Character First Luncheon - Dec 14, 2010; First 40 Free

Character First, while here to help Independence Community College kick off their initiation of the program,  graciously offered to buy lunch for up to 40 additional attendees to see and hear about how the Character First program can build character, integrity and motivation into our area organizations.

Up to two representatives per organization were welcomed to register for free lunch

• Additional registrants were welcomed to register for $10 each

What:	Information luncheon about the benefits of Character First.
Who:	Presented by Character First, Edmund, OK and Kansas Aviation, Independence, KS
When:	December 14, 11:30am - Registration deadline; December 10, 5:00pm
Where:	ICC West Campus, 2615 W Main, Independence KS
Cost:	No charge for first 40 registrants (limit 2 free per organization; additional attendees; $10

Who should attend? Those wishing to know how the Character First program can benefit your organization or the organizations you serve.

Free lunches provided by Character First. Proceeds of paid lunches will go toward the incubation and mentoring programs of the Independence Business Resource Center.

 

This event presented through joint sponsorship by Character First, Independence Business Resource Center, Successful Entrepreneur program at Independence Community College and Montgomery County Action Council.

Learn how to build trust and motivate your organization by attending a special luncheon presented by Character First based in Edmond, Oklahoma. Character First (CF) is used by organizations throughout the United States and in over thirty countries worldwide. CF helps leaders reinforce a culture of character and competence through the strategic recognition of character qualities.


When: Dec 14 – 11:30am Where: ICC West Campus, Independence

Click here for info and/or to register. (Registration is required; first 40 at no charge.)

At the SEK Innovation Summit last September, Kent Fahrenbruck of the Character First organization and our own Toby Lavine of Kansas Aviation showcased the value of Character First in a special presentation for business leaders. Kansas Aviation implemented the Character First program six years ago and the results have been dramatic. With the help of CF, Toby saw Kansas Aviation grow from ten employees in 2002 to 56 today.

You are invited to come and learn more about the program and learn how you can adopt CF for your organization. In addition, my colleagues and I at ICC have also decided that we want to invest in CF for our school and requested that Character First share with us how to proceed. CF has graciously offered to host a luncheon for those in our area to come and learn more about the program and I hope you will come and learn about how CF can help your organization succeed.

What Is Character First?

This statement from the Character First web site summarizes the program and its benefits for businesses and organizations. (http://www.characterfirst.com/)


Think about the most significant personal and organizational issues you have addressed over the past year. How many of them were character-related? How many times did you wish you had a proactive way to address them?


The Character First leadership development program trains executives and managers how to build a culture of integrity, how to resolve conflict, how to encourage employee morale, and how to integrate character-based standards into job descriptions, reward structures, and management practices.


As people care more about integrity and relationships, an organization will improve customer service, retain good people, strengthen teams, reduce accidents, increase productivity, and build goodwill in the community.

Book Review: “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael E. Gerber

We all know small business owners that seem frustrated with their businesses. Sometimes it shows through their interactions with customers; sometimes we don’t see the frustration unless we know the owner on a personal basis.

Running a small business turns out to be much different than most people think. It’s difficult and there is much work to do beyond the “fun” stuff they started the business to do in the first place. Many people-- and I have been one of them--become burned out struggling daily with an endless task lists that never seems to be completed. Ultimately, unless they figure out how to deal with the frustration, it begins to come through in their customer dealings. Gradually, business erodes—customers don’t like doing business with frustrated owners—and many close their doors.

In “E-Myth”, Michael Gerber first points out aspects of the entrepreneurship myth; the perception of what being in business will be like and how it actually is. He then lays out a systematic approach to dealing with all the other “stuff” involved in running a business and how the small business owner can learn to manage the “stuff” effectively and avoid the deadly burnout so many small business owners face.

Gerber develops an ongoing scenario of Beth, a young woman that started a pie business. The unique offering of her shop is the special qualities of the pies resulting from recipes she learned from her aunt when Beth was a young girl. Beth works long hours in her business, alone now after her trusted assistant abruptly resigned one day for reasons not totally apparent to the bewildered Beth. Beth is so burned out that she doesn’t enjoy actually making the pies anymore, a result of being constantly overwhelmed with all the other “stuff” of running the business.

