Well Hello 2010!

The New Year is a time for resolution. Like the Roman god, Janus, for whom the month is named, we face in two directions at once to look both at where we’ve been and where we’re going.

On a personal level our resolutions are the stuff we share with friends over a glass of champagne. It’s unlikely anyone will hold us accountable, now or later, as they’ve heard them before: our resolutions are our vices and bad habits.

In business, our resolutions are more wide flung. What we resolve to do better as a business affects many– our employees, our clients, and our community. Why not start the New Year with resolutions that steer your company away from its vices and bad habits?

I resolve to follow my strategic plan more diligently. I like to think of this plan as the surfboard I use to ride the waves of the Sea of Enterprise. I’ve created a quiver of boards to ride the right tool over the right wave. But, you can’t ride if you’re not at the beach.

I resolve to delegate more and accept the outcome. As small business owners we often see delegating tasks as the cash register ringing in reverse. The reality is, we can’t do it all ourselves and grow. And everyone brings something unique to the fray.

I resolve to spend more time listening to the stories. This business community is filled with wonderful stories about their experiences. Together we can learn from each other’s trials and tribulations. Together we strengthen the marketplace.

I resolve to share the love. We haven’t even begun to reach all the business professionals and decision makers in Northwest Arkansas.

I like to name each year with a quality I hope to see it bring. (Although it’s infallibly non-prophetic; a divine ’09 it was not!) Here’s wishing you a Perfect ’10.

Burned by the Bait and Switch

I'm loath to say something unkind about the wine dinner I attended last night at Ella's in Fayetteville. The food was fabulous and well paired with a delicious variety of wines from the Reynolds Family vineyard in Napa. Unfortunately, the final taste left on my palate was the feeling I'd been cheated.  I felt burned by the old bait and switch routine.

Here's what I think: If businesses are going to use social media to market to me, to reach right into my inbox and ask for my patronage, they need to be honest. They need take responsibility for their messages -- and craft them with care. They need to make sure they've communicated a clear message, and if they fail in that regard, it's their responsibility to remedy it.  If they want to "build a relationship" with me they should prove to be friend and not foe.

No doubt Ella's didn't intend to bait me with dishonesty. But what was marketed to me as a great deal ended up costing three times as much. A wine dinner advertised for $52.50 became $155. A discount that was offered by email wasn't honored and my request to have it remedied dismissed.

It was our first visit to Ella's. Will we be back? Maybe. If I can get the burned toast taste off my tongue. If I can replace it with the memory of that delightful ahi tun with maitake mushroom, or that yummy crisp Reynolds chardonnay. (The only chardonnay I've ever enjoyed. And now I know why, thanks to the winemaker's discussion on the different acids in the wine.)


Take what you will from this message -- a person whining about a wine dinner gone sour at the end; or a lesson to businesses using social media to market their wares. Snake oil and bait and switch tactics are taboo. Customer service is the most important thing you sell no matter what you are selling.

Naked! Naked, I say!

The other day I left home without my cell phone. You know how I felt. Naked! Like all those bad dreams about showing up for a job interview without a bra. Or giving a speech with your fly unzipped. OMG!

I spent the day reaching for it. Red light: I'll make a call. Not. Take a break: I'll play Scrabble. Not. Send a text: Nope. Get my email. NOT!

By the end of the day I couldn't wait to get home to my iphone and the world it connects me to. Can we even remember fishing around for a quarter for the pay phone?

So, I wasn't at all surprised to read today that "Four Out of Five Never Leave Home Without It." A survey just released from Synovate looked at global mobile phone usage. And, the word is: we are woefully attached. Some 82% of Americans say they never leave home without their cell phone and half of them claim they "cannot live without it." They even sleep with it nearby.

Here's a factoid: Of all the human beans on the planet, more own a cell phone than do not.

Aside from the "ubiquitous calling and SMS functions," do you want to know what we use our phones for most often? Alarm clock. Camera. Games.

We also lie 31% of the time about where we are or why we're running late when we text. We break up with significant others, get dumped by significant others, flirt with potential new significant others (and other's 'others') mobily, on the run, in 140 characters or less.

I chastised myself for being so shallow and fretting about my phone being somewhere I was not. Now I know. The survey says: The cell phone is our remote control for life. And our skin? Well, we won't leave home without that, either.

Thankyouverymuch should be no problem

I have learned a lot about business etiquette at chamber events. I've learned a lot from emcee Beth Stephens at the Rogers Chamber of Commerce, who does an excellent job of publicly acknowledging and thanking the businesses who support and sponsor their events. I don't know that I've ever walked away from a Rogers Chamber event and NOT known what companies put up the bucks to help make the event happen.

I appreciate that. For one, I like to know what companies are actively participating in the business economy in Northwest Arkansas. I like to put faces to names. I like to know what type of events they find alliance with, and at what level they want to connect with their community. Those are the businesses I want to do business with. And, when I'm one of the sponsors, I sure appreciate knowing that my company's involvement is being acknowledged and appreciated. For all the same reasons.

