Telefini Small Business Blog

For as long as I can remember, my dad has been a loyal Nordstrom customer. I always liked the smell of the perfumes as you first walked into the store, and hearing the pianist play beautifully near the escalators. As I grew up and to this day, I still appreciate the fantastic selection of children’s shoes - my close friends and family know that with my very small feet, it’s quite challenging to find “grown-up looking” shoes (i.e. shoes that aren’t neon colors or doused in sequins). Now as an entrepreneur, I have developed a true admiration of the Nordstrom way, particularly for their perseverance, commitment to customers, and overall reputation.

Perseverance & Steadiness

In 1901, Wallin & Nordstrom was founded by Carl Wallin and John W. Nordstrom, and in 1928 John’s sons, Elmer and Everett Nordstrom, bought out Wallin’s share of the company. With father and sons in full ownership, the company was ready to go – then came the Great Depression.  It’s astounding to think about this family, with a couple small shoe stores in Seattle, maintaining courage, commitment, and sheer will to continue growing the company. It’s even more incredible to think about where Nordstrom is today. 

For me, Nordstrom epitomizes the potential of a small business growing into a national company, yet retaining the values and personality of a local business. This was due, I’m sure in part to the ability of the company to pass smoothly from one generation to the next - from grandfather, to sons, to grandsons, and now great grandsons. Moreover, each generation was able to find a system that worked best for them with regard to sharing or transferring power and leadership responsibilities – a common pitfall of many family owned businesses. Another tradition contributing to Nordstrom’s resiliency was that for each family member, being a part of the business was always a choice, and regardless of who you were, you had to earn your way to the top. Bruce Nordstrom attributes the success of the company to their ability to maintain an entrepreneurial feel in a multi-billion dollar company, and of course, their understanding of the customer’s role in business (they’re everything)!

Customers & the Inverted Pyramid

...Don’t let your business repeat the mistakes of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

Every year in my high school English classes, we’d focus on one of Shakespeare’s plays. While Julius Caesar was actually my least favorite, I always liked the line, “Beware the Ides of March.”  In thinking about running a business, this quote, along with a simple analysis of the character, Julius Caesar and surrounding events, can provide some insights to ensuring your business strategy is successful.  Disclaimer: I did not major in English Literature, and I fully admit that I’m focusing on a very narrow aspect of the play.  Disclaimer aside, I see three key errors that every business should take heed to avoid.

Mistake 1: Ignoring or misreading warning signs

Very early in the play, Caesar and his entourage enter a public square. A soothsayer (fortune teller) approaches Caesar and exclaims “Beware the ides of March.” While Caesar asks the soothsayer to repeat his statement, he ultimately dismisses the soothsayer as a dreamer and goes about his way. The Ides of March (March 15^th in the Roman calendar) is the day Caesar is betrayed by his fellow men and faces his ultimate demise. Caesar continues to ignore potential threats when he dismisses Artemidorus who tries to give him a letter outlining the individuals involved in the plot against him. Beyond ignoring warnings that he’s in danger, Caesar and those around him grossly misread numerous omens and signs of foreboding until it’s too late.

Key Take Away: Understand your environment

The Mattress Queen? In case you’re wondering, I’m referring to none other than Sunny Kobe Cook, founder of Sleep Country USA. Sunny started her business in 1991. While she is currently an author, professional motivational speaker, and successful businesswoman, I can recall key lessons I learned from Sunny during college that have stayed with me throughout the years. Beyond Sunny, Sleep Country USA also provides some useful practices to consider when developing your business.

Take the leap

It was the end of my junior year of college, and I was attending the Boys & Girls Clubs Scholarship Banquet - as a scholarship recipient. I had heard that Sunny Kobe Cook was going to be the keynote speaker, but I admit, I wasn’t all too impressed before I went. Much to my surprise, however, I was completely drawn into her address. Of course, I had no idea at the time that her message would be so directly applicable to my professional life.  It’s been long enough that I can’t recall how the story started, but Sunny began talking about cliff diving and her realization of just how much she had in common with a cliff diver. When I first heard this, I remember thinking to myself “what in the world does selling mattresses have to do with cliff diving?!”

