Unattended Children

I think we all agree that children shouldnt be left unattended in stores, but we all know that frequently kids of all ages are left to roam about unsupervised.  This is not something that most store owners advocate or feel very comfortable with.  However, it bothers me when i see signs warning about unattended children that makes the owner sound like someone i definitely dont want to do business with whether i have children or not. 

That being said, i applaud the businesses that find a gentle way to say/remind their customers that its better that children are not left unattended in their store.  Today was a great example, the sign read:

Attn Parents:  Unattended children will be given a free kitten and a large cup of coffee!

What a great approach…it made me laugh and i didnt feel like the owner was a child hater!

Have you seen any other good examples?

Downtown Curfew

Read online this morning that the City of Greenville was considering a curfew for unsupervised preteens and teens after 11 pm (read more http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080813/NEWS01/308130001/1004&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL. 

Maybe its just because i am now 42, but that doesnt sound unreasonable.  It therefore surprises me to hear comments from City Council members like (I hate to see teens not be able to come downtown” and “As a community, we have a responsibility to provide safe, constructive things for kids to do”.   Should it really be reasonable to allow unsupervised teens and preteens free rein of the city after 11 pm? 

I cant imagine giving my preteens free rein of the city at any time of the day.  And shouldnt it be the parent(s) responsibility to find safe, constructive things for their kids to do?  Is it always easy…of course not…but dropping them off downtown and letting the city police babysit them isnt and shouldnt be the answer either.

If there really are that many kids that need something to do or somewhere to be at that time of night…then there may be a business/social opportunity to create a place for them.

Unique and Indispensable

Was just reading an article in the Inman News about the LA Times axing its real estate section (http://www.inman.com/news/2008/08/4/los-angeles-times-axes-real-estate-section).  That is a move that is probably long overdue for most newspapers according to everything I have been reading and experiencing the last few years.  But what intrigued me most about the story was the editor talking about wanting to provide something that is unique and indispensable.  What a great concept!!!…how many companies actually keep their arms around the idea of providing a product or service that is unique and indispensable?  What companies would you miss if they suddenly disappeared?

Is It The Truth?

Was watching one of my favorite shows last night (The Big Idea) and the topic of the discussion was “Protect Your Business from Predators and Liars”.    The guests gave some great insight into how to detect if someone is lying.  They talked about body language and verbal clues that you should watch for.  To read more about last nights show, visit http://www.cnbc.com/id/26042260/site/14081545/).

This morning in my new detective mode, I have found I am more conscious of how people say things and what they say or dont say…and it has been really surprising!  For instance, I was reading an article about a lady that was appointed to the Education Oversight Committee by Gov. Sanford.  Someone had found her name as a signer on a proclamation from some years ago put together by a group called the Alliance for Separation of School and State.  The proclamation read “I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government involvement in education”.  The lady says she did not sign the proclamation and she may not have…there are probably lots of people that have the same name.  But then, in my opinion, she loses all credibility when she goes on to say “I do not remember being involved with that organization at all”. 

Notice she didnt say that without a shadow of doubt she was never involved.  Did she really mean that she was never involved…or that she could have been and forgot…or is she building an out in case someone comes up with something that proves for sure that she was a member?

How do people that you do business with answer questions about their company or the service they provide?  Do they give concrete answers that you can count on without a shadow of a doubt or do they leave wiggle room for escape?  Any examples of companies that score really high on the credibility scale?

How do you answer those questions?  What do you tell people about your business/service that they can count on without a shadow of doubt?

Business Registration Fee

Read in the Greeenville News (www.GreenvilleOnline.com) this weekend that County Council was again considering a registration fee to help control nuisance businesses that generate police calls.  I dont know about you, but that seems to be a bit of overkill to me.  They seem to be suggesting that the best way to deal with a few trouble businesses in the county is to create a county department to oversee and maintain a registration process and to collect a fee from thousands of businesses already doing exactly what they are supposed to do. 

Do you think this new registration will actually change anything or is it just a kneejerk reaction that will only create a temporary obstacle that will be easily manuerved around by the businesses already causing problems?

How do you think the county should deal with trouble businesses?

Pharmacists Who Care

Was picking up a prescription at a local pharmacy over the weekend and noticed that below the name of the store was the tagline “Pharmacists Who Care”. I try not to get carried away with things that dont make sense, but i couldnt help myself this time. So as I was paying, I asked the pharmacist which drug stores have the pharmacists that dont care! We both got a good laugh, but the reality is that this national chain probably paid some company a very large amount of money to come up with that tagline. Were they just stating the obvious or were they trying to set themselves apart from all the other drugstores that have pharmacists that indeed dont care?

I see this same type of marketing in my industry all the time. REALTORS That Care, You Can Count on Us, We Have Integrity, etc etc. So why do so many people/companies incorporate those type of sayings into their taglines? Do they know something we dont? How do you feel about it?

First Friday

Looking for something to do tonight? Why not visit over twenty-five art galleries and artists studios for free?

The first Friday of every month the doors of numerous art galleries and studio spaces in Greenville open up for the public to browse, enjoy, and purchase local art.

From 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m, you can view some great art, meet interesting people, and get to know the Upstate art community better.

A wide range of works are present at the different galleries and artists studios, ranging from oils, watercolors, acrylics, pottery, jewelry, glassworks, woodworks, photography, and mixed media.

To get more information, go to www.LilyPottery.com or give Lily a call at 236-5049.

Hope to see you there.

cool FAX service

If you dont already know about K7.net, be sure to check it out.  You can set up an account to receive your faxes via email.  Its a free service and the faxes are much more manageable and readable than the poor copies you typically get printed on your fax machine.

Its All About Relationships

Attended a great workshop at The Greenville Chamber last week.  It focused on How to Become More Memorable and How to Become Priceless in a Few Key Relationships.  The speakers (Paul Clark and Donna St Clair) gave some phenomenal tips on how to turn the ordinary business encounter into something much more powerful.  They made a great point on how people want to do business with people they like.  That makes so much sense and is written in almost every sales book but unless you practice, its very hard to do.  You have to fight the nasty habit, displayed by almost everyone that has tried to sell me something, of jumping right into pitching your product or service.  Any experiences with good salepeople that you would have bought from regardless of what they were selling?

Finger Pointing

So heres the first of what I hope will ultimately be many communications with everyone in the Upstate business community.  Blogging is changing how we network and communicate and i hope this blog makes it possible for all of us to stay in touch.

I own Dynamic Realty, an independent real estate brokerage serving the Upstate of SC.  I love what i do…this job allows me to be involved in the real estate industry (the Greenville area is one of the best in the country) and I get to coach REALTORS on how to create and run a successful business (with my company, they get to be CEOs, not just sales agents).  

One of the challenges we face on almost a daily basis is that we have to rely on numerous other businesses in order to do our job…attorneys, loan officers, home inspectors, contractors and the list goes on and on.  Even when we do our job perfectly, things can still go sour because someone else stumbled.  Things go bad most often when someone we dont know is brought into the chain (usually beyond our control) and they have no sense of loyalty or responsibility to the rest of the group.  We spend a lot of time doing damage control for something we played no part in.  Does this scenario play out in your business very often and how do you deal with it without coming across as a finger pointer?