Work

10 Management Rules for 2018

January 14, 2018 by dspurgers 1 Comment

Each year, I am fortunate enough to get to travel and speak at some trade shows and conferences. One of my favorites is with All Hours Tanning Distributors – and I get to do two of my favorite things: 1) Visit the PNW and all the people here who I love, and 2) teach Norvell University! This morning, I gave a presentation to around 150 business owners to increase the yield of their marketing efforts this year. This seemed like the perfect list to share with you all!

Always tell the truth. Lying for the sake of impressing a customer or getting the sale is never a good idea. It will always bite you in the butt, and more often than not the customer will sense it coming and back out of the sale.
Spend your time (and money) where your heart is. As business owners, we are asked literally multiple times a day to donate to (insert cause here) cause. Many of us would love to donate to each of these – but then we would be out of business. I always encourage owners to pick a cause or two that’s important to them, and put their time and money there. You can make a difference when you are investing what you have in one or two organizations instead of twenty.
Use REAL people. Instead of the beautiful, perfect, ideal, unreliable image, use real people in your ads. People can relate with this and see themselves in that position (tanning is the worst at this, y’all).
Market in waves, and don’t fight the tide. Most businesses have multiple products and services to offer. Spend your time and energy telling the story of one product or service over and over, until you feel like you’ve said it so much that you can’t say it again. By this point, your customers will start to get the point and listen.
By don’t fight the tide, I mean market what makes sense – don’t try to sell a product when your customers don’t want it. Don’t try to sell coats when it’s 90 degrees outside. Don’t try to sell UV tanning in October. Promote what people are looking for.
Empower your employees to take care of your customers. Sure, there are rules for a reason. Giving your employees the power they need to make decisions that support your business. Trust them to make the right call and be able to tell you why they made it. If it’s not the decision you would have made, it’s a teaching moment! If it is – cause to celebrate. 🙂
Don’t be afraid to give it away – but then, don’t give it away. This is a bit of a paradox, but it will make sense in a moment!
You have to trust your product enough to be able to give it away to “hook” people. But, once you’ve got them hooked… don’t give it away for free, or discount the fire out of it just to sell.
The subtext for this one: There is value in what you do/sell, until you diminish that value. Trust that your product and service is worth something – and then sell it for that, over and over again.
Create a lifestyle in your business. Make your business something attractive that people want to be a part of. Make it fun and contagious. If you build it, they will come!
Own your business; don’t let it own you. Y’all, this is hard. We go into business for ourselves to create a certain life for ourselves, but it is so easy to let the day in, day out of the business take over. Be sure to own your business instead of letting it own you. (preaching to myself here, too).
Focus on telling, not on selling. Focus on telling the story of what you do and what you’re selling, instead of trying to sell. If you focus on explaining the value in what you do, it will bring the customers. Tell your story and they will listen.
Love what matters. This is cliche, but it’s the truth! Keep your priorities in line, and love what matters most. If you do this, your work life will be the piece of the pie it’s supposed to instead of owning your whole life.

Business owners, what are your rules for success? I’ve learned we can certainly all learn from each other!

Here’s to the best year yet!

Ebbs & Flows

October 8, 2017 by dspurgers Leave a Comment

As I spend Saturday morning/early afternoon on my couch at the house, I’m reviewing this past week and looking ahead to this next week, overwhelmed with emotion. This last week was challenging, and this next week looks to be similar. In the middle of it, there’s plenty of warmth and happiness, but also some struggle.

It’s often said that the life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster. This rings especially true this week. In the middle the best season I’ve had in business recently, there are still constant struggles that pop up. Nothing major, but the dark blip on the radar drains so much energy and distracts from all the light around it. Even as an optimist, it’s a hard battle for me to see the weight of the good and focus on that, instead of being pulled down by what still remains to be solved.

I am a problem solver. As the owner and leader, it’s my job to set everyone else up to succeed. I tell prospective team members in interviews that I am not here to do all of the work, but instead to set them up for success and then fix the problems they can’t, or break down the walls they can’t. Some weeks, this is harder than others and more draining. This week was one of those weeks.

