Quality customer service starts with you. Sadly, providing good customer service is becoming a thing of the past. There are several companies that do not make providing quality customer service, a part of the goods and services that they provide.
For you, as a business owner, keeping and obtaining customer service quality if key for your business. In order to do this start with your employees. Did you know that your employees are your customers too?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, there are two definitions for a customer:
someone who buys goods or services from a business
a person who has a particular quality
As a customer, in some cases, your employees may purchase your goods and services for their personal use or merely tell others about them. Another way to look at it is that they are the face for others who purchase your goods and services when they enter your storefront and the voice they hear when a call is made. We all know that in most cases when a company is treating their employees well, it translates to the behavior of the employees that we interact with.
If you focus and invest in your internal customers (meaning your employees) you will, in turn, create a model for success. Your employees are a part of the business. Your employees are a part of the team. Are you frequently looking for ways to reward the services of your employees? Ask yourself, how am I treating my internal customers, your employees?
Want to learn how to demystify the elements of being a certified supplier? Join Vaneese Johnson and Vernita Naylor for our Get Your Business Certified Conference on August 28. We will take you through the steps for getting certified, reveal insider tips and show you how to market and partner with your ideal corporate and government buyer.
Register today at Get Your Business Certified remember Space is Limited. As a bonus all Registrants will received a Free, Autographed Copy of Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps by Author Vernita Naylor. Put your city on the Get Your Business Certified Tour today at services@jabezenterprisegroup.com (Subject: Get Your Business Certified Tour Kick-Off) or contact us at 1-800-865-0701.
Rhea Aguinaldo (Small Business Majority) and Vernita Naylor (Jabez Enterprise Group (JEGroup)) National Press Club
SERIES 2 – DAY 2 NATIONAL PRESS CLUB Morning Sessions
Day 2 morning sessions at the National Press Club. Our day started at 7.a.m and ended at 8 p.m it was power packed, let me tell you all about it. Despite the time zone differences for several of us we were happy and elated to meet so many other business owners throughout the U.S. We met in the foyer of the hotels and waited for the buses that would transport us to our first stop, the National Press Club.
Panel 1: Access to Capital
Panel 1: Access to Capital
At the National Press Club John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO, Small Business Majority opened up the morning with a Welcome and Opening Remarks. Panel 1 Access to Capital: The Key to Entrepreneurship and Economic Development facilitated by Amy Cortese, Journalist and Founder, Locavesting Media included Connie Evans, President and CEO, Association for Enterprise Opportunity; Brayden McCarthy, Head of Policy & Advocacy, Fundera and Catarah Coleman, Co-Owner, Southern Girl Desserts. This panel addressed a concern of Hazel Hector, Founder and Executive Director, Jubilee Mobile Institute, Inc in her letter to me for the Summit, access to capital. Here are some highlights of what was discussed in Panel 1:
For banks small businesses are seen as high cost risk factors
There are about 8,0000 businesses denied daily for funding
Women represent one out of every 23 loans
Women businesses grow slower than men
Women businesses do not seek loans or funding for their businesses
There are several non-traditional funding sources available to small business owners: Kiva and TILT Forward that do not use FICO Scores but other scoring factors; Lending Club (peer-to-peer lending based in San Francisco); RapidAdvance in partnership with SBA and Credit Unions
Additionally, several companies offer business credit cards to help grow your business and some of them offer low interest rates and flexible payment plans
It is in your best interest to seek funding before you need it, than when you need it. If you wait until then you will be susceptible to seek any type of funding presented to you.
Let’s hear from Catarah Coleman, Co-Owner, Southern Girl Desserts as she tells her story about her funding experience:
My partner, Shoneji and I began to seek a small loan in 2012 to cover expenses for our build out as we prepared to open the doors to our mall based bakery. We were denied. Then immediately we were approached by a customer who informed us that we could receive $40,000 within three days with no collateral. We tried it and it worked; it was so easy! That loan we were able to pay back within six months with no problem. Then we decided that we needed some working capital and went to our bank for the loan. We thought that since we had been using some of the small business products that they offered (i.e. payroll) and was depositing an average of $50,000 a month that it would not be a problem getting a loan from them but we found out that this was not enough. Again we were denied by them.
Ironically, we had been receiving several types of literature, emails and phone calls from other lending sources offering us quick cash. Since we had previously been able to pay off our previous loan quickly and the process was easy, we decided to accept one of the several offers that we had received. This offer was accompanied by a broker. The broker allegedly performed the research and provided us the best type of loan for our needs, so we were told. Once again we were able to quickly secure another loan, but then things changed. This loan in particular began to interfere with our cash flow. The payback rate began to defeat the purpose of acquiring working capital in the first place.
