YOU HAVE TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT!!

The saying came from a discussion with a person who always wondered why they didn’t win the lottery and every week they would complain that?other people won something?and they didn’t until eventually one day?someone?said to them, “well if you want to win the lottery, the first thing you must do is buy a ticket”.

?I feel the same way when I talk to budding entrepreneurs who tell me that they are running a business but only working when they feel like it, I know the business will be one of those which just doesn’t survive.

This is what most people don’t realise when starting a business, they must be there all the time and I mean 24/7/365. Even to this day, we are always accessible, this?week I was woken at 2 am by a customer who complained to me that his mother had bought a lounge suite over two years ago and she had noticed that the stitching was coming out and what was I going to do about it? I realised that there wasn’t much I could do at 2 am but promised him that I would take care of it as soon as I could, and true to my word I was on the phone to the supplier, and we managed to get the issue resolved the very same day. Clients know they can phone me anytime. I even get calls on Christmas Day as to how to cook a turkey and should they cook it in the microwave on the Big Green Egg they just bought?

New business owners all have this amazing idea of starting a business and working for a short while and then it will continue to run itself and give them lots of free time to do amazing things like travel the world, buy new houses and cars, and live the life of Riley!!

Nothing could be further from the truth, I am living my best life now, but I still work at least 10 to 12 hours a day (a big reduction from the 20 hours a day I worked before) and being in retail, its 7 days a week.

?As I have said before, delegating is?extremely?difficult thing for me to do but obviously when growing a big business, one needs to delegate. Delegating is not hoping that someone will do what needs to be done, it’s giving them the authority to do this but then checking up - constantly - that it has?been done properly.

?Now the?contentious?word is?“properly”, the people doing the work will surmise that they are doing it properly, but it may not be done to standard, and this is how the rot creeps in like mildew on a bathroom ceiling- it starts slowly but grows alarmingly fast and must be stopped in its tracks as quickly as possible.

?Entrepreneurs, whatever their business, are in the service industry and they need to be there to serve their customers when it suits the customers/clients , not when it suits them - and customers can be very demanding- and so they should be?because it’s them after all who are spending their hard earned money and they need to know that they are getting the best possible deal.

?Contrary to popular belief, cheaper is not always better. I recently had the honour of visiting the biggest furniture store in Texas - Gallery Furnishers owned by Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale.

Since opening in 1981, Gallery Furniture has grown from a small family business to employing several hundred employees in the stores and across the United States. Store owner,?Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, has gained the respect of the community and his flagship North Freeway location has become?a?Houston landmark. His store is amazing.?

Firstly, its huge! 165 000 sq. ft. -over 15 000 square meters.?The store is peppered with sayings like.

• When all others give up, that’s when the tough get going.
• Work is the road to salvation.
• Dream the impossible dream.
• Work is not a right, it’s an instinct.
• A marathon begins with one step.
• Grateful for everything, entitled to nothing.
• Price is what you pay, value is what you get.
• I have never regretted paying good money for a service or product that exceeded my expectations.
• Unless you pay the price for quality you will never know it’s true worth
• ?Measure your success by the challenges and lessons you have learned along the way!
• You preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.

?Digital accessibility is a part of business accessibility, and it deals with the design of technological products and services so that people can?use?the products and services. At Hirsch's Homestores our service dept is open 24/7 and anyone can lodge a call at any time of the day or night online, and a service tech will call out the very next day.

An accessible business is likely to be viewed more favourably by customers. Just as bad accessibility can ruin a brand’s reputation, good accessibility practices can help build the brand.

?Companies that try to be more accessible so that they can serve all their customers more efficiently will gain more goodwill in the marketplace.?

Better business accessibility will make a company stand out and people will recommend it and that way the business will grow from strength to strength.

Much Love,

Margaret Hirsch