by Joe Domaleski | Dec 20, 2022 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, News Center, Opinion
It’s been an interesting year for our company. This time last year we won the 2021 Fayette Chamber Small Business of the Year Award and ended 2021 on a high point. Despite a slow first quarter in 2022, business really took off starting last spring and into early fall of this year. Indeed, we had some record-breaking high points in terms of new accounts and company successes. Unfortunately, some of those gains have been offset by some recent stumbles – one of which I shared in a previous column about delegation.
Without getting into details, let it suffice to say that we’re still ending 2022 with nearly a 20% growth in revenue from 2021. Most any business would be happy with that, and I can’t complain. Yet, we had loftier expectations and revenue is not the same thing as profit. Inflation is clobbering everyone – businesses and consumers. We came really close to meeting our goals, but some recent setbacks have made it apparent we’ll fall short of where we had intended to be.
When things are going well, it’s easy to be optimistic and engaged. Everyone loves playing for a winning team. When things aren’t going well, oftentimes that will inspire action and activity out of necessity. Some people, not all, don’t mind being the underdog in a “fixer-upper” situation. When things are going well and then suddenly fall apart, that’s a setback. The sudden change in momentum and fall from the top caused by a setback can throw people off. I personally think that a setback is one of the hardest types of situations to handle in business.
Most people are motivated by future expectations, even more so in business. When you’re riding a trend of consistent growth, it’s natural to think that’ll last forever. When you’re down in a hole, the only way out is up. In both of those situations, most people can visualize a better future ahead. A setback is a disruption to forward progress and a stark reminder that the road to a better future is full of potholes. No one likes losing ground that was recently gained, just ask any football team.
Some typical setbacks in business include: client loss, sales loss, key employee departures, staffing shortages, supply chain disruptions, economic pressures (like inflation), cash flow problems, unexpected emergencies, lawsuits, negative regulatory changes, sudden changes in the marketplace, and so on. What’s a setback to some businesses, may be an opportunity for others and it’s upon that basis I’d like to suggest some ways to bounce back from a setback.
- Recognize the setback, but know that it’s not the end. This can be hard to do, especially for an organization or leader who is used to winning all of the time. The road to change has to begin with where you’re at. Take the time to assess the situation, but don’t obsess over it. Gather enough information to know how bad the setback is, so that you can make informed decisions on how to proceed. If there’s time on the clock or money in the bank, you can recover.
- Keep moving forward. Winston Churchill has been quoted as saying, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” People are attracted to momentum and future expectations. A sudden halt creates a disruption that can rattle even the most seasoned person. A leader has to set an example and lead from the front. It’s okay to take smaller, more deliberate steps after a setback – but keep moving forward.
- Find the lessons and make adjustments. Every setback has the potential to be a learning opportunity. Figure out what happened, and why, and make adjustments to correct the situation or pivot. Usually, that’s not the hard part, because it’s obvious when a business loses ground. The hard part is to do this while moving forward at the same time. A leader has to be willing to set out to be directionally correct without all of the facts.
- Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s human nature to get comfortable when times are good. Being able to handle discomfort and inconvenience is something every leader has to be willing to do. I feel sorry for leaders who’ve never experienced a setback. When they do stumble (and everyone eventually does), it’s going to be a hard fall.
- Stay focused on the task at hand. We live in an increasingly cluttered world full of news, social media, content, and other distractions which can lure us away from the discomfort of current circumstances. It’s okay to take breaks and watch an occasional “cat video”, but maintain focus on what needs to be done. If you don’t, no one else will.
- Avoid comparing your situation to other people or organizations. It’s been said that “comparison is the thief of joy.” Most organizations are deliberate about painting a rosy picture of how things are to an external audience – but that’s not reality. People do that on social media as well. Each of us walks our own path in life. There are always going to be people who make more money or have an easier time in life. Conversely, there are always going to be people who are perpetually on the struggle bus. Run your own race, being compassionate to those who are less fortunate and avoiding the temptation to idolize the seemingly successful (who probably aren’t).
