LOST: The minds of State Senator Randall Iwase and Representative Suzanne Chun-Oakland.
FOUND: A simple solution for child care.
Senator Iwase and Rep. Chun-Oakland are willing to sacrifice small business owners by supporting Senate Bill 2003 and House Bill 2531. If these bills become law it would override the rules of condo associations that restrict commercially trafficked businesses. It's meant for individuals who want to turn their units into child-care facilities but discrimination and selective enforcement are illegal. If you allow one commercially trafficked venture how can you stop another? Not believing this - I phoned Iwase's and Chun-Oakland's aides and was told that, yes indeed, they're strongly supporting these bills.
LEGISLATORS' STATE: Requests for child-care openings outnumber available slots by 3 to 1. We need more child-care facilities so more women can go to work. Child-care facilities are cheaper when they're located in people's homes. They've heard opposition from condo associations and property management companies. No, they haven't even thought about the DEVASTATION to the Small Business Owner. Yes, this is the same Representative Chun-Oakland who supports the Small Business Caucus.
THEY DON'T GET the reason there aren't more child-care centers is that the cost of doing business in Hawaii is obscene. THEY DON'T GET that the existing child-care facilities that pay rent, taxes, insurance, worker's comp. commercial rates on phones, cable etc. must charge higher rates to survive. THEY DON'T GET that if they allow commercially trafficked businesses in residential areas that they'll be putting the existing Small Business OUT OF BUSINESS. THEY DON' GET that the State will suffer more economic hardship when these existing tax paying businesses go under. THEY DON'T GET that most of the women who need child-care so they can go out and work will be working for a Small Business Owner. THEY DON'T GET that WITHOUT SMALL BUSINESSES AROUND TO HIRE THESE WOMEN - THESE WOMEN WON'T NEED CHILD-CARE!
If Stephanie Short of Sweet Thoughts Bakery had baked out of her home and had been allowed to have customers in to pick up their orders - she'd still be in business. (Stephanie was forced out of business in 1995 after 10 years in Manoa and is in California).
If you frequent a nice salon for your haircuts - you pay top dollar. If the salon is in a good, convenient neighborhood with parking you might pay more. If those professionals were allowed to set up shop in their homes we'd all save money. Of course, other Small Business Owners would be put out of business but our hair cuts would be cheaper. And, if the State suffers from the loss of our G.E. Tax Revenue - so what? They'll just increase the tax rate that the few survivors pay and then those Small Business Owners will be out of business too. WHY DON'T THEY GET THIS?
Many Small Business Owners are also Condo Owners. From the Condo Owner's point of view the reasons for opposing these bills are innumerable. Just remember, when one unit becomes a child-care center with parents dropping off and picking up their children - the next one can become a bakery, the next a florist, the next a beauty salon, the next a tanning salon, the next a jewelry store, etc. It won't stop until each and every one of us are made to be fools for paying the incredible overhead that Hawaii demands.
Child-care is a serious problem that has a very simple solution. If more child-care centers are needed in this State - this State should be friendlier to Small Business. Then there would be more Small Businesses including Child-Care Centers. Senator Iwase and Representative Chun-Oakland should re-think their positions before creating a civil-war by selling out a major segment of the population for another.
The Good News: If these bills pass there will be NO NEED FOR COMMERCIAL REALTORS.
Editor's Note: Ms. Kinsler is the former owner of Aloha Indoor Tanning, a small business forced out of business by Hawaii's high taxes and commercial real estate practices.
You and your family enter a local restaurant - the hostess glances at you, mechanically says "hello-party-of-four-smoking-or-nonsmoking?" and gestures at a nearby table. The waitress eventually stops by, plops a few menus on the table and comes back for your order ten minutes later. She acts like you don't exist, and you always have to catch her attention for water and coffee. The meal is over. The keikis are yelling for crack seed. After another long wait, she stops by, says "pau, yeah?", flips your check on the table, and walks away. Although the food was ono and the prices were okay, the service was a real disappointment - bummahs to da max. Are you likely to recommend this place to your friends and family? Probably not. Sound familiar?
Yet this small business owner thought he was doing enough, enough to have a good chef and reasonable prices. He mistakenly thought that good service was a "nice-to-have" instead of a critical customer need. Unfortunately, he never asked his customers directly for their ideas, or how they felt about eating at his restaurant. He always assumed he was doing the right things - "I know what my customers want." Nobody would complain to the owner - they just wouldn't come back to his restaurant, going down the street to a competitor instead. Another Chapter 11 story.
Poor service is so common nowadays that it is usually a pleasant surprise to buy from a business that delivers outstanding customer service. Good service is a lot more than "smile-at-the-customers-and-be-nice;" it is an outcome of many things going right in a business. And it is important to your business to work on meeting your customers' needs for good service as a competitive advantage.
In a tough marketplace where your competitors are offering similar prices, products and services, you always need to think "one step ahead" to anticipate market demands. You also need to look for ways to set yourself apart from your competitors. providing a customer-friendly environment where people trust your business to take care of them is a low-cost, high-results strategy that really works. You get satisfied customers, employees, and repeat business.
Here's a few practical tips on how to provide outstanding service:
1. Treat your employees as you would have them treat your customers. Do not just say "be nice to the customers, smile a lot and be friendly, yeah?" Do not expect good service from overworked people who aren't listened to and respected by their bosses.
2. Start asking your customers questions and make changes in your business based on what they say. Ask them "what could we do a better job of?", "what's your biggest complaint in buying from us?", and "what's the competition doing that we aren't?" - types of questions.