Outside of work and just in life, this last week I was met with the first real hatefulness and adversity I’d seen since our wedding. From someone who I value and respect, a petty back-handed response was painful. It took conscious effort for me to realize “this isn’t my issue; this is someone else’s.”

The biggest revelation of my year came from my therapist (not the one I’m married to!): Every problem can’t be fixed to your satisfaction. I strive to be a clear-communicator, and to always be honest. I work hard at relationships every day and strive for peace and understanding. This idea that I can’t fix everything to my liking has been a particularly hard one for me to accept. Admitting that I can’t fix a problem feels like defeat. It feels like saying “I wasn’t able to solve this, so I’m giving up.” Giving up is not something I do well – even when I should. Kevin wisely pointed out that I was striving for peace, but peace takes effort on both sides. The relationships that expect you to put forth all of the effort to bend to their convenience are 1) not peaceful relationships and 2) probably aren’t valuable relationships in your life. While 100% agreement isn’t necessary for a peaceful relationship, mutual respect, understanding, and a value for the other person sets the stage for disagreement, but leaves room for love and unity, paving the way for peace.

As I sit here reflecting on this week, looking forward to the next, and processing thoughts and feelings by writing a blog post, I am so thankful for rich relationships. I’m thankful for great friends. I’m thankful for a loving God whose grace extends far beyond where it ends in my head. But I’m also tired. Not weary or spent, just tired and needing rest. I’m thankful for a season of life that’s ushering in peace, and a new-found fervor in pursuit of my relationship with God and who I am in His image. I’m expectant for great things to come.

Keep it Social

January 23, 2016 by dspurgers Leave a Comment

One of the questions I’m asked most often is “how do I make social media work for me?” This is a loaded question with an infinitely long answer, but recently I’ve noticed that I keep boiling it down to the same thing each time.

Social media changes constantly, and it’s hard to keep up with. However, the theory behind social media (and the reason we’re all on it) doesn’t change. For this reason, our vision for social media and reason for using shouldn’t change – just the methods in which we’re using it.

Most business owners measure their success in social media by their number of followers. When someone asks us to work with them on social media, their first goal is almost always to “get more likes on my Facebook page.” That’s usually a good cue for me that our first step needs to be helping that owner change their way of thinking. Social media should be all about quality interaction and engagement, not about the number of people who clicked “follow” or “like.”

Let’s illustrate this with a scenario…
Barry Businessowner invites me to go with him to a networking event, with the goal of sharing our businesses with other people and building relationships that could turn into business. I’m really excited about the chance to get to meet some new people and share with them what I do. I get dressed up in a nice suit, make sure I have plenty of business cards, and get ready to leave the office. As I’m leaving, I grab the “like cards” from my desk – as well as an empty box saying “Place ‘Likes’ Here.” Now I’m ready.

I get to the event and am stoked because I realize how great this is going to be for my business. I’m going to sit and let people come to me some, and then I’m going to work the crowd some. I place my Like Box on the table and get out my stack of “like” cards. As I’m sitting at the table having a drink, I chat with a few people I know. We catch up on what’s new with them, make the usual small talk, and they move on to talk to other people. After I sit at my table for a while, I realize I’m not making new connections (which is my whole point in attending the event), so I get up to move around and talk to people.

I stop at a table and meet a gentlemen who owns a landscaping business. He’s been in the area for 2 or 3 years and is getting his business moving. We talk for a couple of minutes, and before moving on, I drop one of my “like cards” on his table. He gives me a weird look. I smile and move on. Throughout the evening, I repeat this process a number of times. I make my way back to my table, find my “like box,” and realize it’s empty. I leave disappointed and dejected, feeling like the evening has been a waste of time and not understanding why people didn’t connect with me more. Barry, on the other hand, leaves beaming, telling me that he had a handful of great conversations and made good strong connections he thinks will turn into business for his firm. I just don’t understand what I did wrong.

Now, clearly this is an exaggerated situation and nobody interacts with people like this, but we do think this way about social media. Where are we going wrong?