Gerber’s approach in solving the problem is to help Beth “divide” her personality into the various types of job responsibilities required to run the business. Basically, an entrepreneur, operations manager and marketing manager are required. Beth learns to define these roles in a formal way, developing an organization chart for the business even though she is alone. That way, when she hires the next assistant, she will be hiring someone to fill a specific position with specific responsibilities instead of an assistant unaccountable for any specific responsibilities, merely helping out “where needed”.

The other great concept Gerber brings out is the need to document our business procedures as if we were going to franchise the business, even if we have no intention of doing so. Documented procedures insure the kind of consistency customers demand, making possible customer loyalty that only happens when we consistently provide customer service far beyond what is expected; a kind of customer service that customers can’t resist keeping them coming back for more. Documentation also makes new employee training easy and consistent.

Finally, the “systematizing” approach as laid out in the book adds value to the business, making it something the owner can sell or transfer to others someday without seeing it merely shut down in a huge, devalued ‘going out of business’ liquidation sale.

This book should be on the reading list of every business owner as well as all aspiring entrepreneurs working to position themselves toward starting their own businesses. Given that a new venture’s product or service is unique and valuable in the marketplace, setting up a business in this manner would greatly increase the chances of long term success without the owner becoming burned out.


Any book store will have this book in stock as will all the online book-sellers. We have a copy available for check out at our newly formed Independence Business Resource Center. Contact me at jcorrell@indycc.edu or 620-252-5349 for more information about checking out this or other business resources.

Restroom Available Boosts Sales?

First thing, hats off to the Neewollah organizers in Independence for another great week of events.

For the second year, one downtown merchant put up a sign that said “Restroom Available”. For the second year, the merchant had near-record sales during Neewollah week. For this store, the week’s sales were the fifth best they’ve ever had behind only their best weeks during the Christmas season. It’s no coincidence that these record sales occurred as the proprietors welcomed event-goers into their store and to use their facility.
The implications here go much deeper than just making their restroom available. Brian Hight and Ryan McDiarmid at Magnolia Health and Home understand that today’s consumers want a shopping experience that is pleasant, comfortable and unique. Part of their success is welcoming their customers and visitors as if they are guests in their homes, including the use of the restroom. The “Restroom Available” sign says, in a huge, unconscious way "You are welcome here. We want your experience with us to be positive and comfortable and we appreciate your business.”

This as opposed to the sea of "No Public Restroom" signs that suggest; "Stay away unless you want to buy something. If you do buy something, give us your money, take your purchase and get out of here before you need to use the restroom." The signs are not unique to Independence, but can be found on other businesses in Montgomery County and around Southeast Kansas. I’ve even seen one on a convenience store restroom door. Imagine some weary traveler stopping to get fuel and then being blind-sided by a No Public Restroom sign inside. I drive by the store twice daily during the work week and I haven’t purchased a thing there since the sign went up a couple of years ago.

We all become frustrated by big “box stores” coming to town and taking our customers away, but it is no accident that Walmart puts the restrooms right up at the front of the store; convenient to those that need them. Walmart knows that the longer you are in the store, the more you are likely to buy, so, if you need to use the restroom while there, they are more than happy to accommodate.

The Magnolia experience of the last two years during Neewollah has dispelled a couple of myths: 1.) People won’t shop and buy things while attending Neewollah events—they will. 2.) The Public will trash your restrooms if you let the Public use them—they didn’t. (Even if Brian or Ryan had to clean up one or more messes, they would have considered it a good tradeoff considering the sales they made during the period.)

About customers actively buying during a special event, Brian says "Just get people downtown and then it’s up to us (merchants) to do something to get them in the store." People are looking for a positive and unique shopping experience and they will spend money where they get that experience coupled with what they perceive as a good value for the money spent.

Signage and actions, even when they seem subtle, can send big messages about the perceived shopping experience and the perception can be either positive or negative.