Join NFIB Current Issue
|
|
|
Join NFIB Current Issue |
|
 |  |  |  |  |
 |
| |  |  |
|
AboutMyBusinessmag.comMyBusiness Magazine NFIB Advertising Categories Accounting Economy Employees Finance Humor Insurance Legal Life-Work Management Marketing News Motivation Policy Politics Profiles Resources Sales Startup Technology Web ExtrasSUBSCRIBE BY RSS  What's this? |
|
Features - May/June 2001
No one has to tell you that life is getting more complicated.
For the owners of Daedalus Books, sticking to the basics has enabled them to succeed while so many other independent bookstores succumb to chain and dotcom competition. Owners Helaine Harris and Robin Moody have focused on reduced-price remainder books for 20 years, expanding their mail-order and online bookstore into retail and wholesale sales. "It's always been about the books," Harris says. "We don't just buy books that are going to sell; we're focused on good books." Daedalus's fixation on remainder books is the essence of simplicity, because the company brings back to the market overlooked titles, rather than adding to the flood of new books. "We are devoted to keeping these good books before the reading public," Harris says. That means rather than romance books, which Harris knows would sell, Daedalus reintroduces quality books in their catalog and on their shelves, because they think such titles should be out there. Simplicity doesn't mean capping profit. Daedalus, at http://www.daedalusbooks.com, is nearing $20 million in annual sales, has 100 employees, and has expanded three times to now operate out of a 145,000-square-foot warehouse in Columbia, Md. Last year, it opened a 12,000-square-foot retail outlet store. Harris credits the company's growth to listening to it customers, as well as sticking to its belief in the market for good books. "I am my customer in a lot of ways," Harris says. "This company has always been a way to express my interests."
Keeping quality product the priority has helped Alan Pugsley make Shipyard Brewing Co., http://www.shipyard.com, a success for the last seven years. "The beer is more important than anything," says Pugsley, master brewer. Raised in England with a passion for beer, Pugsley and co-owner Fred Forsley opened the brewery, restaurant and store on Portland, Maine's historic waterfront in 1994. Remaining true to the traditions of English breweries, Pugsley refuses to automate his brewing process, because he feels it sacrifices the beverage's quality. Shipyard Brewing makes and distributes nine varieties of beers and recently opened a brewery in the Orlando National Airport. Take control of your business and life. If you're already running at top speed, you can't make time for the things you enjoy unless you cut out something else. Start with the products or services that cause you more grief than they're worth, or that you simply hate.
That's what Gray's Drug did five years ago. For over 100 years, the family-owned drugstore served customers on Main Street in Franklin, Tenn. But by the mid-1990s, owner Ralph Duke and daughter Laurie Gulan were increasingly spending time keeping up with federal and state health insurance regulations, and less time on their business. So in 1996, they sold off Gray's prescription files and reinvented the shop as Gray's, a traditional card and gift store, selling soda, snacks and unique collectibles. The result has been a younger customer base, less time spent on back office functions and a general sense of relief at no longer being the middleman for customers and their insurance companies. "We spent so much time on the phone with HMOs, where the customer would say they were covered and we had to explain they weren't," says Gulan, who's worked at Gray's since she was a teen. Now, Gulan's time is freed up to spend talking and listening to her customers, so she has a better idea what to stock. The store's sales are up, and Gulan has the luxury of being able to take a vacation now. "Before, the paperwork would just back up and it was go, go, go," she says. "Simplifying has made me much happier." Gulan isn't alone: 86 percent of Americans who voluntarily simplified reported that they are happier as a result, according to a survey by public television network PBS. Lowell Miles learned the hard way that an expanded product line doesn't always mean better business. Since 1962 he's run Miles Fiberglass in Portland, Ore., primarily making products for mobile home makers and tanks for the building industry. He couldn't resist the lure of the hot tub market in the go-go 1980s, though. "I thought it would be a good fit because it used the same materials and processes as the other items we make," Miles said. So he bought another building and bought out a local spa maker. It took just four years for the spa business to put Miles Fiberglass in hot water. "The banks were advising me to bankrupt that portion of the business, but the original side of my business was doing OK, so I made arrangements with my creditors to pay them off," Miles said. "It turned out the spa business wasn't a good fit with my personality. It was about dealing with dealers, which I hate." Today, Miles Fiberglass is healthy again, focused on its original products. It's grown to 100 employees, and Miles opened a second location in Oregon City. "We've been able to expand our original business, which we know very well, without getting sidetracked into something else," Miles says. Change your definition of success. Although most Americans are working longer hours, surveys show we're less satisfied with our lives. The realization that standard of living does not equal quality of life gives new life to the old clich?: Money can't buy happiness.