- Do what must be done. It’s been my experience that knowing what to do is the easy part. The hard part is doing it. Sometimes this may involve major business changes that involve staffing, operations, vendors, services provided, methodologies, marketing campaigns, and so forth. Once you know what needs to be done, immediately start doing it. If you know that change will be difficult, it’s best to get it over with to minimize the pain.
- Rally the troops. This may be the most important way to bounce back and is the main function of a leader. If you lead an organization, then it’s your job to inspire action to recover from the setback. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, then rallying the troops may involve getting your family and/or your clients behind your comeback plan. There is no force on Earth more powerful than a motivated team, no matter how bleak the odds are.
A setback can be an eye-opening, ego-rattling situation – especially when it happens amid a string of successes. As the name suggests, it’s just a “set back” not a complete failure. Some of the greatest victories in history have been made from recovery situations. Everyone loves a great comeback story. How will your story be written? Just remember, “Fortune Favors the Bold.” Be bold.
[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year. Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran. He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. ]
by Joe Domaleski | Dec 13, 2022 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, News Center, Opinion
With a title like that, you’d think this would be an article better suited for Halloween. Rest assured, we won’t be talking about ghosts, apparitions, or other haunted spirits. What we will explore is the concept of “ghosting”. Ghosting as a term first gained prominence in the dating world in which one party suddenly breaks off all contact with someone – no texts, emails, social media, or contact whatsoever.
When we were kids, we might have called this the “silent treatment”. but it’s a bit more draconian than that. Even when you’re being ignored, you oftentimes know the other person is there – sometimes literally in front of you ignoring you. With ghosting, someone simply vanishes without a trace – digital or otherwise. Most cell phones and digital media platforms have the ability to let you block someone, which further reinforces the ghosting action.
As the job market began to heat up after COVID, many employers began to deal with ghosting in the workplace. Ghosting first entered the workplace when job applicants simply decided to not show up for interviews. One of my clients confided in me that 50% of their job applicants never show up for the interview! Whether it was a change of heart or the pursuit of a better offer, some job seekers deem it acceptable to ghost potential employers with no warning. Common courtesy traditionally inspired someone to cancel an appointment or interview if needed, but that’s not the case with ghosting.
Many people who do the ghosting do not feel like they have an obligation to follow up on an opportunity in which they no longer have an interest. While I don’t personally agree with that, it does happen. Some job seekers also feel ghosted by potential employers who don’t follow up with them either. This doesn’t just happen with large employers, I’ve seen it happen here in the local community with smaller organizations.
I’ve never had to personally deal with ghosting by a job seeker, but three years ago I did have to deal with another form of ghosting – someone just not showing up for work. I had hired someone for a sales role and that person started with a lot of energy and excitement, as you’d expect from someone in sales. About two months later, the person just stopped showing up for work. All attempts at communicating with this person failed. Calls, texts, emails, and even social media contact were ignored. I began to worry about this person and had a mutual friend reach out. She told me the person in question was alive and well, but simply didn’t have any interest in the job anymore. Not wanting to be confrontational or disappoint me personally, they unilaterally decided it was best to just ghost me and our company. I have it on good authority this person has had several jobs since then.
Other forms of ghosting can creep into the workplace – sometimes blatant and at other times subtle. During COVID, I had some clients ghost me as they became unable to pay our invoices. Despite offers to work with them through the difficult period with generous payment terms, some people are too proud (or embarrassed) and simply choose the path of least resistance – ghosting. As I write this, I’m being ghosted by a long-term client who owes us money. The owner of the business called me for a personal business favor two months ago but has since not paid our invoices. I tend to be a trusting and patient person and frankly, I’m not sure how to handle the situation. It’s pretty blatant ghosting. In another situation, I reduced a client’s invoice amount during COVID to help them through a tough time. As soon as things got better, they parted ways with us. Not only were they not grateful, but they also didn’t feel any obligation to us whatsoever and moved on.
