2. Jimโs Group : Jim Penman.* 1984: Jimโs Mowing. 2006: Jimโs Group. 2,600 franchisees (Australia, NZ, UK). Cleaning. Dog washing. Handyman. Fencing. Paving. Pool care. Etc. โPeople first.โ Private. Small staff. Franchisees can leave at will. 0-1 complaint per year is norm; cut bad ones quickly. *Ph.D. cross-cultural anthropology; mowing on the side Source: MT/Management Today (Australia), Jan-Feb 2006
3. Home Depot Business ToolBox: Payroll processing. Credit card processing. Personnel paperwork. Mobile phones. Shipping. Health insurance . 12K customers (plumbers, electricians, small homebuilders and contractors). Source: Forbes , 0918.06
5. Small Giants/Bo Burlingham "First, I could see that, unlike most entrepreneurs, their founders and leaders had recognized the full range of choices they had about the type of company they would create." "Second, the leaders had overcome the enormous pressures on successful companies to take paths they had not chosen and did not necessarily want to follow." "Third, each company had an extraordinarily intimate relationship with the local city, town, or county in which it did business -- a relationship that went well beyond the usual concept of โgiving back.'" "Fourth, they cultivated exceptionally intimate relationships with customers and suppliers , based on personal contact, one-on-one interaction, and mutual commitment to delivering on promises."
6. Small Giants/Bo Burlingham "Fifth, the companies also had what struck me as unusually intimate workplaces ." "Sixth, I was impressed by the variety of corporate structures and modes of governance that these companies had come up with." "Finally, I noticed the passion that the leaders brought to what the company did. They loved the subject matter , whether it be music, safety lighting, food, special effects, constant torque hinges, beer, records storage, construction, dining, or fashion."
9. The โSmall Guysโ Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Niche-aimed. (Never, ever โall things for all people,โ a โmini-Wal*Mart.) * Never attack the monsters head on! (Instead steal niche business and lukewarm customers.) * โ Dramaticall y Different โ (La Difference ... within our community, our industry regionally, etc โฆ is as obvious as the end of oneโs nose!) (THIS IS WHERE MOST MIDGETS COME UP SHORT.) * Compete on value/experience/intimacy, not price. (You ainโt gonna beat the behemoths on cost-price in 9.99 out of 10 cases.) * Emotional bond with Clients, Vendors. (BEAT THE BIGGIES ON EMOTION/CONNECTION!!)
10. The โSmall Gu y sโ Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Hands-on, emotional leadership. (โWe are a great & cool & intimate & joyful & dramatically different team working to transform our Clients lives via Consistently Incredible Experiences!โ) * A community star! (โSellโ local-ness per se. Sell the hell out of it!) * An incredible experience, from the first to last momentโand then in the follow-up! (โThese guys are cool! They โgetโ me! They love me!โ) * DESIGN DRIVEN! (โDesignโ is a premier weapon-in-pursuit-of-the sublime for small-ish enterprises, including the professional services.)
11. The โSmall Gu y sโ Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Employer of choice. (A very cool, well-paid place to work/learning and growth experience in at least the short term โฆ marked by notably progressive policies.) (THIS IS EMINENTLY DO-ABLE!!) * Sophisticated use of information technology . (Small-โishโ is no excuse for โsmall aimsโ/execution in IS/IT!) * Web-power! (The Web can make very small very big โฆ if the product-service is super-cool and one purposefully masters buzz/viral marketing.) * Innovative! (Must keep renewing and expanding and revising and re-imagining โthe promiseโ to employees, the customer, the community.)
12. The โSmall Gu y sโ Guide: Wallop Wal*Mart16 * Brand-Lovemark* (*Kevin Roberts) Maniacs ! (โBrandingโ is not just for big folks with big budgets. And modest size is actually a Big Advantage in becoming a local-regional-niche โlovemark.โ) * Focus on women-as-clients. (Most donโt. How stupid.) * Excellence! (A small player โฆ per me โฆ has no right or reason to exist unless they are in Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. One earns the rightโone damn day and client experience at a time!โto beat the Big Guys in your chosen niche!)
