ActionCOACH
Hot Tip of the Week
When you establish core values for your business, you will attract like-minded people to your organization.
Core values are a set of vital and time-tested guiding principles.
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Are you joining the club?
ActionCLUB, our signature educational course for business, owners starts next week. It's revamped, shorter sessions with more impact; don't miss out on loving your business again!
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In the coming weeks, we are interviewing local business owners to see how they are doing. We are publishing brief articles about each business - maybe you can relate to some of these business owners? Please consider supporting these businesses. Contact us to be interviewed at spokane@actioncoach.com or call us at 509-455-5053. |
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Interview #1
Owner: Tiffany Cable
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What the business does: Cable said, "We are a neighborhood bakery; we try to do as much as we can without preservatives. Ingredients for our baked goods are processed locally, we use local fruit growers from Green Bluff; truffles from Spokandy; we offer gluten free items from Spokane's Boots Bakery and bread items from Twenty-Seventh Heaven bakery." Call ahead or check the website for hours of operation.
Target audiences: They offer 99% acid free coffee, which appeals to older customers. They have a good mix of customers from local mom's to corporate partnerships. They don’t deliver, but do offer curbside pick-up for online orders. They are building the corporate side of businesses with breakfast sandwiches and scones.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business? Traffic-wise, they don't have people coming into eat, it's all pick-up at this time, so that has been an impact. Cable said, "People love to come inside to eat and see things – there is a lot to be said about seeing and smelling the pastries."
What has she learned? Cable said, "The biggest thing we did is, within a week, we had it set up so everything can be ordered online. We encourage customers to order ahead. It gives us a heads up on how much to bake." She said that at first they were donating a lot to charity; but now it is better because they can get the pre-orders. They also added outside chairs and tables; she said, "Customers can sit outside anytime. People can either come inside and order or place orders online." She added, "It's great, we’ve been able to stay in business; it's a supportive community. We hope to be open more hours in September."
She is inspired by: "Love of the community; I have customers that have donated money to the business; they are happy we are here and really want us to succeed; customers want us here - that is really special."
Special offer: Come into the shop to purchase and buy one, get one free.
Contact: 1612 N Barker Road Suite 101, Spokane Valley, WA 99016, 509.242.3189, TIFFANY@BLISSFULWHISK.COM, http://www.blissfulwhisk.com
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Interview #2
Owner: Kaston Pederson
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What the business does: Opened in October 2019, Crimson Hearth offers homemade breakfasts and lunches with an emphasis on high quality food and affordable pricing. They also use special family recipes from Denmark. The restaurant has an altruistic bent as well, they offer a ministry from the restaurant, where they provide soup and sandwiches for those in need. They will hand out soup cards and grilled cheese sandwiches for free.
Target audiences: Pederson said, "We designed our menu so that it can work for any demographic; breakfast places usually attract elderly on Sunday’s after church; dinner and lunch menu items can target younger ages. We are trying to develop new ideas, although we are known as a breakfast house; the largest demographic is older folks. The lunch crowd is coming back."
How has COVID-19 impacted your business? At the time of the interview, they were only open at 50% capacity. They are working to adapt to the situation every day. They've had to assess the menu, how much food to make from scratch, how many baked goods are offered daily, to include their specialty, aebleskivers, wherein the batter needs to be used same day. They've also had staffing considerations. They opened up a drive-thru and online ordering.
What has he learned? Pederson said, "COVID-19 has given us a chance to step back and re-evaluate what we do; one thing is on our menu; we tried to do a lot and we like to have options for people, but sometimes you have to look at what you have to work with and what you can truly manage. Because everything is from scratch, what do we offer that makes sense in the business each day; that’s been the biggest thing; there's always trial and error in everything you do. We’ve grown an incredible amount and have developed consistency over time. For us we are looking at the possibility of coming back to dinner."
He is inspired by: "The support of people, guests and employees," he said. Pederson asks, "How can we help each other out? Between local restaurants and business owners; seeing how we can rally together is the biggest thing." Another local restaurant helped them to store food when they had a power outage.
Special offer: Buy one get one free on espresso drinks if you mention this newsletter.
Contact: 11003 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley, WA 99206
Drive-Thru & Dine-In, Monday-Friday 7am-2pm, Saturday & Sunday 7am-2:30pm, Tel: (509) 598-8927, Email: crimsonhearthsocial@gmail.com, https://www.crimsonhearth.com/
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Interview #3
Owner: Jim Lusk, associate David Bailey was interviewed
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What the business does: They provide retirement investment strategies to include diversification, wealth accumulation, investment options, tax shelters, long term care strategies, estate strategies and pension advice. Owner, Jim Lusk, wrote book, "Die Neatly."
Target audiences: Public employees - city, state, county, federal, anyone tied to a public employee retirement system, teachers retirement systems, municipalities with pension programs. Bailey said, "There are not a lot of people servicing this market."