Social media is not all about the number of followers you have. It’s about the quality of interaction. I was upset after the networking event because I didn’t feel that I made any good connections… yet on Facebook, we get frustrated when we post something to our page and it doesn’t get enough “likes” or enough exposure. Really, all we’ve done is set up an empty box and hope people like what we said – when there’s no connection with what’s there.
We expect people to just come and like, but we’ve given them no reason to. There needs to be a real connection. The advent of social media is part of society’s response to satisfy this craving for real connection. As we’ve dug deeper into technology and spend less time making real connections with people, we crave the energy of social media for a few reasons:
1. we can post what’s going on in our lives with whatever spin or bias we’d like – and seek the attention we want.
2. we can watch the train wreck of other’s unfold online (you know that girl from high school who is living out her divorce online? You just can’t look away…)
3. we do have the ability to actually maintain contact or connection with people we don’t see often in person.
What makes point 3 different? There’s a quality of a real relationship there. We are humans in that sense – with interactions, no longer sitting in the bleachers for a spectator sport.

Granted, interaction between people and brands is a little different – but the philosophy is the same. I recently heard a quote that rang true in my life:

I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.

This quote was referring to the amounts of friendships we cultivate – I’d rather have 4 close friends than 100 acquaintances. Our feelings about social media should be the same! I’d rather have 500 fans of my page who are connected to my brand – and want to be connected – than 2,000 likes who are there just watching, but not connecting.

If I had spent my time at the networking event talking with other owners about their businesses, asking them questions about their goals and desires, maybe I would have made some valuable connections. If, instead of awkwardly throwing the “like” card down on the table after an interaction, I had discussed with them why I enjoyed what they had to say, I would have cultivated real connection and started a real relationship. How much more beneficial would my time have been then!?

When thinking about social media in the days to come, I urge you to think of these points in planning your posts and interactions:

Social media is not a storefront. If you spend your time on social media shouting from the rooftops that you have widgets on sale buy one get one free, you will lose your audience. They’ll tune out and know that you have widgets, but not feel any connection to you. Use social media as a communication tool and not as a store front.
Remember you’re dealing with people. Post content that your customers find interesting. Put things out there that they want to read. Better yet, connect them with people and make them feel like they’re sitting in front of you when they’re alone on their computer or scrolling through their feed on their phones.
Crave the connection. Find out how to inspire feeling with your social media. It can be as simple as something that they do like and want to see, or even better, something they want to interact with. Ask your customers a question they’ll want to answer that’ll be feedback you can use in your business.
Don’t just talk – listen. You know that friend who always talks about himself and never gives anyone else a chance to get a word in edgewise? Yeah, that guy sucks just as much on social media as he does in real life. Spend time listening and responding. Make social media a conversation – not a commercial.

What’s something you can do to succeed more with your social media? I’d love to hear some successes and failures you’ve witness (or created)!

New Year, New Dreams, New Plans

January 13, 2016 by dspurgers 2 Comments

Would you believe we’re already 3% through 2016!? Ahhh!!! So many resolutions to make progress on!

I always take the first of the year to re-evaluate my life, the businesses, where things stand, etc. This year, for the first time, we at Kangabloo took the full week off between Christmas and New Year’s. The way this fell on the calendar, we had around 2 weeks off total. I had no idea how much I needed that break to reset and re-energize for the new year.

As well as a slew of company and professional goals, I made a few personal goals this year. My theme for this year: “Less frantic. More peaceful. More stable. Lighter.”

Less frantic – owning 3 companies can be tough sometimes. Be it through delegating, working further ahead, or managing time differently, I’m going to make sure this year is less frantic than previous years.
More peaceful – this one is pretty clear. I want more peaceful, easy time.
More stable – most of my small biz friends often feel out of control of their lives. When one thing falls apart, it can break your entire day – or week. I’m making sure I make this year more stable.
Lighter – at the end of every day, I really just want to lie down to sleep and not feel a weight sitting on my shoulders.

Here are the specific goals I set for myself personally:

Less Clutter – at home and at work, I’m getting rid of the stuff I don’t need. I read The Life-Changing Art of Tidying Up going into the new year – I love the criteria of “does it give you joy?” when you pick something up. Made it clear how much stuff I was holding on to for a rainy day that I didn’t need.
More Writing – as I do more consulting and “preach” the gospel of original content online, I have to do a better job of writing for myself.
More Reading – I love to read, but rarely make time to. This year, I’m going to make sure I take the time to read.
Fitness – while I’m not in terrible shape, I need to do better. I will do better this year. 🙂

The biggest challenge I have for myself, my friends, and my clients (who are business owners) this year:

Own your business. Don’t let it own you.

