There’s a small boutique I go to sometimes, and one of the things I noticed is that they’ve been following the trend a lot of small places follow. There’s limited space, so they try to find ways to display as much as they can in tight spaces. When you go to pay for something, you literally have to push some of the display aside so you can place your items down and pay.

While one may think, offering variety is a benefit by giving people a lot to choose from; it can actually distract people from buying things.

When you have a large cluttered display, there’s no point of focus. People see a large “grouping” of items, and are then focused on the overall look. You need to have a point of focus, so that your customer’s eye goes directly to the item you’re trying to highlight. If you have a shelf that is overwhelming, people aren’t going to sort through that to find that one specific item they want. If you have a neat grouping, with the highlight on what you’re hoping will sell in that section, people will be drawn to that.

What does your display area look like? Crazy clutter and a jumble of things, or a neat, focused area where it’s a pleasure to shop, and easy to find what you want?

Your business is making money…check.
Your business could almost run itself…check.
Your business works…check.
You feel passionate and excited about your business….NO!

Are you bored with your business? Maybe it’s time to shake things up. If you’ve found that your passion is gone, you may be overlooking ways to bring that fire back. Have you considered new markets? If your market has always focused on women, why not find a way to reach out to men? If your business has always focused on middle-aged men, why not set your age bracket lower by trying something fresh?

If there’s no growth, you’re going to find your way into a very sad spot…boredom with your business. Let’s be honest, when you lose your passion, your spark, your zest, it will show. Freshness will be lost, great ideas will sit in the back of your mind, and if you’re not excited about your business, who will be? Certainly not your customers…in fact, they will follow the pattern of your business. If you haven’t changed things up a bit, maybe it’s time to do something new, and relight that spark under your arse!

Remember how excited you were when you first started? You could barely sleep because you had so many new ideas popping around in your brain. Where did those ideas go? Did you stop looking for them, because things were working? Never stop looking for a new perspective!

I know, I know, a lot of people think “If it’s not broke, why fix it?”
I’ll tell you why, if everything stays exactly the same all of the time, it’s boring and old. Times change, people change, and without change there’s no growth!

Growth is how you expand, and do more exciting and better things! There’s always room for improvement. What can you do to re spark your ignition?

Quick, take a look at your parking lot…I’ll wait.

What did you see? Did you see liability issues, did you see a mess, did it represent how sharp and clean your business is?

Our local grocery store had huge holes in the parking lot. I’m not talking cracks, I’m talking 2×3 foot potholes. I’m talking chunks of pavement completely gone. It wasn’t in one spot, but in many. I always wonder how many people end up twisting an ankle there…and the day they finally paved it, after years of it being like this, it was a day for celebration. I could NOT stop talking about how great their parking lot was…seriously.

Your business doesn’t start at your front door. How’s your curb appeal? What does your parking lot look like? Is your building freshly painted, or does it look like it needs work?

Another parking lot I’m familiar with is one that ladies in heels frequent. Women come for relaxation and pampering, but first have to navigate a gravel and dirt parking lot! What??? What a way to start your day, especially if it’s raining! Shoes are ruined, you’re stressed out, and that’s no good.

Lastly, there was a restaurant who has recently made a turn around…well, halfway. They’ve paved half of their parking lot, leaving the other half looking like a mess. Why you’d only pave half of your parking lot, I’ve not a clue. Of course, you expect they were doing the other half the next day? Nope, months have gone by, and only the one half got a makeover. I guess I’ll take that, since I was taking my life in my hands jumping over some of the crates that existed in their lot.

What does your parking lot look like? Does it represent the same quality as your business?

I’ve been on vacation, and while we were out and about, we visited a restaurant we’ve been going to in this local town. We were greeted with a less than enthusiastic waiter, and it set the mood for our short stay.

That first moment set a mood…that very simple and first greeting. Maybe it would improve, maybe not. I’ll be honest, this guy did NOT want to be bothered. Now, take in mind this is a restaurant we’ve been going to for some time, so we know service isn’t always like this.

What did happen though, as we left after this sour experience was that in the car we started discussing this very restaurant.

“I’m not crazy about their dinners, and really just like their sandwiches.”

“I know what you mean. Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first time we’ve had poor service.”

“Maybe it’s time to find a different hang out when we come here..”

Had we had a more pleasant experience, we probably wouldn’t have had this conversation in the car. Guess who loses out? We’re moving onto another place, and by the way, we found a great little seafood place we hadn’t tried before.

It just takes a crack in the wall for the entire wall to crumble and fall. Where are the cracks in your establishment?