REGIONAL NEWS Speaker gives two points for business success
Mark Willson, a consultant with a successful business history, gave an Atlanta, Texas, entrepreneurial audience two simple but powerful points for success recently.
Speaking for a seminar presented by the Northeast Texas Small Business Development Center, Willson opened first with a directive.
“You need to be aware of GAFA because it’s a GAFA world today,” he said.
GAFA stands for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, the four horsemen of today’s commercial world.
“They make the world,” Willson said, adding that Amazon and Apple alone are reaching a a trillion dollars in sales.
“There’s a common thread to their success,” Willson said, getting to the point. “That common thread is simple. Here it is: You’ve got to be found and you’ve got to be open.”
By this, Willson meant basically having a website.
“Don’t pretend you don’t need one and that Facebook will to do it all for you, because it won’t. If you don’t have website, they’ll see you basically as a hobbyist,” he said.
Then, he gave the basic components of a website.
“All on one page, the first page, because you have about 30 seconds to tell the online searcher your story and why they should care … your name and telephone at the top, in the header,” he said.
And the first picture the searcher is to see?
“The picture of the one they’ll first see when coming to your store. And that should be the owner,” Willson said.
That led to his second basic business success point.
“In today’s world, the customer is growing tired of the big box store,” he said. “The best news for small town and small business is that the American consumer has grown weary of the big box experience and doesn’t like it. They want customer service.
“It’s not the price, so don’t try to compete. The profit margin at Walmart is 2 percent so don’t try to beat them by price. You will lose.”
Willson said today’s American consumer would rather opt for the personable, customer-focused experience.
“And that’s the owner. They know the owner cares about them. They’ll return to be that much closer to the owner. That’s who they want to see.”
Willson said that since he’s been in Texas recently, he’s seen the owners “out on the floor talking to customers, touching tables at the restaurant.”
For his last point of the seminar, Willson said he was leaving every participant with a homework assignment.
“Everyone is to finish this sentence,” he said. “Here it is: ‘I am the only (business) in Atlanta that …. .’ And you think this out and finish the sentence. What makes you unique and why should they care?”
Willson said one way to do this is to sit down and do what people do when they are searching —put the item being sought in their browser and see if their local business is the answer that comes up in their search.
“And remember,” he said, “the biggest and best advertising you can have is world of mouth. That’s whether people give you a four- or five-star rating online or in person.”
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS
Tim Willson has a message he is constantly trying to publish to local business-minded individuals.
“We, the Northeast Texas Small Business Development Center, are for and support small businesses in all stages of development, whether in concept or existing businesses. We help you through the strategy and implementation processes,” he said recently.
Willson is director for the Northeast Texas SBDC with offices in Mount Pleasant and a satellite office in Texarkana. He was in Atlanta, Texas, to introduce and guide a training seminar on doing business in the world of Internet and social media.
To explain his and the SBDC’s role, he noted, “The center covers a six-county area including Bowie and Cass, and we have business advisers in Texarkana and Mount Pleasant
This area has from 9,000 to 10,000 small businesses, and last year the agency helped 29 businesses get started, creating 144 jobs.
“But our central message is that we are anxious to work with business for growth. If we can’t help you, we have a lot of contacts of those who probably can.”
Northeast Texas SBDC is part of a nationwide organization, and its assistance, including training seminars and one-on-one counseling, is available at no cost. The centers can be reached by phone in Mount Pleasant at 903-434-8237 or by mail at 105 N. Riddle St., Mount Pleasant, TX 75455
For the Texarkana office, the number is 903-490 0822 and the mailing address is 2500 North Robison Road, BCT 20, Texarkana, TX 75599.