Room & Board is an American modern furniture and home furnishings retailer whose inventory is 90 percent American-made. Nice, right? Well, the company goes one better: they actually come out and FIX furniture in the customer’s own home.
Skeptical? Don’t be – I’ve personally made use of this in-home furniture repair service.
It’s a great model: Room & Board seeks out experienced craftspeople to facilitate the repairs, in essence passing along that accumulated experience in the mending/problem-solving arena in terms of damaged or missing parts, malfunctions, etc.
Why is this important in terms of growing a small business? Because of the experience factor, which impacts a number of issues, including: the ability to gain and convert patrons from potentials to repeats; and the amount one can charge for a product or service.
Say you think you’re effectively ascending that mountainous path to business development success, and yet … forward momentum is at a literal standstill. What gives? Could be you’re so brand spanking new that credentials alone are simply not enough.
So, what to do?
First, be realistic about business circumstances and pose a few pragmatic questions about yourself and your fledgling company:
- I’ve got the education but lack experience … and I NEED experience to advance.
- I’m going to price myself attractively (i.e. sensibly) in order to obtain that experience.
- AM I DELIVERING?
- Does the consumer think my product/service has value?
- Do customers see tangible results (even if it’s an intangible service)?
So, you’ll need to test the market and find out if your product/service is actually useful. Fortunately, there are a plethora of methods available that will help in both delivering consequential metrics and understanding those measurements.
Complicated, yes, but the payout is clear. If the metrics bear out that you are delivering and that consumers do indeed find value, then:
- Your ability to charge more increases; and
- Loyal, satisfied ongoing clients (i.e. repeat business) will result.
And what if, as an owner, you can take all this further? What about collaborating your way to effective small business development? Hmm….
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What’s your experience of the experience component of the small business development? Please comment below!
Also read the other articles in this series:
