Sustainable Business Learning Community Conversations - Archives I
What do we really mean by sustainable business? What can we learn from each other? How do we support each other in our learning? What kind of role will sustainable businesses have in creating a sustainable future for Detroit?
March 8, 2012
Comments from last week's conversation:
- The more you know and understand the "seed" of your business, the more you can make sense of the complexity around you. How do you turn all the energy of the things going on around you into positive energy for you and your business?
- It is important and helpful to have a "centered - ness" to what you're about.
This week's topic: Collaboration
Jess discusses how she thinks about collaborations in her business, FoodLab:
Collaboration Model (see image at right):
Transaction vs. Relationship: When you meet someone who wants to connect with you and your business, ask yourself: Is this just going be a transaction, or will it be a relationship? Relationships are longer term.
Shared capacity: You share equipment, supplies, and space. If you are going to share workspace, you have to ask yourself if you have the same working styles (cleaning up, etc)?
Business: You are one business, working together, but maybe having different areas of responsibility within the business.
Brand: Both of you doing exactly the same work.
As you go down this list, from transaction to brand, you are going from a small amount of time in your interaction/collaboration to a large amount of time. Your values have to become more and more aligned and you have fewer and fewer people with whom you are collaborating (many people with whom you do transactions, very few if any where you are doing the same thing). The closer your collaboration, the more trust you must develop.
Where do you like to be in this process? Would you like to have a business partner, or would you rather collaborate with others on the transaction level and do your deeper work alone? Where do you want to be? Be aware that it takes a long time to build a good enough relationship with someone to actually go into business with them.
Transactional relationships can often be accomplished through a commons (internet,e.g.)
Elysia and Chad have been talking about collaborating on a product made of both clay and wood (her expertise is clay, his is wood). They have had several conversations over time, getting to know each other and sharing knowledge of their expertise. They are discussing their shared values (hand made vs. mass production) and finding out if they work the same way and if they share values. They believe that it is important to spend time to get to know one another and make sure that their collaboration will actually work. They want more than a transaction - they want a relationship. Will it be a good fit?
FoodLab's story (Jess):
FoodLab is designing spaces for people who are working in collaboration. It is important to think about the kinds of collaboration you may have in your business: are you are doing transactions, or are you building relationships?
FoodLab started as a small pop-up noodle shop. Jess met a lot of people who were starting up similar businesses, and they started meeting as a group for mutual support. They began to discuss what kinds of projects they might do together, and how to help others to start up businesses. Jess says that she started out with "lofty goals" but that she wasn't really sure that the various people and businesses were really in sync on the values end. So she scaled back, turned FoodLab into a learning community and began doing workshops. It started out as transactional business and now is turning into a business based more relationship connections. What they really want to do is find other people who have energy, food products and ideas, but not enough skills or funding to turn them into real businesses. This group shares values (helping to grow their community, not "going national"). As people in this group have collaborated more and done workshops together, their relationships have deepened. Jess has found that, with FoodLab, initial collaborations with people/businesses begin on a transaction level, but can, over time, evolve into a relationship. It is important to find the balance between transactions and relationships - a balance that works for you.
All true organic growth comes through relationships and not through transactions.
How do you balance out having strong relationships, developing quality products and having a profitable business and an affordable product?
Trust your intuition - if you feel that something isn't going to work, dig deeper and look into it. Have you ever felt like you were in a relationship and found out that you really were not? You and the person you are collaborating with might have the same mission, but not the same values.
How many people can you really be close to and have a good relationship with? Quality vs. quantity?
If sustainably-based businesses are rich below the transaction level then what kind of community will a sustainable Detroit be ? Will the person coming from out of town be landing in a transaction town or a relationship town? It is vitally important to train people (entrepreneurs) in relationship building, because if they are trained only in a transaction-based model, that is what they will perpetuate throughout their community.
Where are relationships moving in FoodLab? Now, as new projects come in, Jess is thinking more intentionally about where they will fall in the continuum of relationships (see chart) and then asks herself where she wants these collaborations to go. She sees clusters of relationships and connections between the clusters (to avoid exclusivity).
Next week's topic:
Is the flip side of relationships built on trust exclusivity? When you get down to core values, are they really exclusive?
If you're coming into a relationship-based business environment, does it make it harder to break into from the outside or easier? Do you have to "know" people, develop relationships first before you can make any headway?
March 1, 2012
Comments from last week's discussion on relationships:
- Focus on the core of your business idea and passion. Take it one aspect at a time; bounce ideas off others to see if your idea is viable.
- You have to think about what you want to do. Think about the things that you are doing that you probably shouldn't be doing. What do you really like to do vs. all the other stuff (or things your good at but don't really enjoy).
- Sometimes it's hard to distinguish what you really like to do. Many activities can have grey areas and it can be hard to isolate components of what you do because it can be really complex.
- Instead of looking for someone who fits a job description, find people who will fit in well with your business and see what they can bring to the business.
