Farmers, whose home IS their business, have no choice, do we? But if you buy a home at the top of a boom cycle, mortgage for close to what it is then valued at (notice I don’t say ‘what it’s worth’) and then borrow further against it, you are camping on the train tracks. Farms are no exception. Decide whether you want a productive livelihood, or a consumption lifestyle. — Nancy
Responding to Adriana Gardella’s recent post on the pricing issues faced by a dressmaker, Bari Jay:
I think that this is a classic example of the concept of “Positioning.” Right now, Bari Jay has a creneau, a nice little niche. People who want to feel fancy and want something that is custom, personal, and truly one-of-a-kind, can go get measured for a dress and have it delivered to them at a later date.
By lowering your price, you are directly competing with companies like David’s Bridal, which is exactly what you do not want to do (as they, and other similar retailers already have this market segment pretty well covered). The very process of getting a Bari Jay dress is inconvenient. You can’t leave with the dress that day, so you will lose to competitors who fall into the same price range, but have the ability to stock large amounts of dresses on hand. To your advantage, classiness and fanciness are oftentimes ‘inconvenient’ in nature (as, for example, buying a fancy car like a BMW is as much about the experience as it is the product), and that is where you excel.
Don’t break out an extra product line or lower your prices (as this devalues your brand and makes your parent brand seem even cheaper)! Focus on the quality of the dress and enhancing the classy and elegant experience of buying a Bari Jay dress, and customers will drive farther to get their fittings. — JLaurain
If the national sales tax replaces the state tax for online vendors, then I have no issue with it. However, as has been noted, there are a huge number of small local businesses who also sell online, and requiring them to collect sales tax for the more than 7,000 different state and local jurisdictions, not to mention the expense of applying for sales tax permits, would be a financial nightmare.
The problem is that everyone sees the major players like Amazon, and the American Booksellers Association has been ranting that they can’t compete for a decade. However, a careful study of the reason most independent bookstores close reveals not competition from Amazon but rising rents or other real estate issues as the main cause of their demise.
I’m disappointed that this article didn’t address the fact that small online businesses will suffer greatly should the nexus rule be replaced by something that demands they collect sales tax on all sales. It seems to me that is a VERY important point in this discussion. — Elizabeth Burton
Since 1995, over 95% of the prospective tutors who I have interviewed to work for my company (Math 1-2-3 NYT 4/21/11) have been lacking in knowledge and/or teaching skills. Many are stumped within 3 minutes when I grill them on SAT or Calculus or even basic Algebra. In frustration they ask: “do you have a manual that I could study and can I call back soon.” I always inform that what they are asking is impossible. If I were to write a manual it would have to be literally 5,000 pages of material to ensure mastery of all levels of math test prep. It would take years to train someone to be expert enough to work for me. My “training program” is to let prospective tutors get their mistakes out of the way while working for other companies for years. Then, I hire them away by paying them double. As founder of the company, my role isn’t to train. Rather, my role is to ASSESS expert ability. The biggest “do not hire” red flag I’ve encountered is when a prospective tutor says: “Can’t I just study 3 key topics that will be covered in the next tutoring session.” If a tutor needs to STUDY before tutoring a student, then the tutor isn’t a tutor at all — he’s a homework helper and not someone who I can bill out for $150-$200/hr. I hire only top 1% talent because our clients are very demanding. — Mark Kronenberg
Everybody thinks they are an expert on small business, and they are eager to tell you how to start the next Apple or Google. But a huge proportion of small businesses ultimately fail. Where can you find good advice about when and how to cut your losses with a failing business?
When I opened some small bookstores in the mid-1970s, I had high hopes of becoming wealthy. Instead, I went broke and I lost the business and our home, which had been used to get a second mortgage to raise money for the business. Nobody should start driving without knowing where the brake pedal is, or start skiing down a mountain without knowing how to stop (I made that mistake in the Alps in the 1960s, but that’s another story). And nobody should start a business without knowing how to get out before losing their shirt. — Jim Purdy
You’re the Boss Blog: Reader Comments on Pricing, Health Insurance and Betting the House
Farmers, whose home IS their business, have no choice, do we? But if you buy a home at the top of a boom cycle, mortgage for close to what it is then valued at (notice I don’t say ‘what it’s worth’) and then borrow further against it, you are camping on the train tracks. Farms are no exception. Decide whether you want a productive livelihood, or a consumption lifestyle. — Nancy
Responding to Adriana Gardella’s recent post on the pricing issues faced by a dressmaker, Bari Jay:
I think that this is a classic example of the concept of “Positioning.” Right now, Bari Jay has a creneau, a nice little niche. People who want to feel fancy and want something that is custom, personal, and truly one-of-a-kind, can go get measured for a dress and have it delivered to them at a later date.