I’ve also seen other more subtle forms of ghosting, in which someone will only communicate with you on their terms whenever they need something, but it’s never reciprocated and they ghost you until they’re ready to make contact. I’m not sure if it’s a power play or what. We all get busy and sometimes I don’t follow up as fast as I’d like, but I don’t ghost anyone. As a general rule, I think it’s best to respond to someone in the manner in which they communicate with you unless you’ve both agreed to use a defined system. For example, we have too many clients for me to speak with everyone on the phone. We use an online ticket system to handle client requests. It’s allowed us to grow our business and provide better customer service by ensuring all requests are tracked and handled.
Another subtle form of ghosting is when someone does the minimum (or less than the minimum) to get by at work. Symptoms of this can be a lack of energy, tardiness, leaving early, making lots of mistakes, or simply not caring. I think we’ve all seen instances of that, whether you’re working in the same workplace or you’re a customer who sees the behavior. When that happens, the person may be physically there, but they’re not present mentally. If someone isn’t happy in their job, you’d think they’d speak up. Most employers I know want to work with people as best they can to accommodate personal preferences as long as the job gets done. Many people just don’t take pride in doing a good job even if they plan to leave. Does a good or bad job reference mean anything anymore?
As much as I’d like to think that client relationships will last forever, they don’t. All client contracts, including the ones we have, are directly impacted by leadership changes, insourcing, budget cuts, or a client just wanting to work with someone new. My business benefits from that when a client chooses us over someone else. At other times, we lose the business. That’s part of running a business. I respect that and oftentimes make similar decisions on behalf of our company. During a business change like that, I think it’s honorable to have a peaceful ending to the business relationship. Unless there’s some compelling reason to abruptly end a business relationship, then the honorable thing to do is let someone know you’re making a change and why. Frankly, it’s cowardly to do anything otherwise. In the movie “Hang ‘Em High” Jed Cooper said, “When you hang a man, you better look at him.”
Most people don’t like confrontation. Ghosting isn’t the answer. Life is too short and the world too small to burn bridges. An effective leader starts things and ends things deliberately and directly. Doing so demonstrates confidence, courtesy, and professionalism in the workplace.
[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year. Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran. He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. ]
by Joe Domaleski | Dec 6, 2022 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, News Center, Opinion
The struggle is real, especially during this holiday season. How do I provide effective leadership by finding the balance between what I’m thinking (head), what I’m feeling (heart), and what I’m actually doing (hands)? Let’s explore each of those three concepts in more detail.
Using your head is what most people traditionally think about when it comes to leadership. The ability to process information, think critically, and make good decisions is a foundational skill set for any leader. For me personally, this not only applies to how I run my own business, but how I advise clients. Indeed, as a service business, my company is paid for our expertise and creativity. It may sound easy, but it’s not. Information is not always clear. Oftentimes various pieces of information conflict with each other. Clients can give us the wrong information and then change their minds later. Right now, our best and brightest economists aren’t quite sure if we’re in a recession or not because the data is conflicting. Sometimes the information comes in late or not at all. This happens quite often and I’ve found myself having to be “directionally correct” to get things started as information comes in later. If you wait until you have everything you need, it’s possible you’ll never even get started.
Even if you have good information, it’s not always clear what to do with it. We have more options at our disposal than any other generation before us. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but many times it’s overwhelming and can lead to paralysis by analysis. Finding just enough data to make a good decision without getting bogged down in minutiae is a balancing act. Many organizations pride themselves on being data-driven. Data is a great way to model the world around us. I have a math degree and love numbers. Having good data and information is essential for running a profitable business. Taken to an extreme, running an organization purely by numbers removes the human element and that’s not always good. During the last recession of 2009-2011, I was advised to shut down my business based on the numbers. I adopted Admiral Farragut’s advice from 150 years ago, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.” I’m glad I did.