I’m going to make sure 2016 is the best year yet. What are you doing to make this year successful?

Secret to Employee Success – Part 1

December 16, 2013 by dspurgers Leave a Comment

Over the past few months, I’ve had multiple people ask me to explain the relationship I have with my employees. I’ve really wrestled with how to write this, because I don’t consider myself an expert in any way here. However, I’ve been in a number of professional settings in different capacities, and I’m always surrounded by people smarter than I am.

A large part of what I do daily now is managing people. This is both the most rewarding and most challenging thing I do. I can say that I love it – figuring out how to make people “come alive” in their gifting is one of my passions – and I’m fortunate to be able to do it with Kangabloo, Exotic Tans, and NLC Production.

One of the things I learned quickly – I’m surrounded by BRILLIANT leaders at New Life Church. Pastors Rick Bezet, Darren DeLaune, and Neil Greathouse (among others) have a way of lighting people up. Following their lead has made successful leadership much easier for me. I’m still learning and developing – and every situation is different, but here’s the 30,000 foot view of what I’ve learned (and will expand upon in future posts).

“Just Business” doesn’t work – at least not in small business. If I were to shut our teams out and not take an interest in their lives (professional development, personal lives, education) I would lose their interest. The relatable boss is one you’re comfortable with.
The Iron Fist creates a stone cold team. Leading by forced authority doesn’t get you anywhere. Earn the influence you wish to carry and they will follow.
Publicly celebrate the successes. Privately correct the misses. If your team knows you believe in them and are proud, they’re much happier to do good work for you – and your clients notice. Straight out of New Life Church: public loyalty brings private leverage.
The culture you develop drives the customer experience. In the case of the church, the culture we develop among our team dictates the tone of the weekend in so many ways. In business – the attitudes our teams have toward their jobs makes the interaction with customers. You know that cashier at WalMart who hates her job? Culture isn’t on her side. Know that barista who lights up every morning as she hands you your coffee? Curated culture makes her shine.
HR isn’t a formula. Maintaining relations with your employees isn’t done formulaically in their evaluations once every 3/6/12 months. It’s done daily in your interactions with them.
Covenant is non-negotiable. Again, straight from the New Life Church book: your promise to me as an employee and member of my team is guaranteed to be reciprocal. You play for my team. I will support, guard, protect, and defend you with everything that I have. Loyalty isn’t a suggestion – it’s imperative and non-negotiable. Choose your team wisely.
Rules are rules are exceptions. Yes, make good on your word. But remember – we are dealing with people, who are by nature imperfect. Remember the grace we were extended and run your decisions through that.
Every decision is filtered through your culture. What you define as your mission should drive every. single. decision. If you can’t decide if it’s a good idea – filter it through the vision. Does it help accomplish where you’re going? Does it fit? If not, don’t do it. No matter how good the idea, if it’s not part of your vision, it doesn’t happen.
The culture of empowerment is freeing. Neil Greathouse has always told us, when a decision has to be made on the fly, make it. We’ll support and defend you as long as you can substantiate your decision. Worse comes to worst, it’s a learning experience and you know to decided differently next time – but you’ll never be penalized for making the best call you could. (managers – a secret: when you empower your people to make decisions, you take them off of yourself. Train well, multiply yourself).
Accountability keeps us pointed North. Comfortable relationships are great. Relational management is as well. When it’s time to be the boss, be the boss. Make the hard decisions. Have the confrontational conversation. Confrontation breeds resolution. A relational manager who can still be the boss can lead people into the fire – and they will follow.

Again – none of these ideas are new, and none are my own – but the blend of these together seems to have made for some unstoppable teams. Curious – managers, what are your thoughts? Which of these is the most important? What did I leave out?

More to come…

Now Hiring… Maybe.

