Business Tips

Below you find some business management tips discussed at today's Adrian in the AM led by Amy Bergman of MasterMind Consulting Network. You can reach Amy at 517.789.9826.

• Don’t try to be all things to all people.
• Look for the “excess fat” in your organization: time; money; energy and resources.
• Harness the power of your people, spending 90% of your time on top performers.
• Have a business plan.
• Set goals and keep them visible. List goals on a sticky note on your computer monitor so they serve as a reminder of what you should be working on.
• Spend the majority of your time on your High Payoff activities. Delegate the rest.
• Utilize technology to more effectively manage and deliver services.
• Don’t over promise, over deliver.
• Create efficiencies.
• Know your core business and/or mission.
• Continually monitor, evaluate and re-align.
• Internal communication is critical. Staff must be aware of happenings within the business which impact their ability to do their jobs well.
• Ask employees to help identify better and more cost-effective and efficient ways of doing things in your workplace.
• Identify the things you do well and work to do them even better.
• Get back to the basics of doing good business – product, price, promotion.
• Think out of the box – identify creative ways to sell, market, manage and contain costs.
• Give employees the authority to do their jobs and take care of your customers.

To find out more about Chamber programs that can provide you with business counsel, networking and marketing assistance, log on to www.adrianareachamber.com.

Learn - Anytime, Anyplace

We frequently hear about life-long learning and how important it is to keep delving into new experiences, develop out abilities, and take advantage of learning opportunities wherever they may be presented. How often have you read about the importance of constantly challenging our brain using puzzles, games, different types of reading and mental activities than we usually do?

The Chamber strives to offer opportunities for our members to flex their learning muscles through a diverse offering. Programs like Adrian in the AM which features Amy Bergman from MasterMind Consulting Network. Bergman will be sharing practical ideas for "Building Lean Muscle for your Businesses" and organizations. Her presentation will be geared toward dealing creatively and effectively with the current economic conditions. Call 265-2320 and let us know you're coming!

The Chamber offers other venues for learning as well, including, Member Briefings, Tech Talk, First Friday Forums and workshops. Watch the website and your e-mail for upcoming announcements and plan to take advantage of all the benefits of membership in the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce.

Memorial Day is for remembering

The Memorial Day weekend is meant to remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and for each of us. They each played a role in the freedom we enjoy today throughour our land and beyond. Take some time this weekend and reflect on the veterans in your family, living and dead who have served their country. Talk with your relatives who are veterans and learn more about what they endured and their experiences. Talk to your children and explain the significance of Memorial Day. Visit a local cemetery and show them the flags on the graves of those who served in the armed forces. Take a flag and flowers to the graves of loved ones who served their country. Help your children understand and appreciate their sacrifices.

Plan on joining the community at this year's Memorial day parades throughout the County. Adrian's parade begins at the National Guard Armory on West Maumee Street at 11 am and proceeds to Momument Park on East Maumee Street for a formal presentation ceremony. It is a very moving experience at the Park and causes you to think about the meaning of the day.

Have you visited the World War 2 exhibit at the Lenawee Historical Museum yet? Don't miss it. It will be up through the summer and depicts what life was like during the war at home and abroad. There is a large sign that lists the Gold Star Mothers in Lenawee County - the women who lost sons during the Great War. I can't describe the feeling I get when I see the names of my Grandmother, Dora Johnston and my uncle, Judson Johnston who was killed when his plane crashed into the side of a mountain in Bala, Wales. My dad, Harold Johnston served four years in the Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I can't imagine what those experiences were like. For all the hours I spent listening to my Dad's war stories, he never told me about the bad stuff - the fighting and dying.

Say a prayer for the veterans of all our wars this weekend and when you see a vet, thank him or her for what they have done for all of us!

It's all about communication

We may be communicating differently, but letting others know about your business, developing relationships and being known and visible is still all about communication. While we used to communicate via typewriters, land lines, the postal service, and the telegraph, we now reach out through e-mail, fax, and social networking options. Have you noticed how impatient we become when the computer is slow or an e-mail doesn't come through when we expect it. We have gotten so used to instant communication and I often hear people wonder aloud how we ever managed earlier when we had to rely on snail mail! Think about the days when letters were delivered by Pony Express riders who had to contend with indian attack and highwaymen!

It's important to keep current with the new technologies for communicating and knowing how to make using these tools relavant to our businesses and organizations. The biggest challenge I face with social networking, including our blog, Face Book, Twitter, and even our website is making the time and remembering to write frequently and keep everything current. We just launched a new website this week at http://www.adrianareachamber.com/ and it is easier than before to update and put photos on the home page. And I am relying on an old-fashioned form of communication to remind me to keep this log, Twitter and Face Book current - I have a 3M sticky note posted on my computer screen!

Connecting Points

Each month our Board of Directors opens their meeting with an exercise called "Connecting Points". The Chair poses a question and individuals respond with their thoughts. Sometimes the questions are funny, sometimes more personal and often deal with community issues. This past week, the question was, "If money was not a problem, what would you do to improve our community?" I wanted to share the responses with you today: Upgrade the facades on the downtown buildings and make the entire downtown more attractive; build a parking garage; financially sustain local agencies in crisis; create more public transportation; have really free parking; train service to Ford Field and Comerica Park; fill stores downtown and throughout the community with really good businesses; convince more people that Adrian is a great place to live; and give people more reasons to shop here. What would you do for the community if money was not an issue? Let us know.