Using your heart as a basis for leadership has become quite popular over the last twenty-five years and for good reason. Passion from the heart inspires great actions that can exceed the limits of what a business model might predict. Noted leadership expert John Maxwell has said that “Leadership is influence, nothing more nothing less.” I agree with that statement. The most admired leaders are mostly remembered for their passion and heart, not their ability to read financial reports. Most customers are interested in more than just the lowest price, they want to spend their money with organizations that match their values. Employees are the same way. Salary is important but work environment and “good vibes” are just as important. It’s the job of the leader to inspire customers and employees with heart-centered leadership.
Good intentions and a pure heart alone are not enough to run an organization. Passion and purpose can jumpstart a project or initiative, but it still takes a good business mind to make it all work. Over my business career, I’ve struggled with finding the proper balance between heart and mind. I think most leaders have the same struggle. Emotions sometimes get in the way of making tough business decisions that need to be made based on the numbers. Yet, some people can be quite ruthless when it comes to being single-mindedly focused on numbers. More often than not, those same people don’t really understand the numbers – but that’s a story for a future column. It takes a heart and a mind to be a leader, but that’s not all.
Using your hands means leading by example. Having a pure heart and focused mind is not enough for leadership. For most people, seeing is believing. A leader must be willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work in order to inspire people. When I started the business as a solo entrepreneur that literally meant working in the business during the day and working on the business at night. As the business grew and we hired employees, that meant I had to find a balance between delegation and stepping in. A leader has to show customers they are willing to step in and make things right when things aren’t going well. An employee has to know the leader “has their back” and will support them in the face of adversity. Sometimes people don’t know what to do and the leader has to step in and show people what needs to be done. At other times the leader needs to use discretion and restraint in order to let people make mistakes and learn.
Knowing what needs “hands-on” attention isn’t always clear. As our company has grown, I don’t personally have knowledge of everything that goes on. I did when we had a smaller team, but oftentimes I don’t have direct information which means I need to rely on my team to bring things up that need my attention. Like many leaders, I make mistakes and sometimes insert myself into a situation that’s already going well. Doing so can result in a team member thinking I don’t have confidence in them. Conversely, there are times when I really should have “hands-on” involvement in a situation and I miss the opportunity. We’re all human and make mistakes. Finding the right level of personal involvement in a project, account, or situation can be a challenge. It involves instinct, awareness, and willingness to act.
So let’s put all of this together in the interest of being more effective leaders. Today’s leader needs to find the balance between head, heart, and hands in order to be effective. Some have used the term, “Leadership Trinity” to describe this balance needed for a modern leader. Using your head involves the what, using your heart involves the why, and using your hands involves the how. As we bring the year to a close, I’m going to double down on all three facets of leadership to make next year better. How about you?
[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year. Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran. He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. ]
by Joe Domaleski | Nov 29, 2022 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, News Center, Opinion
As a society, we’ve gotten comfortable – perhaps too comfortable. When we turn on the faucet, we expect clean water to flow. When we turn on the light switch, we expect the lights to come on. When we’re ready to eat, we pop something into the microwave, and out comes a dinner. Most of us have not had to go to a well to get water, ignite a lantern to get light, or go hunting for our own food. Yet, behind the scenes, a lot is involved to provide modern conveniences that we all take for granted. What happens when the lights don’t come on or there’s no food to eat? Most people don’t know what to do. The truth is, everyone needs to eat but few are willing to hunt. They just expect things to happen. Let’s look at this from a small business perspective.
If you’re a customer, you expect your vendors and merchants to do what they say they’re going to do. A consumer can reasonably expect a business to maintain advertised hours of operation, sell what’s on the menu or the shelves, and provide some level of customer support or advice about their products or services. This sort of expectation is reasonable whether you’re a consumer or a business buying something.
If you’re a business, you have a reasonable expectation that a customer will respect your hours of operation, ask for things that you can actually supply or do, and pay for your products or services rendered. You can consult with an attorney to get a legal definition of a contract and consideration, but in plain terms there exists an exchange of value when a sales transaction occurs.
