BNGIowa

What's New with the Amish

  One of the cool things about being a member of the Urbandale Chamber of Commerce is attending ribbon cutting ceremonies. It is a chance to meet the owner of a business and get the inside story.

Yesterday, I went to the ribbon cutting ceremony for Simply Amish Furniture on 100th Street in Urbandale. I had been to the store many times before, but there was a new owner and the location changed to across the street. It was a good excuse to check it out. I love looking at and touching Amish furniture. I say "touching" because the finish on the wood is like velvet. The quality is the best I have ever seen.

Since this was a special occasion, some of the Amish furniture builders were there. I had a lovely conversation with one of them. He described a technique used to make the beautiful curves on a bedroom set, one of my favorites. Then he showed me a drawing of a new design. It was one of those exciting conversations that inspire me creatively.

On display was another new design. A bedroom set that was a total surprise. If you have not looked at Amish furniture for a while, you would be shocked. The style was contemporary with a retro twist that had a grace and quality that made me fall in love with it.

Check it out. It is like a trip to an art museum. I highly recommend it.

Collaborate

When I read the article in the newspaper this morning about the "atom smashing scientists," the thing that caught my attention was the cost. I searched for blogs that might give me some insight into why ten billion dollars should be spent on an experiment that might give insight into black holes.

I found a   that suggested collaborative experiments can be valuable. It mentions that the world wide web was the result of a similar collaborative effort.

Personally, I have been collaborating more and more. I like to discuss ideas with others. It is a lot of fun. When I remember to keep my goal in the mix, fun and productivity are a great combination. When the fun and productivity collide, the explosion is valuable. Maybe not worth ten billion dollars, but hey, everything is relative.

I'm On LinkedIn--Now What?

I remember when I first found out about LinkedIn.  It was a couple years ago.  I thought "WOW!  I can upload all of my contacts, see if they're on here, invite the ones that aren't, and I'll be on easy street for the rest of my career doing business based 100% on referrals.  I quickly got to 20 connections, got no business after a week, so I quit working it.  Over a year later, I got a request to connect from someone.  I searched through old emails and finally found my login.  I connected to them and then spent an afternoon searching for other people I knew.  I built my network to about 50 people and then left it alone again.  I just couldn't figure out how to make this work for me.  I was connected to 50+ people, the majority of whom had 3-5 connections with one being me.

Then I stumbled across this book called "I'm on LinkedIn--Now What???"  I finally read it a couple weeks ago.  Now, I've not buried my head in the sand when it comes to social media.  I have a blog.  I'm on Twitter, MyBlogLog, MySpace and a few others since I've signed up on just about every networking site that I've been invited to join figuring I'd be able to pick my favorite and then get everyone I was connected to on the other sites to join me.  Wrong!  That's like going to a networking function, meeting someone you like, and then telling them you'll exchange business cards only if they attend this other function you really like that's happening later in the week.  Doesn't make much sense, does it?

So, back to LinkedIn.  Social media is  all about conversations that are happening all around us.  Just like an in-person conversation, you either have something to add or you don't.  On LinkedIn, the conversation is taking place in the 'answers' section.  You can read through questions on a particular topic and, if you can provide a relevant answer or contribute something, then you spend a few minutes taking part in that conversation.  If you have a question, post it and you will get plenty of answers.  The person who asked the question (you or someone else) chooses the best answer.  The more best answers that are credited to you, the greater your online credibility.  The greater your credibility, the more likely it is that people will want to do business with you.  That's it.  No requesting to connect or begging for introductions.  The winner's in social media are those that know how to be a resource to others without worrying about what's in it for them.

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What Makes Michael Phelps So Special

I was talking with some friends the day after the commentators were talking about Michael Phelps being "built to swim".  He's 6'4" with a 6'7" wingspan.  His legs are suitable for a man who's 6'0" making them extremely powerful for pushing off while his torso is that of a 6'8" man which reduces his drag.  His feet are a size 14 and function as flippers.  He's double jointed in his knees and elbows.  For all of his genetic gifts, his coach credits more than anything his determination and ability to focus.

Someone then asked what all of that has to do with anything.  Considering the source, I took my shot.  "He would make a lousy gymnast."  Then, I got to thinking about it after reading Erin's post on choosing the right professionals .  At 6'4", he'd probably make a pretty good basketball player.  The challenge would be his short legs giving him the up and down court speed of a 6' man.  He's only an inch shorter than Usain Bolt, the sprinter from Jamaica, but again, he'd still have to take 46 strides to cover the 100m vs. Usain's 41.  On the track he's only "6' tall". Back to the gymnast thing, Shawn Johnson would mop the floor with him.

So what makes Michael, Shawn, or Usain special.  It is determining what they do better than anything else and then focusing only on that.  That is what networking is all about.  You decide what you do better than anything else and then build a team around you to make up for the skills you lack.  The value you bring to client relationships is in being able to say "I can't do that but, I know someone who does."

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Finding "The Right Fit"

This past weekend I visited my friends in Iowa City. On my way back to Des Moines, I stopped at the Tanger Outlet Mall in Williamsburg, Iowa. If you are fairly new to central Iowa, or you have been a long time resident and never been to the Tanger Outlet mall I strongly suggest you go, the mall features name brand clothing at discounted prices and can help any budget, especially for school shopping.

Typically when I go shopping, I rarely try any clothes on at the store, I know my pant size and shirt size to the t. But since I was in Williamsburg, (roughly 80-90 miles east of Des Moines), I decided it would be in my best interest to try on the pants I was going to purchase.