September 23, 2013 by dspurgers Leave a Comment

The game of hiring employees has long stressed many people. Between my experiences, I’ve been in the interviewer’s chair many times. Most people are nervous when they walk in to job interviews. The other side of the chair is nerve-wracking, as well. As an owner, you’re deciding based on a short meeting if this person is trust-worthy. It’s not just about them being able to do the job – do they understand your mission? Do they get the big picture? Can you trust them with money? Will they be good with customers? Will they represent you the same way when you’re out of town as when you’re standing right beside them?

Before you even get to the interview section… there comes the application. The initial contact from prospective employees really says a lot to employers So for those of you who have never been on the interview side, I’ve composed a few tips you can follow that will get you one step closer in the employment game. This isn’t an exhaustive list, but I assure you it will always help. Some of these are straight from me. Some come from friends who own businesses. All come from people who are regularly hiring.

The way you write means something. When we get an application or message that says “r u hiring,” I immediately know that person isn’t a fit. We’re looking for someone who can communicate well and confidently – that person will take the time to spell out their thoughts. Jokingly, some of our applications say “Write in complete sentences, or your assignment won’t be graded.”
How you contact means something. With lots of business marketing & communications moving to facebook, we’re seeing a lot of page contact asking for jobs. Really, this is never the correct initial media. Email or in store is always the best initial media. If in doubt, call and ask what the application process is. For example, at Nature’s Market, Exotic Tans, Stoby’s, & PattiCakes, all applications are online only. This is always the correct first step. We need a written record, and this is it. See the next point…
When you’re looking for a job, it’s all about how you fit into the organization’s system. One of the most maddening diseases coming from the generation currently seeking employment is the feeling of entitlement. Many young people feel entitled to a job and want us (the hirers) to assimilate into their system (or lack thereof). Someone who isn’t willing to follow the appropriate chain for applying for a job likely won’t follow the instructions you give them later.
TELL THE TRUTH. Overstating your qualifications or experience will ALWAYS come back to bite you. We’d much rather see someone with no experience in an area express an interest to learn than have someone claim to be proficient and really have no skill. Don’t over-inflate your resume or your skillset. We will know – sometimes when it’s too late. If we can plan to train, that’s one thing – if we’re going to have to train you when we didn’t expect to, we’ll just be frustrated.
Follow up is okay – within reason. After applying for a job, if you haven’t heard anything back within a week, it’s okay to call and ask if they received your application. Don’t ask for an interview. You can tactfully ask if that person needs anything else from you. You can also ask for follow up on the position if you’d like – but do not pester. If you don’t hear back, assume that the position has been filled and the manager forgot to call you. When another position comes open, if you were well-spoken and tactful, your application may be the first one pulled.
Dress for success. It’s an old mantra – but it’s still true. Some say “dress for the job you’re applying for.” I disagree completely. I think you always dress for success. It’s always better to be dressed nicer than necessary. Those dressed above the mark are showing that they care about their appearance. Time and thought goes in to getting ready for work. If interviewing for a job where you’ll wear jeans and a tee shirt to work, at least wear khakis and a button down shirt for the interview. Ladies, nothing too revealing. And a bathing suit cover up is NEVER a good idea (yes, this really happened).
Make eye contact. When interviewing for a job, speak strongly of yourself. Be sure of who you are. Shake hands. Look the person in the eye and talk to them. Make sure that everything you do conveys respect. Nobody wants to hire a know-it-all. Humility is huge. Keep in mind that the person interviewing you has likely spent a considerable amount of time reaching that position in life. Either they worked hard to land in management, or you’re talking to an owner who has invested more time (and money) than you know into driving success of the business.
Thank your interviewer for their time. While you are there interviewing to support their company, they are still busy people. Make sure you thank them for considering you.

My Mac OSX Workflow

June 13, 2011 by dspurgers Leave a Comment

Alright, so recently I’ve spoken with a number of people about workflow in OSX. Now that so many people are getting Macs (yay!), people are learning to use them to be productive as well as have fun. The following is a quick run-down of how I use my Mac to be productive every day.

First explanation: I stay busy. My “main job” dictates most of my computer usage. I sell promotional products with ACI | Angela Conrad, Inc. I absolutely love my job.
I also work as the Production Administrator for New Life Church, which involves lots of time in Planning Center Online, lots of time in email, and a WHOLE lot of time communicating with our team and our volunteers (around 50).

