Small Business Big Profit

This weekend I was in my local supermarket when I saw the artist who painted the beautiful picture that hangs above my writing desk. Liz painted this picture of a traditional stone built property when she and her husband were in a Lake District village last year.

Approaching what they thought was going to be an affordable little coffee house in this beautiful rural setting, they had just sat at two of the chairs on the terrace outside the property and were about to order coffee and cakes when they heard a voice from inside the window. A woman was answering the telephone and they listened to her speaking with the caller. “So that’s six people for dinner this evening. Good. Now, is it the 8 course meal at £123 per person or do you want the 12 course dinner at £144 per person?”

Hearing this Carol and her husband left the nice iron work chairs they were sitting on and vacated the terrace, fearful of being overcharged for expensive coffees when all they really wanted at the time was nice and well-priced refreshments.

I am glad that Carol took a series of photographs of the beautiful building and later painted it in glorious detail, because when I look at the picture I always think of the message they listened to from that overheard snippet of a restaurant phone call and it gives the picture a special perspective, making me smile at the same time.

What do you have about your business - that when heard out of context - might cause people to think differently about the business, or make them do a double-take? Is there something in your marketing message that might be inconsistent with what the business does? How about the difference in pricing for your different audience groups? Do your £123 “specials” sold at low volume and high-margin sometimes put off the many good margin and high volume “regulars” who also want to do business with you?

And next time you wonder around the supermarket, will you meet someone who has shared a good story with you that makes you smile?

Nick Sturgeon is a small business owner who has benefitted from the experiences of success, failure and financial recovery. The author of “Small Business BIG Profit” published by FT Prentice Hall, Nick writes and speaks from the heart about Risk, Reward and the Power of Personal Enterprise. nick@smallbusinessbigprofit.co.uk