How Beer & Pizza Grew My Business

My first company was an installation, maintenance and repair business.

Most of my employees were either skilled in the trades – plumbing, electric, carpentry, concrete, working with pumps & motors – or they were laborers.

They were very good at their work and they also interacted with customers every day.

Those two facts gave them a unique perspective on the challenges and successes of the work they did, how our customers reacted to or evaluated their work, and how the customers viewed our business.

Occasionally I’d get little tidbits of information from them when reviewing work tickets, when asking about scheduling of sub-contractors and deliveries of materials and equipment, and when asking for their perspectives whenever they had a complaint or wanted to brag about their work.

By the way – that bragging was always associated with a “going above and beyond” scenario.

And, it was because I always rewarded “going above and beyond” in some way. I’m a big believer in encouraging initiative.

It finally hit me just how valuable the information I got from my employees was to the growth of my business.

I’ll give myself a bit of a pass on not catching on sooner because I was in my late twenties at the time and it was my first business.

I didn’t have a lot of experience.

Once I figured it out I started having beer and pizza in the warehouse every Friday afternoon.

Before you get all amped up about furnishing alcohol to employees realize it was a different time then, and I also furnished soft drinks and water.

Long story short, everyone who could stay for 30 minutes to an hour after we closed for the day, including the people in the office, got together in the warehouse, enjoyed the “goodies”, got to know one another better, debriefed the activities of the week, and discussed ideas for making their individual work lives easier, for serving our customers better, and for growing the business.

Fast forward nine months.

·        We doubled the number of customers served in a day.

·        We virtually eliminated call backs – they were very rare and always addressed immediately.

·        Everyone was happier and more fulfilled in their work which increased morale and productivity.

·        Bonuses were added and initiative rewards became more significant.

·        We increased our customer base by more than 500% without spending any money on marketing and advertising.

·        The company grew because of our reputation and from referrals.

My point – your employees are a gold mine of information and ideas.

Help them grow as individuals, appreciate them, listen to them, give them credit when deserved, and reward them appropriately.

My investment was a few bucks for beer and pizza.

The return on that investment was ginormous.

If you’re not taking full advantage of what your employees know and think now, figure out your version of beer and pizza and get started as soon as possible.

I guarantee you’ll be very happy with the results.