- What is the one biggest mistake managers make? The don't realize how error-prone their hiring decisions are. People don't realize that their "batting average" is really low. How do you address all the "mistake" hires? Hire people on a temporary "trial" basis.
- Don't try to be everything to everyone. Know what kind of customer you want and do the work you want to do.
- The best relationship you can have is with yourself. If you know and trust yourself, you will be more successful.
- Is it better to hire/work with someone more experienced/competent, or someone who is really enthusiastic, who loves the work? It can depend on what you're hiring them to do. A less experienced person might be a better hire because you can train them in your technique/method. A more experienced person might be better for running the business end of things.
- It is important to know if you are going in the same direction from a values standpoint. If your values aren't the same, then it probably won't work with that employee. You all have to be going in the same direction (over and above skill sets). If you don't share values, how do you motivate someone?
Today's topic: Organic growth - growing businesses organically:
Elysia discusses the changing focus of growing her business:
How do you grow a business organically? Businesses are living organisms, so what is the photosynthesis process of a business?
It starts with a seed: What is this business really about? What is the value that you're trying to attain? Always revisit the deepest part of the business and the value it gives. Anytime you want to go bigger or expand, revisit the seed of your business.
When your business isn't designed in this natural way, you can sit back and see which things don't fit or make sense. It is "painfully obvious" what isn't natural in your business system.
If you build a community that you don't want to belong to, then it will feel wrong and plastic to everyone. Community might be very small, and that would be just fine
Steps: Seed, competencies, resources, capacities needed (see chart):
Chad's original seed has changed a lot over the past year because: 1 - he has changed a lot, and 2 - he has worked in the real world and has gotten feedback from others. Sometimes you figure out the seed just by planting it, you figure out the seed of your business just by doing. Our nature is to stick with something no matter what rather than evolving with changing circumstances. Take your "seed" to the real world, and the real world will show you what your seed can become.
Use the ecosystem to help you hone in on the seed of your business - find out what you want to do and where you fit. Maybe the seed didn't change, but the expression of the seed has. The basic truth of the seed still exists intact, but how that seed is expressed is different from what you originally imagined.
The what and why of the seed stays intact, the how can change depending on ecosystem, community, etc. As an example, for Fresh Corner Cafe, the why is access to healthier food for community members. Find what your "north star" is and always aim for that. Be open to changing the how and adapting to your business's ecosystem; learn from the ecosystem.
By sticking to your own business idea/seed, you aren't trying to fit into a specific market, but you are creating your own niche. Naturally designed businesses will fall into their own niche.
Topic for next week: Business collaboration patterns
February 23, 2012
Comments from last week's conversation on hiring employees:
- Make hiring a thoughtful process; increase your odds of hiring the right employee. Replacing a person after you've trained and invested in them is really difficult.
- Decide what you like to do vs. what you're just good at, and hire someone to do the things you would rather not do.
- How do you get employees to be as passionate as you are about your business and how do you help them to share your vision? You must start by being clear about your own vision - even if that vision changes. Written information, personal presence, and video can be used to communicate what you do and what you're passionate about.
- Two people can be doing the same work for different reasons - your employee doesn't necessarily have to be doing the work for the same reasons you do.
- How do you build a culture that encourages long-term employees (rather than a swinging door).
- Your employees can sometimes more easily train your newer employees.
- Use more open-ended questions with your employees - i.e.,"tell me something good or bad about your working situation"
Topic for today: Relationships vs. profitability: Do I focus only on the relationships that will lead to financial return?
Tom's Accenture experience: Tom focused on building relationships with clients rather than writing proposals for work. He would not work with a client if he couldn't love the work and working with that particular client (focus was not profitability). If he could create value (value added fit) for that client and love the work and the client, then he would work with them. He built friendships/trust with his clients. Those relationships can be long term; the clients will call you back, refer you to other people, and business will develop in a natural way.
- Relationships aren't about making money, but about doing more of what you do. Learn what you do and what you don't do - be able to say no.
- Understand who you are.
- How do you determine if someone is good to partner with or not? How do you manage a split if the business relationship doesn't work? Develop an agreement at the beginning and work out how a split would be managed. Establish check points (we'll reassess after 90 days, i.e.). Let things develop naturally, let things unfold as they will and let it feel comfortable. Forced formality feels uncomfortable for many people.
- In terms of formal business structures, you shouldn't have to fit into a structure, the structure should fit you and your business.
- Strengths/motivation/fit. Understand your and your employee's strengths and weaknesses. Bring in people who complement your skills. Will a person "fit" with your company - many companies test out new employees by having them first do an internship and then evaluate whether or not they will be a good fit with their company.
- Hannah's clients: For some clients, a relationship happens right away, for others, it can take several sessions. Sometimes a client is not right for her (maybe has health or therapy needs that she can't fulfill). She'd like to be able to refine her business a bit more and have different employees with different specialties (prenatal massage - hot stones, for example).
