Stay In Touch, Stay In Business
One of the quickest ways to lose control of your business is to operate it in a vacuum. You may think you are too busy or too important to get out of the office and connect with the outside world, but if you don’t keep in touch with what’s going on, you are putting yourself and your employees in jeopardy.
To discover just how out of touch you are, ask yourself these quick questions:
When was the last time I took a major client or customer out to breakfast or lunch?
When was the last time I attended a monthly Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce meeting?
When was the last time I signed up for a professional enrichment course or attended a meeting?
When was the last time I attended an industry trade show or conference?
If you haven’t been out of your office for months, dust off the cobwebs, and get back in touch.
Here are some ways to re-connect:
Scan the trade magazines piling up in the corner of your office. Find out where the next industry trade show will be held, and register to attend it.
Check the local business calendar for the next Chamber of Commerce mixer, and force yourself to go. You’ll meet at least one new person and may be able to generate some business.
Volunteer to speak to students at a local high school or community college about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. If you aren’t in contact with younger people every day, it will be an eye-opener.
Call your best customers or clients to schedule breakfast or lunch meetings with them. Do the same with your key suppliers and vendors. Keeping in touch helps you anticipate their needs. It also prevents nasty surprises if someone is about to take his or her business elsewhere or give a competitor preferential treatment.
Do something good for your community. Sponsor a soccer team, make a charitable donation, or host a blood collection drive at your business.
Send out a prepaid postcard survey to ask your customers what you are doing right and wrong. Most people will be honest when you ask for their opinion.
The Service Corps of Retired Executives is looking for a few good women. SCORE, which has about 13,000 volunteer counselors working around the United States, wants to encourage more experienced business women to sign up as volunteers.
“Currently, 13 percent of the counselors are women, while 40 percent of SCORE’s clients are women,” said Patty DeDominic, president of PDQ Personnel Services in Los Angeles, which has 800 temporary workers on its payroll.
DeDominic, active in women’s issues, was recently named special counsel for women’s issues by SCORE’s board of directors. Her primary mission is to come up with a plan to recruit more female volunteers.
Although SCORE stands for the Service Corps of Retired Executives, you don’t have to be retired to volunteer. You do have to be an experienced business person who wants to help novice entrepreneurs succeed. You also have to promise not to sell your services to people seeking help from SCORE.
A survey sent to 1,200 current female SCORE counselors revealed that 60 percent were recruited by word of mouth, and 53 percent said they planned to continue working with the group.
Last year, SCORE volunteers counseled about 250,000 people, and SCORE received more than 1 million visits to its web site: www.score.org. The site offers an enormous amount of practical business information, including online counseling services.
DeDominic, a former national president of the National Association of Women Business Owners, said she plans to contact major professional organizations and women’s groups to look for new talent.
If you are a man or woman interested in finding out more about becoming a SCORE volunteer, check out the web site, find a local chapter through the Small Business Administration, or call 1-800-634-0245.
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