I had the pleasure of spending a good part of yesterday working with old friends and making new friends. At the end of the day, I remarked to a retailer (one of the new friends): “This is why I have to start this business. The people.”
My new friend owns a retail store in a great city and is very well established. We were connected through a mutual friend (as seems to always happen!) and we talked for most of an hour about some of the challenges faced. Suppliers deeply discounting inventory early in the season, a range of issues stemming from a frustrating POS system and struggles with efficiency in the workshop. As if the day-to-day weren’t enough, my new friend acknowledged that there isn’t a solid succession plan in place for the business either.
There were several bright spots, too: A great staff, which is a massive asset. Despite the frustrations with the new POS system, inventory accuracy was much improved. Many of the new products coming in now are a tremendous value. And there were several opportunities to delegate responsibility to new, young staff, which is so crucial to the long-term continuation of a great team.
Through all the talk about both the good and the bad, I was struck most by the shared vision for a sustainable, positive impact on the community. My new friend’s community and all the people in it are richer for his retail store.
This is the reason I must make Winged Wheel a success: So that all of my friends (old, new and not-yet-made) can make their communities and the world better than the one they received.
Let’s go make some change!