Let you tell you why this arrangement was not good for us. There were two loans with a payback rate of 30 and 90 days. Every dollar and cent from the merchant side to the daily ACH withdrawals was drowning us. Shoneji and I were so stressed because I was getting married and we still had to manage payroll. We had to do what it took to stay afloat and still pay back the loans that we had acquired for working capital; which actually did not turn out that way after all. We did not know what to do but one day we received a flyer that changed our lives from Opportunity Fund.
At first glance the flyer from Opportunity Fund seemed the same as the other funding information that we had been receiving but with one caveat upon thoroughly reading their literature I felt that maybe we should give them a call. I don’t know how but I felt that it was worth a shot. “I felt as if Jesus himself was on the other line and my faith was restored! I knew I was on the phone with someone who wanted to help and was going to do their best to do so.” It took about two years, but September 2014, our initial loan with Opportunity Fund helped to save our business, sanity and to bring things back to normal. We found out later that those two loans put us at a 56% interest rate; we would have never been able to get out of that bind at the rate this arrangement had us going.
Shoneji and I will forever to grateful to Opportunity Fund for coming when they did. Now we only have an 8.5% interest rate after Opportunity Fund got all of this funding fiasco cleared up. And none of those other loans show up on our credit report! We knew Opportunity Fund was different because they offered low interest rates, longer terms and Eric and his team had a genuine concern about the financial health of our business, and this is why they are so special to us. We were able to experience a human side of lending.
I advise anyone to ask questions before they sign anything! Make sure that they explain everything clearly and that you truly understand what the pros and cons are of the loan. Don’t feel pressured to accept the loan terms, if they want your business they will make the necessary adjustments. And if they don’t that lender does not have your best interest at heart.
This was one huge learning experience for us. We knew that baking cakes and pies would take us on a journey, well it has and we are better for it. “Be present in all aspects of your business, it could determine your longevity!”
Thank you Catarah and Shoneji, Owners of Southern Girl Desserts, for being candid about your lending experience. If anyone is interested in learning more about Southern Girl Desserts visit http://www.southerngirldesserts.com/, email catarah@southerngirldesserts.com or shoneji@southerngirldesserts.com. Also you can connect with them on Twitter @Dessertdivas, or on Facebook or Instagram @southerngirldesserts.
Tell us a lesson that you learned in being a business owner, we would love to hear from you. Of all of the submittals we will choose a few comments to post, will it be yours?
Connect with us @JEGroupBiz on Twitter, or Jabez Enterprise Group on LinkedIn or Facebook to see what we are doing next.
Super Early Friends Discount of $197 with a $50 deposit payment.
Vernita Naylor, Founder/Owner, Jabez Enterprise Group (JEGroup), Integrated Business Resource (IBR) Company that has been providing business development and government contracting education and training services to both corporate (B2B) and government (B2G) entities and their stakeholders for over thirteen (13) years was recently chosen as one of the Nation’s Top 100 Most Pioneering Small Business Owners and received a special invitation to the White House. During her time at the White House Vernita will be leading the charge in giving a voice to disadvantaged and underrepresented business owners in how the White House and the government can better serve these business owners. Vernita is also a trailblazer in her own right as being the only minority woman to pen a technical guide on government contracting,Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting, B.E.S.T. Publishing (A Division of Jabez Enterprise Group (JEGroup). Get the Cheese is ideal for growing business owners.
Vernita Naylor is an industry expert in diversity, inclusion and government contracting. Her experiences: 1) Former federal government employee for over 25 years; 2) Dallas/Fort Worth Minority Business Economic Input (D/FWMBEIC) Vice-Chair and 3) as an underrepresented business owner with experiences in working with both government and corporate entities. She has matched qualified suppliers with buyers to help the buyers meet their diversity and inclusion goals. She is sought after for speaking engagements, book signings, as well as consulting, training and education services. Clients include Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce (SVBCC); American Express; Scotts Valley Tribal TANF; Richmond Black Chamber of Commerce (RCOC); Richmond Main Street; SCORE; SF Small Business Week; SBA; Examiner.com; Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Women’s Initiative; Green For All; Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and Random House.
Vernita holds a Project Management Certification, U.C. Berkeley and Business Management Bachelor’s Degree, San Francisco State University.
If you are a government or corporate entity and need our services to educate your stakeholders on best ways to partner with you or help in meting your diversity and inclusion goals contact us at services@jabezenterprisegroup.com or visit us at http://www.jabezenterprisegroup.com. Subscribe to JEGroup by Blog or Tweet at https://thejegroupzone.wordpress.com/ or @JEGroupBiz.
