Bob and Nancy owned a small grocery store that specialized in quality and selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Customers enjoyed being able to purchase items not available elsewhere, and the quality was always top notch. After 35 years of running the store, the couple decided to reduce the amount of time they worked and allow their sons, Peter and Mark, to start taking over the business.

Great American Furniture owns seventeen furniture companies that manufacture and sell all types of furniture to stores throughout the United States. The company developed a standard practice that all orders will be shipped within 25 working days.

Kankakee Furniture Company of Illinois, a subsidiary of Great American, developed its own system of entering orders and confirming expected shipping dates with customers. Orders are tracked, performance records are kept, and a report is generated confirming that shipments are shipped within the agreed-upon dates.

I received a request from “Kent” who taught guitar lessons. He wanted advice about building up his business. Signing up new students had been going slowly even though he had offered a 30-day money back guarantee. He felt this was not very effective. I asked Kent how many students pay for their own lessons as compared to having their parents pay.  About 60% of the students are paid for by their parents. Since the others are over 18, they generally pay for their own lessons.

“Jim” developed a nice Michigan business over 15 years of washing cars at people’s homes. He offered an old-fashioned hand washing for $30 to $40 for a van or a larger vehicle. He developed a steady clientele of customers who liked this service. All they had to do was pull the car out of the garage without having to take it anywhere. In addition the car didn’t have to go through a harsh carwash. With Michigan’s regular summer rains and winter road salt, this developed into a popular service. He also serviced cars at a customer’s employment location. They liked driving to work with a dirty car in the morning and going home with a clean vehicle in the afternoon.

“Martha” owns a house cleaning business and has struggled with employee turnover over for the past few years. While the business is profitable, she can’t afford higher wages for her three cleaning crews. Since just hiring workers without a target strategy would continue the employee revolving door problem, I suggested a different strategy.