The answer:

Any success in life is like cliff diving in that you have to jump off the platform when all you see are rocks below you, and you have to have faith that the water will be there! I’m sure she said it much more elegantly than I just did here, but when I think about her message, I can clearly envision myself looking far down from the top of a cliff, and seeing just jagged, sharp rocks beneath me. Then I leap off. I see this image every time I make a big decision – most recently, when I chose to leave the comforts of a salary job to start a business. I wasn’t able to see the water beneath (and I’m still not), but I have faith that it is there.

Be proud of who you are and what you’ve done

Over the past year or so, I started hearing the term “value added” used in conversations around strategy, time management, and training. To be honest, for a long time I wasn’t a fan of the phrase, and I’m still not a 100% sold on it, primarily because I just don’t like the way it’s typically used in a sentence (“is that value added?”)…but I digress. Once I picked up on the fact that “value added” really has to do with choosing to spend your time in the most productive and efficient way to accomplish your goals – be they personal, professional, or organizational, I began to start asking myself if I was engaging in value added activities.

Don't answer too quickly

What I’ve found is that answering the value added question is not always easy. Yes, for some activities it’s clear, and it just takes a quick analysis to realize that you could be spending you time on much more important things (e.g. sifting through countless emails when you can use various tools to automatically sort your emails for you). However, I’ve also come to realize that sometimes it takes time to realize the value in certain tasks, meetings, or projects.

From a business perspective, it’s easy to quantify “value added” activities as strictly those that directly lead to a sale. Professionally, it can be easy to say only those activities that allow you to add a new line on your resume or help you climb one step higher on the corporate ladder are worth your energy. If you’re an independent consultant – similarly – the tendency is to focus energy on acquiring and completing those projects for which you’re paid.  I admit I’ve succumbed to this line of thinking, especially when I felt like we weren’t making enough progress toward our goals. Don’t get me wrong. It is important to make sure you’re focused on the important tasks, and there’s a lot of research out there on how best to spend and manage time, including Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”  However, I urge you to consider that sometimes the true “value added” activities may appear in disguise or may just take a little longer to come to fruition.

A case in point

Sure, you’re wondering if you read the title correctly, or if I’m referring to another Richard Engel besides the NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent. (Or maybe you’re asking, “who in the heck is Richard Engel?!”) Your initial thought was correct. I’m talking about the Richard Engel, whom you’ve probably seen at least once over the past few years covering events in the Middle East. How can he help my business, you ask? Okay, so Richard Engel probably can’t directly help your business per se, but there are a few key lessons to be garnered from his work as a reporter that can help your business move forward.

1)     Don’t be afraid to jump in head first and truly live your business

It’s clear that Richard Engel has no problem diving right into the thick of riots, protests, and wars. He’s in it, it’s personal, and it’s pretty much his whole life (at least from what I can gather). He’s lived in the Middle East for several years, can easily navigate his way around, and he experiences the same world as those he’s reporting on. With that in mind, do you live and breathe your business? Whether just starting out or celebrating your 50th year, do you feel 100% committed to your work? (Don’t get me wrong – a healthy life/work balance is important too.) However, the level of growth your business has this next year will correlate with your level of passion, commitment, and willingness to let yourself be completely dedicated to accomplishing your goals. Do you understand the environment your business is operating in? Are you willing to take some risks or venture down a different path to get where you need to be? Are you ready to give your business everything you have to offer – your best ideas, creativity, leadership, and sheer effort?

2)     Get to know the people, landscape, and culture

This is probably the most obvious and well known advice for running a business (i.e. “know thy customer”), but I believe it can’t be said enough, and we all need to remember to focus on what truly drives our business – our customers. Not only is Richard Engel fluent in Arabic, he can speak a multitude of local dialects. He can tell you about the customs and traditions of a specific region, what’s going on in local politics, and I’m sure even the best places to eat local fare.  Have you taken time recently or even this week to check in with your top customers? What are they hoping to accomplish this year? What challenges are they facing or anticipating in the months to come? Have they found a new restaurant they love? Perhaps it’s time to meet there for lunch.