3. Train and motivate your employees to give great service. They need to be prepared on how to give good service, and motivated to do it. What will work in your business?
4. Start communicating more: sit down once a week with your employees and ask them for ideas on how to increase sales and improve service for your business. Define your company's mission, values, and business goals. Get people involved as a team.
These are just several of many techniques that should be used as part of an overall improvement plan to grow your business, increase sales and reduce operating costs.
Think of all the reasons why service may not be where you'd like it to be at your business. Everyone wants to deliver good service - it's our job as business owners and managers to create a working environment where this happens on a regular basis. Put together a game plan on actions you need to take to begin improving service. Developing trust, common vision and shared goals between workers and managers is the first step.
Give your company a competitive service advantage - it does not cost much to provide great service, and the payback in increased sales, better reputation and employee/customer satisfaction is well worth investing in.
The other day I noticed that a government budget director had remarked that a proposed revision in the tax law would cause a "revenue loss." That got me thinking about the term "revenue." According to my dictionary, it is "the return or yield from any kind of property, service etc, or an amount of money regularly coming in."
But where does the flow of funds come from? Does it come from you, me, our families, our neighbors, acquaintances and from a lot of folks we don't know? Yes, of course. We earn money by working and performing helpful services for others.
Then the government says "give me part of that money, it belongs to me" and they take it and they call it "revenue." Once in a while someone says "no, I'm not going to give it to you" and they go to jail. As a matter of fact, if they forcefully resist, they may be shot dead.
Let's change the scene a bit: Let's assume you got paid $1000 cash at your work on Friday afternoon, took a friend out to dinner thereafter and just as you finished eating, five armed men entered the restaurant. They said "give us 331/3% of all your money as a contribution to our cause." They discover the $1000 in your wallet and take $333.34 from you and the same from everyone else in the restaurant. You fear for your life so you do not resist.
After they leave, would you remark that you have suffered a "revenue loss?" Or would you say you had been looted, plundered, ripped-off, robbed or victimized? Would you be disposed to be thankful that they had not taken more? If you heard one of them complain that they had suffered a "revenue loss" because your friend had no money in his/her possession during the robbery, would you find the use of that term offensive or at least a little inappropriate?
Back to the dictionary:
Loot: "anything taken by dishonesty, force, stealth etc."
Plunder: "To rob, despoil of fleece"
The government was formed to serve us. In other words, to perform helpful services. But that same government defines our loss as their gain. And conversely, your gain (less tax taken from you) is called a "revenue loss" by them.
Darn, I find that vexing, how about you? Why don't we ask our legislators to rename the departments handling money and "budget."
The council on revenues could become the "Council on Plunder Probabilities."
The Budget Director could become the "Director of Loot Distribution" or even "Director of Squander."
The tax collector would be renamed the "Plunder Collector."
The so called revenue agents would be simply referred to as "Looters."
Indeed, why not call a spade a spade? Otherwise we let these people obscure the issue with perversion of language. As a way to encourage them to take action to adopt better, more descriptive language, let's do this: Every year on April 15, we will all get in our cars and drive by the State Capitol and other government buildings and blow our horns very vigorously. We will call it "Toot for Loot."
Even if your business has only one or two employees, a policy manual can be a valuable tool. A policy manual keeps you from reinventing the wheel every time a question arises, and reduces the risk of treating employees differently. This eliminates a situation of discrimination. It can also reduce conflict since all employees will see that you are treating them equally.
A well-written policy manual ensures consistent answers, procedures and guidelines for all of your employees to follow. It allows quick and easy access to information that ensures that everyone understands your company policies.
New employees join your company full of questions. The policy manual will give them a great deal of the background information they need to be successful on the job. It quickly gets the employee familiar with the company style, policies and procedures. It affords all employees a clearer understanding of your company's expectations.
Your policy manual serves as documentation of your company's position on a variety of subjects, including harassment, substance abuse and discrimination.
DO:
* Use a disclaimer stating that the policy manual is subject to revision at anytime. Identify that no one in the company has the right to amend a policy or to enter into an employment contract except the president (or owner, etc.) of the company, and then only in writing.
* Be sure that the wording of the policy manual fits with the culture and style of your company.
* Train supervisors and managers how to use the manual properly.
* Have every employee read the manual and sign a statement that they understand and will comply with the policies and procedures. Answer any questions the employees may have before they sign the statement.
* Review your policy manual at least once a year to ensure compliance with current laws and changes in your business or industry.
* Clearly explain your employee expectations and benefits. Create a separate handbook for employees to keep which details the benefits and policies they need on a daily basis.
* Allow access to policy manual by employees when they request it.
DON'T:
* Don't promise anything in the policy manual that you are not willing or able to comply with. Hawaii law recognizes policy manuals and employee handbooks as legally enforceable contracts. If you don't live up to what you promise in the manual, the courts can force you to comply. Don't expect a policy manual to protect you or your company if you are going to act contrary to what you state in the manual.
* Don't use the "P" words; probationary, permanent or progressive discipline. All these terms limit what actions you can take as an employer.
* Don't use subjective language. Don't use words like "fairly," or "treated well," as these terms could become a battle of interpretations both in and out of court.
* Consider having an expert review your current manual or create one for you.
Shared Resources provides personnel management, including writing policy manuals and employee handbooks, for Hawaii's businesses. SBH members are eligible to receive a free review of their current policy manual, conducted by Pamela Gottlieb. For more information, call 396-3000.
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