Today's PRSA conference at the John Q aimed at branding your company message and connecting to consumers. There was much twitter about Twitter and the on-going chatter of social networking. It may be that 'please and thank you' take up too many characters to express. But in all the talk of branding –personal and corporate alike – the bell that sounded loud and clear today in my head was this absence of appreciation.

I heard it from media panelist, Rick Bagley of Channel 5 TV, who shared a story about a PR event that left his reporters feeling used and abused. I heard it from keynote speaker and ESPN star Jim Dykes, who talked about how important those courtesies are when working with the media. I can count on ten digits the times I've had a subject of a story write to say "thanks for making me feel special and double thanks for making me not sound stupid."

If branding is on your mind these days, just remember that these simple courtesies should lead the way. A sincere 'thank you' and 'you're welcome' should be among our most common sentiments at work and at play. An organization that shows appreciation to its employees, customers and supporters is an organization that gets appreciated in return.

Remember Bartles & James? And thank you for your support.

Finding the Joy in the Junk

I'm the only one in the whole complex of some 200-plus apartments with plants on the patio. It makes me feel different from the norm. An outsider. An oddity. My need to garden on the concrete could be a flashback to my college days of pothos and pony tail palms. It is a way to stay connected to my land and home in Eureka Springs. Here I tend morning glories and herbs, tomatoes and geraniums, and a night blooming serius I hope will come out some full moon.

Yes, I miss my home in Eureka Springs and the constant parade of deer across my lawn. I miss the fox who hunts in the hollow and uses my land as his shortcut. I miss the birds singing in the morning and the owls and coyotes making their noise at night. I miss the trees.

When I look out from my patio here in Bentonville I see lots of blank balconies; people tucked inside their 900-feet of comfort and privacy, unaware and unconcerned about their neighbor across the way. They are as untouched by my existence as I am by theirs.

In the cool of the morning I sip coffee from behind tall umbrella trees and flowering cacti and contemplate what the day holds for this entrepreneur. Life in this saddle is hard. It's always an uphill climb. It's a hat rack holding a dozen hats I must wear at any given time. Some I wear well, others not so much.

I've worked for myself most my adult life to enjoy either feast or famine, but the entrepreneurial spirit drives me as surely as gravity holds us in orbit around the sun.

On some mornings I find myself questioning my motives and my sanity. Sometimes I question my talents, my timing, my luck. Today as I peered out, I spied a visitor to my balcony. I've never had more than the occasional bee stop by. But today– a humming bird. A spirit some native American cultures call "joy." Here a tiny little creature in a great big world was drawn to my oasis by a pot of red nasturtiums. Here, if only for a hummingbird moment, to tap it for what it would bear.

He was gone as quickly as he arrived, on wings that move so fast you can't see them. And in that instant I knew how tiny I am in this universe and yet how my being here matters. I realized being different is necessary for some of us. And necessary to others, too. Of all the air space that hummingbird covers, he chose my space.

It was a brief bit of joy. A reminder that all the clutter of our busy lives is mostly just junk. It's space junk floating in our minds, caught in the orbit of our thoughts. A reminder that whatever we do and however we do it, our true task is finding the joy in all the junk.

Dumbing it down for really smart robots

I'm reading a lot about SEO. Search Engine Optimization. Frankly, I don't like what I read.

It seems that in order to entice those really smart search engine robots, spiders and wanderers into giving your web pages good ranking in search engine results, you have to dumb it all down. You have to break all the good rules of writing.

SEO copywriting "secrets" advise you to search and find your most popular keywords and then pepper them, heavily, very heavily, throughout your copy. It seems that being redundant and repetitive is resourceful.

I have to tell you now, this is the arrow piercing this writer's heart. Redundant and repetitive are the stuff of first-grade primers. See Dick and Jane. See Jane run. See Dick run. See Dick and Jane run. That's good SEO copy, mind you.

As a professional writer for some 30-odd years, fine tuning my craft has been in the opposite direction. I look at words for their individual meaning and the emotion they extract. When I notice I'm using the same word as description more than twice, I head to the Thesaurus to hunt down a better one. I look for ways to capture attention and the imagination, describe events that project the reader into the story like a time machine or the Federation Starship's transporter. Beam us up, Scotty, you've got to give us some more intelligent conversation.

Engaging readers is hard enough– they'd rather watch the latest episode of The Bachelorette or Wipe Out. As our daily media moves more into web space, will we dumb down our stories to appease the SEO robots? Or write to intrigue readers? How ironic that a really smart media can make us so dumb.

Business Image Hokey Pokey

...Put your right foot in and shake it all about. Do the business hokey pokey... and that's what it's all about.

Kathryn Lowell of Image Matters in Bentonville and I have been corresponding briefly about image mistakes in the workplace. She's doing an article on the 10 most dreaded faux pas one can make in earning an image in the business world. Kathryn's focus is on the person. As a marketing strategist, I focus on the message. Without a doubt they go hand in hand.