If you’re an employee, you rely on your employer to provide a safe working environment, proper resources to do your job and pay you for your work. I’m not a human resources expert, but speaking as an employer I also try to create an enjoyable working environment and genuinely want my staff to enjoy their jobs. I know that employees rely on me to manage the business properly by finding the right customers, putting together the right employee team, and ensuring that operations run as smoothly as possible.
Running a business is not for the faint of heart, particularly a small business. The business owner is personally involved in ensuring the business has a steady stream of customers (sales & marketing), provides quality products & services (operations), has a great team of employees (human resources), and has money to make it all work.
What happens when the business systems don’t work? During COVID, many businesses experienced and are continuing to handle massive supply chain disruptions. In the post-COVID era, the labor market has been all over the place. We’ve seen companies struggle to hire and pay for new employees and now many of those employers are laying people off. Customers are continuing to deal with service delays, inflated prices, and long wait times. Employees are having to learn new skills to stay current and be flexible during up-and-down business conditions all while managing their careers in a changing labor market.
It’s the small business (and non-profit) leader who has to be the hunter so that everyone can eat. The leader has an obligation to ensure the business strategy is sound so that customers are served, employees are happy, and the system works. Unfortunately, most people in the marketplace aren’t hunters and truly don’t appreciate where things come from. They just expect it all to work.
During this holiday season, I’d ask that you take some time to appreciate the hunters working to make sure our economy, particularly the local small business economy, is functioning properly. Have patience with your suppliers and merchants who are working hard to ensure your needs are met. Respect boundaries put in place so that employees can enjoy the holiday season away from work. Employees, have patience with your employers who are doing their best to juggle the competing needs of customers, suppliers, and vacations. Don’t let your own needs go unmet, but be flexible in understanding the bigger picture.
Everyone wants to eat, but most don’t know where the food comes from. Most people don’t know how hard it is to find new customers, make sure products & services are delivered on time, pay invoices & wages on time, and do all of that with a smile during this holiday season. It’s easy to be a consumer, but not as easy to be a producer.
Hunters, stay strong.
[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year. Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran. He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. ]
by Joe Domaleski | Nov 22, 2022 | Blog, Business, Columnists, Community, News Center, Opinion
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It’s that time of the year when we use a traditional celebration of the harvest to express thankfulness for all of the blessings of the past year. We most often associate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. I’d like to extend that spirit of thankfulness into the business world and share some reflections about gratitude in the marketplace.
When we think of the marketplace around the holidays most of us have images of rushed shopping, rude customers, long lines, stock outages, and lots of bills. Those things normally don’t bring gratitude to mind. Stress levels are normally very high around the holidays whether you’re the employer trying to fully staff your business or you’re the employee who’s being asked to work extra hard. Frustration sets in for consumers who are seeking products to buy and sellers who are trying to make their holiday sales quotas. Even without the holiday stress, the marketplace is not particularly known as a bastion of gratitude.
It’s been well established that a feeling of gratitude is associated with good health and well-being. Many cultures and religious faiths extol the virtues of gratitude. So what can we do to be more grateful in the marketplace, especially during Thanksgiving and the holiday season that follows? I’m going to tackle that question by approaching it from several different angles. Bear with me and let’s see where I can go with this.
As a consumer, I’m grateful for all of the choices I have in buying what I want from whom I want. I’m especially thankful for small, locally-owned businesses. As a family, my wife and I will go out of our way and pay higher prices just to support what they do. As a fellow business owner, I know that my money is helping provide local jobs, pay for college expenses, and put food on the table for other people like me. The heart and soul of any community are the local businesses that give it character and soul.
In like manner, as a business owner I’m grateful for my customers. It’s the reason my business exists – to serve our customers. Over the last twenty years we’ve been blessed to work with so many high-quality local businesses and non-profit organizations. I am so thankful that other like-minded people will go out of their way to keep business local. Yes, I know there are valid reasons to source non-local products and services, but when someone chooses local – it makes me very happy and I’m grateful for that. It’s not my place to call out anyone, but It’s highly frustrating when organizations seek the support of the local business community but don’t reciprocate. Nevertheless, I’m very thankful for our customers who have chosen to support my local business.
