Small Business Alchemist

 

Small business and Alchemy are two terms that you don’t hear together very often.  The concept of taking everyday elements, combining them and ending up with gold seems pretty far-fetched, right?   If you’re a small business owner it’s probably even harder to imagine seeing the same type of magic happen in your brick and mortar or online business.

It’s not really possible to turn a regular old business into something extraordinary is it?

You’re probably so consumed with day to day business details that you’ve forgotten the dream you had when opening shop.  The daily busywork that just gets the job done probably barely keeps you afloat.

I’ll admit something you probably weren’t expecting…

I’m not THE ultimate authority on business alchemy.

Phew, I feel a lot better getting that out in the open.  As you can probably already tell I’m no literary genius.  In fact I have a whopping two and a half semesters of community college under my belt.  That’s not to say that I don’t know anything, I’m just letting you know that I’m human and you may take issue with something I post on my blog or send out in a newsletter.  Bottom line, I’m not perfect and I still have a ton to learn.

I’m sure you’re wondering why the heck I named my site SmallBusinessAlchemist.com then. Well, I’ve seen success in business and I’ve also been met with challenges that appeared to be failures at the time I was confronted with them.  But I’ve since learned that some of the most important lessons in life and business come through what most people refer to as mistakes.  I typically don’t see them as mistakes but a lesson in what I can do differently next time around.  Through both types of experiences I’ve learned some super-important lessons about the building and growing of a successful small business.

If you’re anything like most entrepreneurs you’re probably always looking for the silver bullet that’ll make your small business successful and take away all of your problems.  I’ve both owned and worked in small businesses for the past 9 years and have seen just about every gimmick and so-called quick fix there is.  These are especially prevalent in the online marketing world.

I’m sure the authors of a lot of the programs have good intentions but a lot of them make most of their money selling these programs.  That’s a problem because they’re not necessarily practicing what they preach.

I believe that there is a silver bullet that’ll solve all of your problems in business. I’m sure at this point you’re tempted to scroll down to find the yellow buy now button, well there isn’t one.  I’m not here to sell you anything (yet).  I’m sure in time you may decide that services I’m able to provide could be of great value to your business but that’s not the purpose of this website.

I wanted to start this site for one reason; I’d like to help you grow your business.  I’m not saying that in the I’m hoping to make a quick buck by selling you an eBook kind of way.  I mean it in the I really want to see your small business flourish and you tell me about your experience way.

The silver bullet to small business success isn’t something I can spell out on this page.  I think that it takes time to build any business but firmly believe that the most important component of that process is your marketing plan and business strategy.  Sure, you may have access to all of the coolest tools and resources but that doesn’t mean that your business provides something that people actually want.

It won’t matter how hard you work or how much money you spend on advertising if your message is incongruent with people’ needs and wants.  If you aren’t in touch with what people want you’ll always be up a creek and struggling to make ends meet.

Examples of companies with an exceptional product offering and great customer experience would be In-n-Out Burger, Zappos.com, Fresh & Easy, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, The Ritz-Carleton, and Four Seasons.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of locally owned businesses that follow the same type of customer experience first philosophy.  I don’t think that customer service is the most important component but these examples show that something magical happens when you provide a customer with the best experience possible.

All that being said, I believe that an outstanding product offering (in relation to market demand) combined with the right messaging and amazing customer service can culminate in a business that is bound for success.  The success I’m talking about isn’t just monetary either.  The customer experience at all of the places I just named is nothing less than great, this means that employees are probably happier and the owners most likely enjoy contributing to the world in more than a just providing goods or services kind of way.

There are lots of things that you can do to improve and grow your existing business. Or, if you’re just getting started, there are fundamentals that will get you off on the right foot.

The first thing that you can do is subscribe to my eMail Newsletter and RSS feed. Feel free to Contact Me if you have ideas for articles or just have a question.

To Creating Meaningful Experiences For Our Clients,

Dustin Olenslager, Small Business Alchemist