Unfortunately they didn't fit, and I didn't find the pants I was looking for (sorry Tanger Outlet Mall). On the way back home I did some calculations if I was to take my traditional shopping approach, $50 for the pants, $30 for gas to get there, $30 for gas to get back= $110, in addition to the time needed for travel; all to return a pair of pants that I should have tried on at the store. Truthfully, the shopping bag would have sat in my room, or in my car or even worse get lost, I would probably be out $50. 

In today's world, businesses take similar approaches in filling vacant positions. Time and money is spent on the job advertisement, time and money is spent on scanning through resumes and applications, time and money is spent on skills testing and screening, all leading up to the critical "first day" for the new employee. After a few weeks one of two scenarios occur: A- the employee works well or  B- the employee isn't "the right fit"  and all that time and money spent on filling a vacant position is lost, and the position still remains vacant.

SOS Staffing specializes in ensuring "the right fit" between employer and employee. Our main goal is "Uniting Talent with Opportunity." We accomplish this through a variety of steps and procedures:

¨      Familiarity with the company

¨      We do the job- this ensures the right match of applicant to skill

¨      Advertise and recruit for the vacant position

¨      Skill test and reference check qualified candidates

Our services save your business time and money, best of all our service comes with a guarantee.

If your company is in need of "the right fit" please visit our website: www.sosstaffing.com

Victor Kennedy

Branch Manager

SOS Staffing Services

515-331-0615-t ext 100

kenned@sosstaffing.com

Interactive Web Site. Play it with your kids.

I attended a meeting yesterday. Like most business people, I attend a lot of meetings. This one was over lunch. I like lunch meetings. It feels like killing two birds with one stone.

The meeting was presented by the Art Directors Association of Iowa. I have been a member of that group for over 30 years. In fact, I volunteered to organize the 50th anniversary event that was held last summer. Anyway, I have had a business as a graphic designer for over 30 years in addition to my business as an Arbonne consultant. So that explains why I went to the meeting.

The speaker was Sonia Greteman. You gotta check out her link. It is an interactive experience. She was a very good speaker and I enjoyed her talk. An audience member asked her how she gets business. She said, "Referrals." She said it is important to "get out there." Her company also does volunteer work.

It is rare that I attend an educational meeting or networking event that I wish I had not. I know it can be overwhelming sometimes, but I agree with other successful people, you have to "get out there." You never know who you will meet, what you will learn and how much fun it can be. By the way, the ADAI 50th anniversary was a blast!

You've already been networking.

  What do you think of when you think about networking?  There's groups like ours that get together formally weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc. to share ideas, learn each other's business goals, and introduce people we care about to those we trust.  Then there's networking events sponsored by your local chamber or a local business looking for exposure.  These are great opportunities to meet new people and to nurture business relationships but, is that all there is to networking?

I've never been one to approach friends and family to tell them about my latest greatest idea.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's just always made me uncomfortable.  However, it seems to happen a lot lately that people I've known for 2, 3, or 5 years or maybe even since childhood ask me what I'm up to and when I tell them, their response is something like "I wish I'd know you were doing that." or "Gosh, I sure could've used your help last summer."  You get my drift.  It's okay and, in fact, important to let the people you know and care about know how you help people.  Just don't "fire hose" them like if you can't even get your friends and family to buy you're going to give up on the business altogether.

But, what about some other ways to network?  How about your morning "cup of joe"?  Do you go to the same place every day?  Now, here's the kicker: Do you walk in or go to the drive-thru?  If you said drive-thru, think about this.  What if you took an extra 10 minutes and went inside every morning, relaxed, and drank that mocha latte out of nice ceramic mug instead of spilling it in your lap when the car in front of you slams on their brakes?  Do you think maybe you might start some conversations with people who got used to seeing you day in and day out?  You'll never know if you keep driving through.

Now, on to this morning and what prompted this post.  A couple years back I decided to quit paying for haircuts.  As a few people pointed out, it was kinda expensive for "no more hair than I've got."  So I bought a pair of clippers and started doing it myself.  Let me rephrase that.  My girlfriend started cutting it for me under my watchful eye; however, she soon tired of me taking the clippers from her and touching up.  So, we started doing it the other way.  I'd go at it first.  A #2 guide over the ears...a #3 guide for the rest of the sides...and then a #5 guide on top to make it look like I've got more than I really do.  Then she comes in, inspects it, giggles sometimes and then starts hitting the places I missed altogether.   Anyway, my clippers conked out and I was faced with a decision: Buy new ones and keep going through that routine or start paying for haircuts again.  Well, I don't care how good a vacuum cleaner you've got.  Cleaning up after a haircut is no picnic.  At least that's what she told me. 

So, I went to this neighborhood barber shop that opened back in the 20s.  There's five stylists, a keg in the back room, and Sven and Ole' jokes flying all over the place.  I forgot how much fun that could be.  The girl that cut my hair pointed out a picture on the mirror of the business's first 4th generation customers.  Two little boys whose family had been coming there since Great-Grandpa started back in the 20s.  Anyway, as I was leaving, my stylist stopped me and asked for my business card to put on the bulletin board next to her station so, if she ran across anyone that should meet me, she'd have it handy.  So there you go, unsolicited, I got what most of us are trying to accomplish through traditional networking.  I think I'll go back only next time, I'll go in the afternoon since there's a keg in the back room.