Case in point. Just as this e-conversation with Kathryn is winding down, I receive a letter – a real, honest to goodness letter in the mail – from a prestigious (or so they claim) business strategy school in the UK. They want me to interview for an executive programme.

Image matters. It took me three times reading the letter to discern the point. Not just because the Brits don't know the value of a well placed "z" or are polite to a fault. In 227 words, which could have been much less, I was being contacted by someone in writing who had been asked to ask me in writing if I would like to call someone to schedule an interview with someone else about talking to yet someone else about their programme which hinted at being about strategy in business.

Breathe.

And there were typos.

I could have gotten excited about the opportunity. I might have called to schedule the interview. Not. In a matter of 5 minutes, this company shot its marketing strategy in the foot. And you can't hokey pokey with a busted foot.

In business, every marketing message you send out – by whatever post – needs to be well crafted, carefully constructed and free of faux pas. Communication is an essential part of business. If you aren't circumspect, you could be poking hokey in your business image.

Copyright 2009 Janie Clark

Get up and get over it

I am afraid of horses. I've been on a horse three times. I've been thrown off a horse three times. It doesn't take a rock scientist (to quote Tara Reid) to suggest that riding isn't my game.

But when I met Theresa Thompson something went afoot. She's aptly in the role of volunteer coordinator for Horses for Healing in Bentonville and compelling in her goal, and before I knew what was happening, my daughter and I were volunteering at their campus every week.

Shucks, I thought. I can do a good deed and get over my phobia, too. And if the Prince of Wales ever wants to take me horseback riding on the beach at Northumberland, I won't embarrass all my kin making it four for four.

The experience has been remarkable. For these special needs children the time spent on horseback doesn't seem like therapy. Though it is. They giggle and coo and amble along six feet off the ground with unmistakable glee. Something about the horses' gait does something remarkably therapeutic for these kids, some of whom don't walk on their own. I'm grateful to share their joy.

It takes three volunteers to give one child time to ride. One leads the horse, side walkers companion the rider on either side, maintaining physical support as we "walk on" around the arena. Three volunteers for every child is a big volunteer load. Not to mention what it takes to feed a horse its hay.

If you think this economy is churning a hole in your company's budget, just imagine what our charities are experiencing. They exist on those willing (and able) to share what they have. I noticed today a wish list of items they need -- which I want to share here, in the hopes some reader out there will be able to give. Contact me for pick up or delivery and I'll take it out to the farm.

Charmin tp, tall kitchen bags, large plastic tubs, brushes, combs, bottled water, insect repellent, duct tape, saddle pads and blankets, bathroom cleaners, big trash can liners, big Avery dots (it's how the kids learn about horse parts), office supplies, WalMart gift cards of any denomination, and horse items of any description.

No, I haven't actually gotten ON a horse yet. I've groomed them, brushed their tails and mane, lathered them up with shampoo and walked along side keeping my feet well out of reach of theirs. I think I'm healing. Polly insists therapy is therapy and one day soon I'm going to get up and get over it.


Copyright 2009 Janie Clark

The exception to the rule

It's not common for a small business of 27 employees to have such a huge impact on a community. Yesterday I met the exception. Cameron Smith (and Associates) is one of the candidates for the Small Business of the Year Award presented by the Small Business Council of the Rogers Lowell Chamber of Commerce. (The award is presented at the Business Expo August 6 during the keynote with Harley Davidson's Clyde Fessler.)

Contrary to popular belief, CSA is not a recruiter for Wal-Mart. They are an executive search firm for the SUPPLIERS of Wal-Mart. And their reach goes beyond Bentonville as they corner the retail executive market in several vendorvilles around the country. The global canvas is probably not far behind.

But back to little ole' Northwest Arkansas population 440K give or take a few, gaining acclaim as one the country's more stable, more suitable, more livable business communities.

Since opening up shop in the state in the early '90s, CSA has directly influenced the local economy in a big way. To date they've brought 1,232 teams to NWA – a number Cameron Smith can rattle off like his SSN. There are 5,434 people in the supplier community within a 27-mile radius and 60K suppliers affiliated with Wal-Mart enmasse. CSA can reach out and touch every one of them in a single click.

Nope, most small business don't wield that kind of power.

I admit. I was impressed.

Gainfully employed and grateful, Cameron (and his Associates) actively engage at the executive level on several mover-and-shaker boards, councils, and outreach programs that affect the lives and liberties of many here in NWA. Single Parent Scholarships (Cameron's mother was a hard-working single parent), Athletic Outreach (AAO), and Street Smart programs that "help them help themselves" match the company's charitable efforts with its core values.

And if the economy stinks, CSA makes lemonade. With a volunteer effort to help the recent layoff victims brand themselves for new employment, CSA caught the media eye nationwide, which caught the eye of CEOs at major retailers nationwide, which started conversations nationwide, which opened doors...

Yep. The exception to the rule.

Copyright 2009 Janie Clark