Whether you have been in business for two years or twenty years, every business owner goes through a business slump. A slump is a decline or fall that can happen at any time in your business. When you hear slump, people automatically think of their revenue.
Before going further let’s explore a few slumps that can affect you as a business owner: A slump can occur in your personnel where you can’t seem to hire anyone or find the right person for the position or introducing new products or services into your business where your ideas are stumped and nothing appears to be going right. Whatever the reason for the slump we have all been through it at one time or another. Did you know that a slump can occur in other areas of your life as well?
Let’s take a writer for example. A writer can get writer’s block and nothing comes to mind, things are stagnant and the writer in unable to move forward. Despite the overall success of the writer being unable to compose a sentence, paragraph or book can cause a tremendous slump.
This type of thing happens even to the ‘best’ of us. Do you know that there is something that you can do to help overcome any type of slump and to keep it at bay? Well its simple…Balance.
What is balance and how can you acquire it? Good question. Now what is considered balance to one person may be different to another. Here are some must haves that I highly recommend to help you in your journey for balance:
Connecting with a higher power
Exercise regularly
Adequate sleep
Proper eating
Faith in yourself
Circle of support
Ability to take risks without internal and external judgment
Everything you do affects you and your life. If your world is out of balance then your business and your mind will become out of sync as well. Re-evaluate your life and see where the slump lies and make the necessary adjustments.
What does trust mean to you? According to Merriam-Webster trust is the belief that something or someone is reliable, honest, good or effective. According to Stephen M.R. Covey, The Speed of Trust, costs are reduced when trust is present.
He gave an example of how Warren Buffet was able to quickly acquire one of his businesses in a non-traditional expeditious manner 1) due to his integrity and character in business dealings 2) his perseverance in acquiring businesses and 3) the processes that he uses in acquiring those businesses. It has been stated that Buffet’s lifestyle, openness and way of doing business exudes trust. He can make a billion dollar business deal on a merger with just a shake of the hand.
Despite Warren Buffett’s net worth of $58.5 billion it is said that his humility and the ability to trust him makes any type of business deal with him easy. Did you know that your character says a lot about you as a business owner or entrepreneur as well? Well it does. Buffet is not the only one that can establish this type of trust especially in business dealings.
You can establish a solid form of trust as well. Ask yourself: What do others say about me? Can they trust me? When they talk about me will they use the words sincerity, trustworthy and humility?
If you believe that none of these words or any similar will be said about you, then what will be said instead? Well one thing that you can do is to do your best. While doing your best enforce honor, respect, integrity and good character in your business dealings and let the universe do the rest.
So could trust=speed? It’s possible. Try it for yourself.
Ball of Hope Photo: Courtesy of Vernita Naylor (JEGroup)
When we think about a brand we connect it with a product or service but we must start to focus more on our self-brand. Just as a brand speaks volumes for a product or service, it can for you as well. Take a minute and ask yourself what your self-brand reflects? Does it compliment you? Is it consistent or unstable? Let me explain further.
When people look at you especially as a business owner they make a judgment call and when you speak they make another one. Sometimes the external and internal judgments that people make are consistent with each other and sometimes it is not. Right or wrong, good or bad this is what people do.
Sometimes it is your self-brand alone that can either sell people in wanting to build a relationship or do business with you or not. Most people like consistency. They do business based upon it. Like flying with Southwest Airlines you know what you will always get: 1) Two bags free luggage check and 2) unreserved seating.
While others thrive on constant change, they seek those with the ability to take risks to do business with. This is what made technology so great because it took a model that seemed unusable and/or unnecessary at the time and made it relevant. This is the same with your self-brand.
It is your self-brand that sets you apart in a room. Take this time to stop and think about your self-brand; what does it say about you? Do people know you when they meet you? Do they know what you represent especially if you are a business owner? Or do you need to reintroduce yourself or your product or service every time you see them?
There are others that I am sure that you can add to these nuggets of wisdom but the goal is to strengthen your self-brand. So the next time you are in a room and doing business think about your self-brand and reflect on: 1) How do others see me? 2) Am I reflecting what I want them to know about me, my product or service? and 3) Is my self-brand effective or ineffective?
Business owners wear many hats from financial management and customer service to marketing. Each year they are faced with the question of if their financial goals were met? One way to meet those goals is through continual education beginning with Get the Cheese, Avoid the Traps: An Interactive Guide to Government Contracting.
Education is the catalyst in not only increasing your business revenue but improving your business’ infrastructure. In today’s market a business owner can become educated through various forums from webinar and in-class workshops to literature. Literature comes in various formats from online to hard-copy.
will take you through the steps for getting certified, reveal insider tips and show you how to market and partner with your ideal corporate and government buyer. 
The JEGroup Zone 