How has COVID-19 impacted your business? Bailey said, "It has enabled us to be a better, stronger business with the use of Zoom technology; we’ve gotten really good at it; instead of presenting in front of a live audience, we present online. We are seeing a lot of early retirements." One strategy they employed to grow the business is finding lists of public employees and holding pension webinars. He said that people are eager to discuss retirement now.
What has he learned? Know your client in their vernacular; speak their language - understanding your client is important.
He is inspired by: Having a full calendar and keeping busy.
Contact: Retirement Nationwide, Spokane, WA | Tri-Cities, WA | Puyallup, WA| Coeur D’Alene, ID, Phone: 509.850.1150, Email:Jim@RetirementNationwide.com, https://retirementnationwide.com/
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Interview #4
Owner, Tara Michielli
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What the business does: CUTCO has been around for 71 years, the knives are USA made; she has been with CUTCO for 12 years; serves both residential and businesses; works with anyone that wants good knifes – they sharpen free for life. She said, "In the business realm, I help businesses appreciate employees and clients; can engrave. Kitchen knives, cookware, flatware, garden tools; if we can’t guarantee it, we won’t sell it."
Target audiences: I serve a lot of residential – people who like to cook and who like good quality products; people who eat. In the business world a lot of realtors and lenders purchase for closing gifts; business owners also like to provide Cutco knives for gifts to their clients.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business? She said, "All trade shows have been cancelled, that’s where a great portion of new business comes from. As an independent rep with Cutco, I can’t pay for advertising, I depend on new business for lead generation." But nonetheless, Michielli broke her own personal record for May – July. She said that she is a hard worker "...a worker bee." She said that she talks on the phone all day; she asks people for referrals; she visits real estate offices, she works hard on market penetration.
She is inspired by: "How local businesses are banding together and promoting one another – being there for one another; human kindness exists, just open your eyes."
Contact: Tara Michielli, Gifts with an Edge, tara@giftswithanedge.com, giftswithanedge.com
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Interview #5
Owner: Chris Wood
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What the business does: Chris Wood of the self-titled Wood Insurance Network Group grew up in the insurance industry with his father and grandfather at the helm. He offers consulting on personal and commercial lines of insurance. Chris also asks, "How many relationships can I create?"
Target audiences: Commercial and residential (homeowners) clientele. He said he doesn't have to worry about meeting quotas, so he can really focus on the clients. He said a big seller right now is cyber insurance for business owners.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business? Wood said, "It’s allowed me to stay focused on being very streamlined; I was pretty streamline before, it’s only me; but now we don’t know when business will get back to normal." He said the traditional ways of earning new business (meetings and networking events) have been halted; therefore, he is invested in contacting one person at a time and investing in those relationships. He said that he has been more successful the past five months than he was in eight years.
He is inspired by: "What is really inspiring is how businesses are adapting and how businesses are surviving or thriving. One of my clients, a website company, is having the most success during this time."
Special offer: I am available to help anyone that has questions they want answered about commercial insurance, call or email. There's no obligation to talk further if you just need a question answered. People want to deal with one person, that’s my differentiator.
Contact: Chris Wood, https://www.woodinsurancenetworkgroup.com/, 421 W Riverside Avenue, Suite 668, Spokane, Washington 99201, Chris@woodinsurancenetworkgroup.com
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Interview #6
Owner: Andrew Hite
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What the business does: Tribe Media Lab offers digital storytelling through strategy and content. They started in June 2020, amid the COVID virus, but had clients right away. They offer a unique model with high quality production at a reasonable price. They want to help tell a story instead of simply producing marketing materials.
Target audiences: Small businesses and entrepreneurs.
How has COVID 19 affected your business? It forced us to go rapidly digital with the business. We accomplished 10 years of planning and development of what type of business we'd like to be in 10 days. Hite said, "As horrible as COVID has been, I am optimistic; it has broken a lot of habits, and it has given a lot of people time at home with their families. I was able to spend more time with my family working from home; for those that wanted a pivot in their lives, who hated their jobs, they may be able to get out of being stuck in a rut. It will be cool to see people switch up their lives."
Special offer: Call to action - we are here to help community organizations; we will provide free advice through a 10 minute phone call about your business and goals.
Contact: Andrew Hite, https://www.tribemedialab.com/, Tribe Media Lab
608 W Second Ave Spokane, WA, (509) 499-7999, andrew@tribemedialab.com
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What do our clients think of business coaching? Find out! |
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ActionCLUB Totally Revamped and Offered this Fall |
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What's new?
- Virtual only
- Meets 1x per week for 1 hour
- Only $99 per month for 3 months (super cost savings!)
- Each week features instruction on business principles
- Each week provides you the opportunity to work on your business with real, actionable tasks to move the business forward
- Engaging and fun
At the conclusion of ActionCLUB (mid-November), leave with the following things completed:
- Goals, plans and a solid direction for the future of the business
- Marketing Plan
- An understanding of systems development for more efficiency and to leverage your time
- Core values, mission and vision for the business
- Understanding of business financials and the numbers that matter
- Knowledge on selling, communication, and working with customers
- Organizational chart and information on better hiring
- 5 Ways to increase revenue and profits
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