Talking Shop - The future starts today

Twenty six years ago, I got behind a 21-inch lawnmower, eager to set the world on fire. I tended everything from fast-food restaurant lawns to golf greens, and somewhere along the way I (A) started a home and garden business, and (B) found my true calling. The Garden Gates in the greater New Orleans area is where my wife Beth and I call home. And over the past decade we’ve watched The Garden Gates become a leader in the green industry, while being recognized by the home accents industry as one of the South’s outstanding businesses.

My name is Chad E. Harris, and – oh, by the way – I can see the future.

I don’t use tarot cards or a magic ball. I use the most powerful tool known to man – a creative imagination, and over the course of this year I would like to show you how to use your own imagination to steer your business successfully into the future.

Our “class” starts, appropriately enough, with some questions. You might call these the “success” questions, because if you learn how to answer them, you almost certainly will be successful. Here they are:

• What are my goals? Goals are a list of business coordinates that help you navigate to the future. Your goals need to be divided into short-term as well as long-term; the former allow you to witness accomplishments that stroke your ego, while the long-term goals keep you focused. The best way to “get an A” here is to list all your goals and place this list on your desk so you can see them every day.
  
  
• What are my limitations? Let’s be honest: Each of us has limitations, from those of a financial nature to simple skill-set inadequacies. Once you have a clear understanding about what is holding you back, you can better go forward into the future. Make this a daily priority – turn limitations into a strong point.
   
• Who is my customer? Create a spreadsheet or jot down notes about your typical customer. Then consider who your customers will be 5 or 10 years from now. Then start thinking of what you can do to attract more of them, today and beyond.
   
• What are my products/services? Selling goods and services is how we earn our living now. But have you asked yourself how goods and services will be sold 5 or 10 years from today? What role will technology play? What are you doing to prepare for the products of the future? Has one customer come in lately and asked for a good or service you couldn’t get for her? That’s one too many.
   
• What is my competitive advantage? Last but not least, how will you compete against your fiercest rivals­: the big-box boys? I recommend studying the method they use to steal away your customers and use it against them. If they lower prices on products, offer insane warranties or deeper discounts. It’s your job as the independent to create your own market of products and services they cannot offer. Once you have a competitive advantage, everything else is second nature.

For more information about this article, contact Chad E. Harris at charris@ceverettharris.com; www.ceverettharris.com; www.thegardengates.com. Follow him @ www.twitter.com/ceverettharris; friend him @ www.facebook.com/ceverettharris; watch him @ www.youtube.com/user/TheGardenGatesNOLA; read about him @ www.thegardengatesblog.com.