Last but not least, I own Grocery Gopher. We’re a full-service grocery shopping & delivery firm based in Central Arkansas.

E-mail & communication
I send an average of 250-300 emails a day, while receiving closer to 400 (usually only about 250 requiring responses). I’m also traveling a lot – I work at my office some, at home some, in Starbucks some, in client’s offices some, etc. For this reason I definitely suggest using webmail, or pushing all mail to GMail or an Exchange server… Being able to access all email is crucial to pull back up quotes, proofs, etc. Plus, Apple’s new boolean search features will allow you to use Mail & iOS devices to search all mail on the server (yay for those of us with over 14K saved emails). I also find that responding to email as soon as it’s received is the best bet… If you let it stack up it’s too easy to get behind. If I’m not in the office responding as messages are received, I make sure to respond 3 times daily – once before leaving the house, once after lunch, and once before bed.

Design
My job deals a lot with design. For this reason, I leave Adobe Illustrator & Adobe Photoshop open all day… I only keep open what I’m actually working on, especially in Photoshop. Render files will kill your speed & bog down your hard drive. Now that Adobe CS supports tabs, keeping things organized is much easier.

Notes & important info
I leave text edit & stickies in my dock. Both come standard on a Mac and open really quickly. I leave usernames & passwords that I use frequently in stickies, and current project notes in a file in text edit. I leave a shortcut to my list of projects in my dock all the time (this file is called AC List – as soon as I speak with someone about an order, quote them, or talk to them on the phone about any specifics, the details go into this. I can be on it in seconds flat, but don’t leave it open). Getting to these things quickly without leaving them open all the time is crucial, and for me this is so much better than having them tied up in a web based interface. It’s what’s tried the test of time here.

OSX features
The biggest thing for me here is definitely how I save & organize files and also how I use Expose & hot corners. This is all found in System Preferences –> Expose. I don’t use Spaces – I found it to be more cumbersome than beneficial. My top left corner is Desktop. When I go to the top left corner, all windows fly off and show the desktop. My bottom right is all windows… it shows everything I have open at the time and lets me access them quickly.

Using the hot corners --> all windows feature lets me quickly access all windows.

Next, I work off my desktop. All files get saved to my desktop before going to their final destination. At the end of the day I clean it off – delete what needs to be gotten rid of, and then send everything else to the appropriate folders. Since I save so many files, my desktop can get nasty quickly. For this reason I only keep what’s current on there, and I keep the labels as small as possible. To do this, option click on your desktop, choose “show view options”, change icon size to the smallest possible, and put the labels on the right. Then you end up with this:

Isn't it pretty!?!

Next, my top right corner goes to my screen saver, which requires a password 5 seconds after starting (this can be changed in System Preferences –> Security –> General (choose “Require password 5 seconds after sleep or screen saver begins). This way when I get up and walk away from my computer I know that nobody will be snooping.

Finally, I use a MacBook Pro 13” and have some preferences I’ve developed over time. I leave tapping enabled (where I can “click” on something using my track pad without having to physically push on the trackpad – I can just tap it) to make for quieter computing. I leave 2 fingers as a secondary tap and 2 fingers as a scroll. This is the same as the “right click” function and scroll function with a Windows PC or with a mouse. This lets me do all this without having to move to another peripheral or take my hands away from the trackpad. I leave my dock small with medium magnification so I make the most use out of my screen.

File Organization
This is probably what will vary the most from person to person. I work with a number of clients and have multiple projects going for them at a time. For that reason, I have a specific naming system for everything. For example, if I was doing pens for New Life, I’d name the file as NLCPens6.11. I never leave any spaces in the file name, and the client name is always first. For this reason, OSX’s spotlight feature makes it very easy to find files for clients that I don’t do a ton for (for example, a family that orders reunion shirts from me once a year doesn’t warrant their own folder – they go in a “occasional” folder with the same naming system as everything else). Files are then organized by client:

Alphabetical view of major client folders

Inside the client folders, I leave things organized by the Date Modified so I can find what I’m working on:

Files organized by date modified

All this works together to make files quick and easy to find and my workflow goes quickly and smoothly.

Any thoughts or questions? I’m always anxious to find out what other people are doing to make their workflow smooth.

Happy working!