By lowering your price, you are directly competing with companies like David’s Bridal, which is exactly what you do not want to do (as they, and other similar retailers already have this market segment pretty well covered). The very process of getting a Bari Jay dress is inconvenient. You can’t leave with the dress that day, so you will lose to competitors who fall into the same price range, but have the ability to stock large amounts of dresses on hand. To your advantage, classiness and fanciness are oftentimes ‘inconvenient’ in nature (as, for example, buying a fancy car like a BMW is as much about the experience as it is the product), and that is where you excel.
Don’t break out an extra product line or lower your prices (as this devalues your brand and makes your parent brand seem even cheaper)! Focus on the quality of the dress and enhancing the classy and elegant experience of buying a Bari Jay dress, and customers will drive farther to get their fittings. — JLaurain
Responding to Robb Mandelbaum’s post on Amazon’s competition with small businesses:
If the national sales tax replaces the state tax for online vendors, then I have no issue with it. However, as has been noted, there are a huge number of small local businesses who also sell online, and requiring them to collect sales tax for the more than 7,000 different state and local jurisdictions, not to mention the expense of applying for sales tax permits, would be a financial nightmare.
The problem is that everyone sees the major players like Amazon, and the American Booksellers Association has been ranting that they can’t compete for a decade. However, a careful study of the reason most independent bookstores close reveals not competition from Amazon but rising rents or other real estate issues as the main cause of their demise.
I’m disappointed that this article didn’t address the fact that small online businesses will suffer greatly should the nexus rule be replaced by something that demands they collect sales tax on all sales. It seems to me that is a VERY important point in this discussion. — Elizabeth Burton
Responding to Adriana Gardella’s post on a company’s efforts to train its employees:
Since 1995, over 95% of the prospective tutors who I have interviewed to work for my company (Math 1-2-3 NYT 4/21/11) have been lacking in knowledge and/or teaching skills. Many are stumped within 3 minutes when I grill them on SAT or Calculus or even basic Algebra. In frustration they ask: “do you have a manual that I could study and can I call back soon.” I always inform that what they are asking is impossible. If I were to write a manual it would have to be literally 5,000 pages of material to ensure mastery of all levels of math test prep. It would take years to train someone to be expert enough to work for me. My “training program” is to let prospective tutors get their mistakes out of the way while working for other companies for years. Then, I hire them away by paying them double. As founder of the company, my role isn’t to train. Rather, my role is to ASSESS expert ability. The biggest “do not hire” red flag I’ve encountered is when a prospective tutor says: “Can’t I just study 3 key topics that will be covered in the next tutoring session.” If a tutor needs to STUDY before tutoring a student, then the tutor isn’t a tutor at all — he’s a homework helper and not someone who I can bill out for $150-$200/hr. I hire only top 1% talent because our clients are very demanding. — Mark Kronenberg
Responding to Gene Marks’s post on the best small-business reads of 2011:
Everybody thinks they are an expert on small business, and they are eager to tell you how to start the next Apple or Google. But a huge proportion of small businesses ultimately fail. Where can you find good advice about when and how to cut your losses with a failing business?
When I opened some small bookstores in the mid-1970s, I had high hopes of becoming wealthy. Instead, I went broke and I lost the business and our home, which had been used to get a second mortgage to raise money for the business. Nobody should start driving without knowing where the brake pedal is, or start skiing down a mountain without knowing how to stop (I made that mistake in the Alps in the 1960s, but that’s another story). And nobody should start a business without knowing how to get out before losing their shirt. — Jim Purdy
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=cd04f68a580691cbe7a89bbab700d232