Big Events and Small Businesses
Greetings! It is good to be back.
I spent last week away from the office, getting married. Cathy and I went to Estes Park, Colorado, and stayed at an Inn in the shadow of the Continental Divide. I am committed to keeping the focus of this blog on business, but it’s also a personal reflection on a range of topics, and this was, well, personally significant. This personal note also affords me an honest introduction the topic of today’s entry.
I was talking with the photographer, Steve Cathcart (proprietor of Cathcart Photography), the afternoon before the ceremony. His reputation preceded him, as a photographer, as a colorful character, and as a really good guy. He asked me what I do for a living, and so I told him (briefly, in deference to my fiancee’s rolling eyes).
I talked about the business benefits of doing the right thing, about creating an organization that brings out the best in employees, creates win-win partnerships with vendors, and engenders loyalty and enthusiasm in customers. Steve listened intently, and then looked a little puzzled. He asked for some examples, and I told him a few stories. He understood what we’re up to, but the connection between doing the right thing and growing his business seemed obvious to him. Maybe, he thought, the work of the Center is more relevant for big firms. Then he told a story of his own.
Years earlier, Steve read about a “wedding photographer” in nearby Denver who bilked six couples, taking deposits and standing them up on their wedding nights. Cathcart worked with local merchants in Estes Park to give the couples a remarkable gift: a weekend away, tuxedos, flowers, and a judge to renew their vows. All photographed, of course, free of charge. Innkeepers, florists, merchants, and even Kodak contributed. “Photos are important,” Cathcart observed. “When people leave a burning house, what do they take? Photo albums.”
I asked him about the business benefits of his actions, and he smiled. “I did it because it was the right thing to do. But, we also got national media attention, including articles in two photography journals.” His Website also cites stories on Inside Edition and Montel Williams. (Not to mention notice on this humble Blog almost a decade later.) The project also cemented relationships with vendors and partners, including the innkeepers who hired him as part of our wedding package.
Cathcart is also committed to delivering a valuable service and to meeting customer needs. He and his son do all of the photography, and both invest in considerable ongoing training and education. In fact, he teaches classes and seminars for other photographers. Cathcart charges an hourly rate for his services and cedes all copyrights to his customers, because his customers prefer doing business that way.
Steve was right to wonder about how a very small business like his could benefit from thinking systematically and strategically about social responsibility. His employee base consists of his two sons; as a digital photographer, he doesn’t even need traditional vendor relationships like a lab and photo supplies. His work produces almost no waste. As he talked about his business, we both recognized the crucial importance of relationships with customers and with those who make referrals. Those relationships, in turn, are based on quality and reputation, both factors over which he personally has extensive control. What else does he need?
The challenges emerge as a business grows. This small enterprise has been built on certain commitments to doing business the right way. While it may not always be easy to do the right thing, it is relatively straightforward to honor those commitments. The owner makes the calls, and earns the trust of customers and referral partners. However, if a business like this is to grow, decisions will eventually have to be made, and actions taken, that are beyond the immediate control of the business owner. Customers and partners will need to trust the firm in the same way that they currently trust the owner. That’s when a clearly articulated mission and values, well-documented processes, and excellent hiring and employee development practices become critical success factors. Those things, like the trust they promote and support, do not happen by accident. Even an outstanding photographer (or merchant, or mortgage broker, or restaurateur…) can benefit from experience and best practices in building their business. As a business grows, trust can become harder to maintain and easier to lose.
Cathy later made an excellent point, as well. Estes Park is a small town. Reputation is everything there, and actions speak volumes. Businesspeople succeed there by knowing this and by acting accordingly. That might have been why Steve seemed a bit bemused by the concept of consulting to help businesses to become more trustworthy, and to translate that trustworthiness into business gains. It is simply what he does.
Cathy grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota. It isn’t a tiny town, and the presence of the University extends the community beyond its borders, but everyone seems to know everyone else, and word travels fast. I accompanied her father to the supermarket, and it seemed that everyone under a certain age greeted him with a cheerful “hello, Mr. Huber,” and his contemporaries slapped him on the back with a “Hey, Bill,” or a basic guy-joke about putting on weight or “being up to no good.” When I returned to the same store unaccompanied, it was a much different place, not unfriendly, but not unlike any supermarket I have entered. It’s impossible to succeed in business in that kind of intimate social environment without earning and maintaining trust.
In an increasingly connected world, businesses compete less in anonymous, mass markets and more in a web of intersecting, small towns and communities of interest. In considering a purchase, we send out an email or post a question. In the absence of direct referrals for products and services, we turn to online reviews. We can spot phonies and shills a mile away. Many books have been written on how to communicate in this new world. One of the best is Gonzo Marketing, by Chris Locke (my hero among bloggers) and David Weinberger (a brilliant guy as well).
Beyond communications, beyond marketing, this world calls us to act in ways that build trust. The stakes are higher than ever – the rewards for being trustworthy are greater than ever. Being trustworthy is harder for organizations than it is for individuals, but it isn’t impossible. In fact, that is what the Hill Center is all about.
See? This posting was about business after all. And about life, well-lived. Ethics, in short.
As the business grows so does the painful reality of mind numbing details; accounting, correspondence, taxes, employees, etc. In no time, the successful entrepreneur is reaching for ‘expertise’ and consultants to help run the business.
…And who wants to talk about something as ‘soft’ as Vision or Values when you can’t even fill this week’s orders!? But hey, with any luck, the business will continue to grow until it gets acquired by another business that is being run ‘by the numbers!’
As great as Steve’s reputation is running a small business, he is just as likely as anyone else to get lost in the transitions brought on by growth.
This reminds me of a similar point. When I was learning to consult, I observed just how much, um, B.S. I was finding in working with a client, an enormous and successful company. How could they have gotten so big with so much political crap weighing them down? How much more successful would the firm have been if even half of the energy being spent on internal politics were actually spent on developing and marketing better products and on creating stronger relationships with customers?
A mentor likened the situation to a snowball rolling downhill. The ball gets momentum because the firm is very good at something - making a product or offering a service. As it gather s momentum, it also gathers mass - employees get added, like snow, along with the collective history of any missteps, bad attitudes, unresolved conflicts, etc. Unless the organization can very intentionally maintain itself, it can become the victim of its own growth. I think that's at least part of what Tom is talking about, and about the incalculable importance of putting values at the center of that.