|
By Daniel Elash
Janīs comments here help to highlight another point. Family businesses can really get behind the eight ball if they arenīt constantly aware of their business as an entity, operating in a complex environment. Growth…decision-making… planning…family strains and issues… working as jacks-of-all-trades…and doing all it takes to keep the business running are all elements of a complex balancing act that results from limited resources, a small core of people, and a limited number of hours in a day.
The point, here, is that you canīt just do the work of bringing your products or services to market. As business owners you also have to tend the business through the rocks and shoals of the business environment. I have to use Janīs words here to make general points because I donīt know her specific circumstances. However, it is clear that owners need to keep one eye on developments outside their own walls. They need to be savvy about both developments in the marketplace and the implications of their day-to-day decisions upon their abilities to respond effectively in that environment.
Initially, she sought investors, but when an exhaustive search proved fruitless, she found herself in the terribly difficult position—familiar to many small business owners—of having to make decision to sell the business and continue to work for the new owner: "That didnīt work too well. He fired me."
Jan returned to work for her ex-husband at his store, and when he left his company to pursue another opportunity, she returned to Jack Ricks Glass, which she continues to operate today with her former father-in-law, the companyīs namesake.
Currently, keeping Jack Ricks Glass going (and growing) doesnīt require hard-sell tactics or a barrage of advertising. If anything, they limit their advertising to a small, specifically targeted market, allowing the years of experience and goodwill associated with the Jack Ricks brand to maintain their customer base.
Successful businesses have to have a core idea, their business idea, thatīs robust enough to serve as the framework for making decisions and navigating ambiguous situations. It is against this core idea that observations about market developments are understood. It is also the reference point for how to act day-to-day when dealing with immediate decisions about business transactions.
Ricks Glass has such a deep understanding of how to fulfill their value proposition, a grasp of whatīs key to their business success. While it may appear to be simple, this clearly understood business idea is a fundamental ingredient for success. In a family business, more so than in the large corporate world, your personal identity is your brand. Your brand is reinforced, in the long run, by how you treat people, by what you deliver, and by the experience that you provide for people choosing to do business with you. These brand building activities are all much more import than your advertising. This is particularly true for a business like Ricks Glass that serves a specific, circumscribed geography.
|
