A weekly dispatch on the three things every small business has to get right: Operations. Marketing. People. Real stories about the structural breakdowns that keep good businesses stuck — and what it looks like when you finally fix them.
supposed to be messy
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Hello Reader, By Saturday night, there were twelve apple pies cooling on my stove. Every fall, we go apple picking. We've done it for as long as hubby and I have been together, and even before that. When he was a little boy, his family built a cute cabin in the Shenandoah Mountains with apple trees right on the property. My mother-in-law even wrote an apple recipe book. These days I bake at least a dozen pies every year, and a few of them are gluten-free. Pie day starts with bowls. I line up about 24 across the counter and measure out every ingredient ahead of time. Then hubby clamps the old-fashioned apple peeler onto the counter and gets cranking. While he peels, I make the filling. (cue flour on every surface of my kitchen) This year I was so proud of us. We drove about an hour to the farm that morning to pick our apples, and got every pie done the same day. I never worry about how they'll turn out. The recipe is nailed down. That took me 35-plus years to get right. It got me to thinking. It's just like this in our business. Think about the last time you brought on a new client. The welcome email went out a day late, or you were digging for a link while they waited. That's normal. It's your first pie. The fix starts with the bowls. What do you need ready before you start? Then write down the steps and who owns each one. In business, we call that a playbook. It won't take you 35 years. Done is better than perfect. I made a one-page recipe card to help you write your first playbook. Grab the Business Recipe Card ← the PDF, no opt in The longer version, with the 24 bowls and how to find your own, is here: Your First Business Playbook Starts Like a Pie Recipe What still feels like your first pie in your business? Hit reply and tell me. I read every one. Shell, Yes! Here's to your success, _______________________________________________________________________ “It’s Just Like This in Our Business”A weekly dispatch on the three things every small business has to get right: Operations. Marketing. People. Real stories about the structural breakdowns that keep good businesses stuck and what it looks like when you finally fix them. |
“It’s Just Like This in Our Business”
A weekly dispatch on the three things every small business has to get right: Operations. Marketing. People. Real stories about the structural breakdowns that keep good businesses stuck — and what it looks like when you finally fix them.
Hello Reader, "We're so busy and I'm all by myself and I can't help you now." That's what the woman at the grocery store told me on Saturday. I'd come in to rent a carpet cleaner, with a storm on the way and the whole town of Pacific Beach stocking up. I said I'd wait. (Cue me settling in by the registers like I lived there.) She came back three more times to tell me she still couldn't help. Meanwhile I could see stock people and a couple of cashiers with nobody in their lines. Then the shift...
Hello Reader, An hour after I told myself "just a few laps around the block," I was still walking. Yesterday I hit the 4pm wall. Hubby usually walks with me, but he was away at a conference, so I made myself a little deal. Some steps are better than none. Then I opened the front door. It was sunny and in the low 70s with a soft breeze, one of those early fall days that feels brand new. One lap turned into a longer loop down a street I haven't walked in a while. I didn't put on a podcast or...
Hello Reader, Hubby and I were talking this week about lasts. We think a lot about firsts. We barely think about lasts at all. There was a last time somebody carried you up to bed. You have no idea when it was. Same with the last tree you climbed, and the last night you stayed outside playing until the streetlights came on. Nobody stops you on the way out the door and says, well, that's the last one. He brought it up because of his parents, and the last time you drive a car. We're getting...