.com and Altadenablog several months ago. The survey results have been compiled and will be presented to the public at the Chamber's next mixer, at the Community Center, 5:30 pm on Thursday, May 26th.  This is great news, for we finally have some information to use to build our case for some County attention our our neck of the woods, not to mention our own internal need for forward motion.  After the mixer and the release of the survey, you'll get a guided tour of the results, a la Lori.

I spoke about my having picked up some inspirational reading material last week, as well.  Scott and I both listened to Seth Godin's newest book, Poke The Box, on audio tape and we're so inspired.  I love that we can listen to someone who advocates standing up and making a difference - and I love even more that we both agree that's something we can do together!  We are also reading Jeanne Bliss' newest book, "I Love You More Than My Dog".  While I haven't yet finished Jeanne's book, I can say that these books, in combination, are proving to be invaluable to me.  I see clearly that we've been depressed these past several months, letting the pressures of owning this store affect our relationship with not just each other, but the relationship we have with our customers.....you.....in a not-so-positive way.

At our crew meeting tonight, we talked about these things.  We talked about trust - the trust between the public and our store and also the trust between our crew and us.  We want our store to shine on every level, most importantly customer service.  We've decided that we can't have excellent customer service if we don't trust our crew members to instantly respond to customers' needs.  Returns or problems of any kind can be handled by any one of our able crew members at any time and we absolutely trust their judgement. 

Our no-cell-phone policy was brought up as we discussed trusting our customers.  I think that in our zeal to provide a restful, calm shopping experience, we ticked a few people off when we asked them not to use their phone in the store.  We've rethought the message we were sending when we enforced that policy and would like to issue a sincere apology to anyone upset by it.  We believe that our customers can be quiet while on the phone in the store and we'll leave it at that.

Our monthly Fancy Food Truck Fridays event on the 13th went very well - 6 food trucks, including the Border Grill Truck, and a record attendance!  Beautiful weather helped along with the complimentary Tarot card readings by our lovely gypsy fortune tellers.....everyone wanted their fortune told on Friday the 13th!  Yesterday was this month's wine tasting event with the publishers of the blog OddBallGrape.com and we paired several Syrah's with picnic foods (deviled eggs, fried chicken & potato salad) provided by DD's Chick & Cat Shack.  This was a fabulous pairing - those attending were very impressed with the lovely wines and the accompanying food!  The next wine tasting will be on Saturday, June 19th, and our theme will be "Cabs For Dads and Grads".  Make sure to look for our event announcements in your email or on our Facebook Page!  We're also working on a follow up to our Social Media 101 event last October - we'll let you know when we will be scheduling that.

Until next week, my friends.....have a wonderful week ahead!

Lori & Scott

Opportunity Knocking

 


As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Seth Godin.  His marketing advice is spot-on, but I enjoy him for so much more, especially his pithy takes on what's happening in the world today and how it relates to having an impact.  He's written two such blog posts recently, here and here, that exemplify this, and I highly recommend your reading them before we continue.

In the body of the second blog post, Seth says "the opportunity (to make a difference), though, is the biggest of our generation (or the last one, for that matter).  The opportunity is there for anyone (with our without a job) smart enough to take it - to develop a best in class skill, to tell a story, to spread the word, to be in demand, to satisfy 'real needs', to run from the mediocre middle and to change everything".  He also says "the old economy offered a guarantee - time plus education plus obedience equals stability.  The new one, not so much.  The new one offers a chance for you to take a chance and make an impact".

This, my friends, is essentially what we're doing at WFS.  Running from the mediocre, not relying on the way things were done "before", we are mapping out a new territory in retail land - one that espouses cooperation over competition.  One that demands we take a stand for the things we believe in, such as buying locally to reduce our carbon footprint.  One that demands we buy U.S. made products to invest in our own economy and one that demands we buy ethically produced products if they're made overseas.  Most of all it demands the utmost integrity; our name denotes longevity but it will now be synonymous with fairness and a willingness to go the extra mile to ensure you a comfortable shopping experience.  Trust is not given easily, that we know.  Time will prove our mettle, and we ask that you give us a chance.....a chance to show you exactly how we can make an impact on our corner of the world, and maybe change everything.

Thanks for listening and we hope you have a lovely week ahead!  Remember, Mother's Day will be quickly upon us and WFS can help you with that.  We have American-made cards that are perfect for giving moms of all sorts and we have some wonderful items for gifting - come on in and let us show you!

Lori and Scott

"If You're Not Proud Of It, Don't Sell It"

Time is a luxury for me these days. When I do have some down time I try to spend it reading articles and blogposts that will help me grow our business. I've found some pretty great information by many wonderful experts but the one who continues to inspire me almost daily is Seth Godin. Seth's Blog is chock full of little nuggets of insightful intel that make me think. His posts are reality checks for me as I try to connect our store with our community. This was his post today and I think it's so important that I'm going to reprint it here for you to read as well (if you haven't already):

"Are you responsible for what you market?

Let's assert that marketing works.

The money and time and effort we put into marketing goods and services actually works. It gets people to change their minds. It cajoles some people into buying and using and voting for things that they otherwise wouldn't have chosen. (If it doesn't work, save your money).

If it works, then, are you responsible for what happens after that?

If you market cigarettes aggressively, are you responsible for people dying of lung cancer?

I think there are two ways to go here:

1. You're not responsible. The marketer is like a lawyer representing the obviously guilty client. Everyone is entitled to a lawyer, and it's up to the jury to decide. The lawyer's job is to do the best she can, not to decide on the outcome. Market the best you can and let buyers take responsibility.

2. You are responsible. Your insight and effort cause people to change, and without you, that change would never happen.

I'm not sure there's a middle ground. Either we should applaud the folks lobbying on behalf of causes we despise, the pornographers selling products that degrade our society and the politicians spinning and lying to get elected (because all these people are doing is giving us a choice for which we're responsible) or we should take responsibility for stuff we sell.

My take: if you're not proud of it, don't sell it."

I love this entire post, but what struck me particularly was point 2 and everything following. As a business in Altadena, we are responsible and Scott and I and our entire crew are responsible. We are responsible for making a positive impact on our community and in our town. Scott and I are responsible for creating the type of sustainable shopping destination that is a true member of our town, giving and receiving equitably while supporting its economic substructure.

Change comes hard in Altadena, we're all aware of that. But change happens whether or not we like it. What we all can do is to nurture that change and shape it into a positive force. This is what we can do....what WFS can do....to make sure that we're proud of what we're selling. Whether it's an idea or product, it matters not. What does matter is that we try to make a difference. I'm proud of that.