- Could foundations take some of that money that they have to give out and use it to hire more people who can follow the businesses that you are funding in order to help make them more successful and profitable? Relationships are important for the success of an enterprise.
- Relationship vs. transaction. Working at the GG is a relationship, not a transaction. It takes a lot of time to build these relationships; it goes at a much slower pace. This is foundational.
- Listen to your gut. Trust your instincts.
Next week's topic: Trust your intuition. What do we mean when we say organic growth?
February 16, 2012
Comments from last week's conversation:
- How do you measure the value of relationships? Is it worth quantifying?
- You don't necessarily want or need to pursue relationships just because they present themselves.
- If relationships were quantifiable, how would you use that information?
- Relationship value can be a tool for subjective judgement.
- Are we talking about numbers (of things, people, dollars) or quality/value, etc. ? How do you express the value of things without making them fit into a number?
- How do you find a balance between profitability and good relationships when one doesn't necessarily lead to the other? Is it better to do things quickly and twice or slowly and once, right the first time?
- Spontaneous process vs. intentionality
- There is a big difference between having a map and having a compass: you have a direction but not a firm path. You are open to opportunities. Are we spending time/money/energy or investing our time/money/energy ?
Topic of the day: Hiring an employee
Hannah's story: Hannah was being pressured into hiring an employee but wasn't yet ready. She didn't know how to go about hiring someone or what that would look like. She didn't know how it would function and what she was looking for in an employee. Someone like her? Someone different from her? Someone who has a different skill set? Also, there were scheduling conflicts, and she was always on call. The first change she made was to arrange shifts for herself - this gave her more focus and opened up her schedule to bring someone else in. She started by "casting a wide net" with a Craigslist ad. She had to figure out pay scales: how many clients an employee had per week was not of value to her. She was more interested in the quality of the work and not making employees compete for business. She assumed people (prospective employees) would know what they were looking for - but was mistaken. Found that she had to narrow her search and so she put up fliers wanting to find someone close by who could easily to get to work under all conditions. She believes it is good to work where you live so that relationships become relevant. She eventually found her new employee at the school at a student clinic. She realizes that she wouldn't have found her through the search methods she was using. It became immediately clear that she didn't have enough space and that she needed to be able to work with her new employee while she was learning. Hannah realizes that it is necessary for her to communicate everything (procedure/philosophy) to her employee.
Comments:
- Most baffling question is "what kind of person do I want to hire"?
- If I'm hiring someone else, what do I want them to do and what do I want to spend my time doing? (Hannah)
- Jeff and Ted list the things they that do in their work and then rate them based on what makes them happy. What do I like to do and what activities are "burning me out"? Should you map out time chart of what you're doing?
- How many of us do things we are only good at or things we love to do?
- Do entrepreneur/business owners really have to do everything? Is it good to do all of it or can you limit yourself?
- Evaluate what kind of employee you need/want based on the "process"; what do I need? what do I want to do? what do I not want to do? Going over the process (how to do things, approach your clients) with a new employee.
- You must have an understanding what works best for you. Do you want to do 5 jobs a day (high quality) or 20 (low quality)? Relationships matter; pass these values on to your employees. It is important to broaden your experiences and connections (relationships) in your down time.
- Quality of service will often lead to better revenue because, even though you're not trying to fit in as many customers as possible (giving better quality massages takes time), your business might run entirely on referrals and require no advertising costs.
- You're in the triple bottom line world, whether you want to acknowledge it or not.
Next week's topic: Relationship building vs. profitability
February 9, 2012
First in a series of meetings to discuss sustainable business. What do we mean by "sustainable business?" How can we learn from each other? How can we support each other in our learning?
Present:
Hannah Lewis (massage therapist)
Jeff Sturgis ( Omnicorps hacker space)
Bob Weins
Martha Peterson (GG USL)
Nick Wetzler (ecowaste group)
Chad Dickenson (furniture maker)
Ted Sliwiski (Omnicorps)
Tom Brennan
Ken Flaherty
Topic: Relationships (offered by Chad) What is the role quality relationships play in sustainable businesses?
See video:
Chad said that when he gets down to the core of his business, he is finding that the relationships that he has developed are its most important aspect. How do you put a value on quality relationships in a business? Can this be measured? Put on a balance sheet?
Quality, meaningful relationships can better sustain a business than a large quantity of relationships that are not helpful or beneficial. (jeff)
Quality relationships serve a dual purpose: to help you to communicate the value of your business, and to minimize your risk (bob)
How do you improve quality of relationships that you enter into, and avoid relationships that aren't beneficial or are detrimental ? (ken)
Is casting a wide net really valuable? (tom) Trust relationships with people with similar and complementary values, rather than casting a wide net (i.e. advertising) and getting too many people with whom you do not want to work or have a relationship (transaction vs. relationship) Looking for a relationship rather than a transaction (Lon - wood supplier).
Ted remarked on the strength of relationships that he has found in Detroit that were not as evident to him on the East Coast.
Topic for next week:
Hannah - hiring and employee