We’ve worked with a lot of start-up companies and non-profits to help them get launched. I’m thankful for the opportunity to help them launch. During COVID, we were literally a lifeline to many companies who relied on our marketing services to help get the word out about their companies as most of society was hunkered down at home in front of a computer. We had to be creative about payment for our services and did our best to extend generous payment terms or reduce billing in order to help. I’m grateful we were able to help keep the economy going.
Nothing lasts forever. Our company has outlasted some of our customers and we’ve helped some of our clients shut down their businesses due to retirement, business sale, and even bankruptcy. I’m thankful for those customers and appreciated the opportunity and trust you placed in us to see things through to the very end. In many other organizations, leadership change has occurred. In some cases the new leader or board decides to hire another company and replace us. We’ve been both the beneficiary of leadership change and the loser with a leadership change. I’m still grateful for those customers and truly wish them well. Yes, a few customers have even come back to us. It makes me happy and grateful to welcome them back.
As I’ve written about previously, sometimes things don’t go well and we part ways with a client in which they fire us or we fire them. That’s no different than a relationship when people break-up or get together. It’s not easy to handle, but I’m always grateful for the lessons learned after client loss even if it takes a little time for the lessons to become fully clear. We’re a better business because of lost clients and the next new client is normally the beneficiary of our newfound knowledge. In short, I’m thankful for past, current, and future clients.
I’m also thankful for our economy, even if I don’t understand it. Although I have an MBA in Finance and minor in Economics, I still don’t understand our economy! We’re fortunate in this country to have a fairly open marketplace at the national, state, and local level. I can’t imagine what it’s like to start and run a business in a foreign country. Like most business owners, I’m not a fan of big government and lots of rules. On the other hand, I do recognize the need to have some rules to have an orderly market. Yes, it seems like big business gets all of the breaks and concessions. I’m not a fan of that either, but I can’t control that and try to be grateful for what I have in my little corner of the marketplace.
I’m very grateful to have a wife who supported my decision to start this business twenty years ago. We haven’t gotten rich and probably never will, but that’s not our goal. I’m thankful for my now adult children who’ve supported me and our business over the years by promoting it to their friends, working in the business, and continuing to support what we do. Knowing that they believe in me and what our company does means all of the world to me. They’ve given me great ideas and continue to help provide perspective on what we’re doing.
It takes customers, a market, and family to support a business. It takes a team to make the business function and I’m most thankful for our team of employees. Our team members believe in me to have the vision to properly direct the business and I believe in them to provide high quality services to our customers. I know it’s a job and most people call it “work” for a reason. I’ve been guilty of that myself. Indeed, some days are hard. We have our fair share of challenging situations, customers who can’t make up their mind, technology that constantly changes, and other issues that get in the way. I’m grateful that my team can see the big picture and overcome the challenges. Thanks y’all for being part of the team.
So what does my reflection about gratitude in the marketplace have to do with you, my dear reader?
Whether you’re an employer or employee, having a sense of gratitude can help inspire good actions, follow-through, and accountability. One who is appreciative of a situation, person, or job is more likely to do the right things. A thankful person tends to be happier and healthier. Being grateful doesn’t mean being a push-over. It takes a good measure of fortitude and persistence to endure in the business world.
I was recently interviewed for a podcast and asked what inspires me. My answer, “People who can endure adversity with a cheerful, optimistic disposition.” That type of positive approach comes from having a deep sense of gratitude. Thank you for reading this column. I’m grateful that you took the time to read it and hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving and Holiday Season.
[Joe Domaleski, a Fayette County resident for 25 years, is the owner of Country Fried Creative – an award-winning digital marketing agency located in Peachtree City. His company was the Fayette Chamber’s 2021 Small Business of the Year. Joe is a husband, father of three grown children, and proud Army veteran. He has an MBA from Georgia State University and enjoys sharing his perspectives drawing from thirty years of business leadership experience. ]