That realization came to Mike Dunton after spending 20 years working for a technology company. He left it all behind to start Victory Seeds on his family farm in Molalla, Ore. "I was working 50 hours a week and not seeing my oldest kids grow up," Dunton says. He launched the mail order company Victory Seeds, http://www.victoryseeds.com, in 1999, selling only heirloom seeds-varieties of fruits, vegetables and flowers introduced 50 or more years ago. For Dunton, simplifying meant a vocation he believed in-saving seeds from extinction and making his living from the land. It also meant being in control of his time and deciding how he wanted to spend it. "As long as I'm able to do the things I'm passionate about and my bills are getting paid, I consider myself successful," he says. Dunton also shows that simplicity is not anti-technology. He's used e-mail and the Internet to keep up with customers and run his business more efficiently. Obviously, if you own a business, making money has to be your goal-you're not a nonprofit. But simple living is recognizing that money isn't an end in itself or a measure of success, but a way to expand your opportunities and make life more enjoyable. Steve Dubin started his own public relations company, PR Works, with the intention to live a more deliberate life. He purposely located in Norwell, Mass., 10 miles outside of Boston, to save on rent and avoid fighting the daily commute. By keeping staff down to five over the last decade, Dubin spends less of his time on managerial tasks and more time dealing with clients. He also turns down clients that expect 24-hour service. Those cost savings are passed on to clients in the form of lower fees. "We've created a more pleasant life for ourselves, so most of us can get home for dinner at 5:30 p.m., can scoot to a ballet recital or school play," says Dubin, who previously worked for a large advertising and PR firm. The result is a smaller company, but one that by Dubin's measure is more successful. Because he keeps the number of clients down, he's able to spend more time with each one and develop long-term relationships. "My goal has always been to live very comfortably, as opposed to a revenue or salary number," Dubin says. "And that's what I have. Plus, I'm not on the make 24-hours a day trying to find more clients." An online presence has helped Dubin simplify even further. He recently added the Web site http://www.prworkzone.com, where clients can choose individual projects, such as a press release or a company newsletter, and pay for them online. Besides generating additional revenue, this gives PR Works fill-in projects to handle during down times. Live your life and run your business consistent with your values.
Lundberg Family Farms is an example of a business that uses sustainable farming practices to not only benefit the environment and community, but also to tap into the exploding natural foods market. Through their focus on organic rice they've created a highly profitable, yet simple, niche. "It's about working in harmony with nature," says Ingrid Lundberg, granddaughter of founder Albert Lundberg. After seeing the ravages of the Dustbowl that resulted from poor soil management, Albert recognized the need to work with the environment when starting his farm in the Sacramento Valley in 1937. For example, instead of burning the fields between crops, the Lundbergs enrich their soil with organic matter. This makes the fields an ideal winter habitat for migratory birds and waterfowl, which descend upon the dormant rice fields and deposit natural fertilizers. Today, the 120-employee Lundberg farm sells 75 different rice products, from rice cakes to rice milk and unique rice breeds like Black Japonica. They also sell online at http://www.lundberg.com. Underlying all they do is their mission to "profitably produce and market good tasting, healthy and unique high quality rice and rice products in a manner that respects customers', employees', growers', stockholders' and the environment's needs," Lundberg says.
Another company that's tapped into the simplicity movement to both add value to the community and make a profit is Greenmarketplace.com. The two-year-old online retailer (http://www.greenmarketplace.com), sells environmentally friendly products, ranging from soaps to socks to vegetarian snacks. Owner Josh Knauer started Greenmarketplace.com with the goal of not just making environmentally and socially conscious products available online, but also educating customers about their alternatives to everyday items. "I have no smaller goal than to have a positive effect on our planet and create a positive future for hopefully my children and the world," he says. "The success of this business is measured first and foremost by profitability, but also by the health of our employees, our relationships with our manufacturers and the effect we have on the environment." Knauer's company has seen gross revenue swell 15 to 20 percent each month since start-up. More importantly, he and his 10 employees are living out their values on a daily basis. Both Greenmarketplace.com and Lundberg Farms show that there is often crossover between simplicity and a concern for the earth. Often, by cutting down on clutter in your life and business, you'll find you are recycling more or wasting less. Living in a way that minimizes destruction of the planet's diminishing resources might just be a side effect of your attempt at simple living, or -- like Lundberg and Knauer -- it might become a central tenet of your business. Get rid of clutter. Cutting down on the junk mail and unsolicited phone calls you deal with everyday is a step on the simple living path. Write to the Direct Marketing Association and request that your name be removed from the list it circulates. Send your name, address and phone number to: Direct Marketing Association P.O. Box 9008 Farmingdale, NY, 11735. To put a halt to telemarketers, write to the telephone arm of the Direct Marketing Association. Mail your name, address and phone number to: P.O. Box 9014 Farmingdale, NY, 11735. Don't forget about reducing the e-mail crowding your computer's inbox. Remove yourself from unwanted maillists, and use a filter to help keep work and personal e-mails separate. It's a path, not a destination. Little surprise that simplicity is gaining in popularity, especially among entrepreneurs. It's an expected backlash to the "built to flip" model of so many Internet-related businesses, which had the main purpose of making their founders dotcom millionaires. This year, as many of those paper profits crumbled with the tightening financial markets, many small business owners are getting back to the basics in their business. So many entrepreneurs started their companies with the belief that through work, they could achieve a sense of meaning in their lives. Through simplicity, small business owners can ensure that their work provides a sense of purpose that goes beyond just making money, to making a life. Some simple places to start The Simple Living Network, found online at http://www.simpleliving.net, offers tools and examples for living a healthy, simple lifestyle. Seeds of Simplicity is a national, nonprofit organization helping to mainstream simplicity. Find out more at http://www.seedsofsimplicity.org or by calling 1-877-867-8833. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Simple Living, by Georgene Lockwood (Alpha Books, $16.95). A great place to begin your simple quest, it covers the basics of how and why to live simply. The Simple Living Guide, by Janet Luhrs (Broadway, $20). A reference book offering help in getting back to the basics in your work, family, home and lifestyle. |
|
|
|
|
|
