I often challenge other's assumptions about business -- so it seems especially important to me that I regularly challenge my OWN assumptions.
Seems to me, sometimes, that half the battle of surviving in business is figuring out which 'common wisdoms' are correct and which are wrong, -- and why.
I can come up with several misconceptions off the top of my head.
1.) One must blow out slower selling product.
I mentioned this yesterday. For a specialty long-tail store, this may be counterproductive.
2.) Lower prices mean higher sales.
They may, but they certainly don't mean higher profits.
3.) Advertising is always necessary.
I wish I could figure out which advertising is effective and which isn't, but because I can't I don't do any at all.
I also have a number of misconceptions about my business, in particular.
1.) I'm a kids store.
2.) Superhero movies must help me sell superhero comics.
3.) Downtown promotional events are good for business.
And so on.
So I try to listen to others, as much as I can, to hear where I might be wrong. Or where circumstances might have changed.
It's useful for me for HBM to remind me that SCALE is "always" a retail problem, not just in Bend. (Though I still think Bend has it worse...)
Or the customer yesterday who pointed out the Big Box phenomenon in Bend wasn't just Bend, that it developed over the last twenty years everywhere else, too. (Though I still think Bend has it worse....)
I noticed over the last week or so, that my 'buy-dar' has been slightly off.
I always think I can tell who is going to spend money and who isn't. There are bunch of signals, from what people say, how they act, even body language. I swear I can even tell by the way the front door opens, if it's a regular or a visitor.
But I'm backing down off my -- young families and kids don't spend money in my store -- stance. They don't spend anywhere near as much as most people think, but....they do spend a bit, especially if I keep my mouth shut and the scowl off my face.
Secondly, though the downtown street closures aren't exactly my favorite thing, they seem to have stopped actually hurting me. Probably because I've become much more mainstream in my product over the last ten years. (Though I still doubt street closures create as much future business as most other business owners seem to think.)
So, hey. I'm willing to admit when I'm slightly wrong. Though I'm not willing to admit I could be completely wrong.
Seems to me, sometimes, that half the battle of surviving in business is figuring out which 'common wisdoms' are correct and which are wrong, -- and why.
I can come up with several misconceptions off the top of my head.
1.) One must blow out slower selling product.
I mentioned this yesterday. For a specialty long-tail store, this may be counterproductive.
2.) Lower prices mean higher sales.
They may, but they certainly don't mean higher profits.
3.) Advertising is always necessary.
I wish I could figure out which advertising is effective and which isn't, but because I can't I don't do any at all.
I also have a number of misconceptions about my business, in particular.
1.) I'm a kids store.
2.) Superhero movies must help me sell superhero comics.
3.) Downtown promotional events are good for business.
And so on.
So I try to listen to others, as much as I can, to hear where I might be wrong. Or where circumstances might have changed.
It's useful for me for HBM to remind me that SCALE is "always" a retail problem, not just in Bend. (Though I still think Bend has it worse...)
Or the customer yesterday who pointed out the Big Box phenomenon in Bend wasn't just Bend, that it developed over the last twenty years everywhere else, too. (Though I still think Bend has it worse....)
I noticed over the last week or so, that my 'buy-dar' has been slightly off.
I always think I can tell who is going to spend money and who isn't. There are bunch of signals, from what people say, how they act, even body language. I swear I can even tell by the way the front door opens, if it's a regular or a visitor.
But I'm backing down off my -- young families and kids don't spend money in my store -- stance. They don't spend anywhere near as much as most people think, but....they do spend a bit, especially if I keep my mouth shut and the scowl off my face.
Secondly, though the downtown street closures aren't exactly my favorite thing, they seem to have stopped actually hurting me. Probably because I've become much more mainstream in my product over the last ten years. (Though I still doubt street closures create as much future business as most other business owners seem to think.)
So, hey. I'm willing to admit when I'm slightly wrong. Though I'm not willing to admit I could be completely wrong.