Sustainability: Not Just for Mother Earth

In the new year, think about how you can make your business sustainable over the long term

BY LUANN NIGARA

Hello 2021! You sure took your time getting here.

My word for 2020 was “intense.” In hindsight, I think I could have been more mindful when selecting my word of the year. In fact, 2020 was so intense that by November, I had sworn off selecting a new word for 2021.

I am rethinking this now. I have had my holiday break and enjoyed time with the Vin Man, our kids, grandkids, family and friends. I am feeling more hopeful, so I am taking a shot at picking a word.

Let’s try this: sustainability. The quality of not being harmful to the environment, thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.

Somehow it feels gentle, genial, generous even. (Hint, hint 2021.) I am all for sustaining, supporting and saving our dear Mother Earth, the caretaker of us all. However, with my sincere apologies to you, my fellow global citizens, in regard to sustainability, my thoughts are a bit more egocentric. I am thinking, “Are we doing the activities that contribute to the sustainability of our business? Are our employees able to sustain the level of responsibility placed on them while feeling happy, optimistic and accomplished? Am I personally doing the activities that contribute to the sustainability of my health, both physical and mental, so I can sustain my business?”

Just as our dear Mother Earth must be sustained in order to provide for all of us, we, as business owners, need to support the long-term ecological balance of our companies. And this means we are personally responsible for the sustainability of the business, the humans we employ and the CEO (aka ourselves).

During the pandemic, we have grown our combined team at Window Works and the “A Well-Designed Business” podcast to 16. As I write this, we are actively pursuing two new hires. So, questions and concerns regarding sustainability of our environment are tippy top of mind for me.

We are asking ourselves these questions and I encourage you to do the same:

• Can we create enough leads to sustain the number of people on our sales team?

• Can our sales team sustain the pace of the leads we generate?

Can we generate enough sales to sustain our entire installation team

over the winter months? • Can our installation team sustain the work in our pipeline? (By the way, if you read my last column, you already know the answer to this is a resounding no.)

• Can we, employees and owners, sustain this pace and not burn out?

• Can we sustain our cash flow through the slower winter months?

• Can we sustain our cash flow if there is another wave of COVID-19 and we get locked down again?

• Can we sustain our visibility in our community as our company “ages” and young families move in?

• Can we do more to retain our existing customers and encourage even more referrals?

• Can we sustain the number of balls in the air and be effective leaders?

These are tough questions. The answers aren’t easy and aren’t always clear. This is exactly why I am grateful for my network of colleagues at Exciting Windows! In our monthly Zoom meetings, we brainstorm and support each other. We know we are not alone in the challenges we face as business owners. In 2020, with the exception of April and May, each one of us experienced record sales. And, as grateful as we are, we all agree that it has been incredibly difficult. It’s difficult to sustain the pace, manage the customer expectations, manage the pressure and lead the team to help them avoid burnout.

Our businesses require care, just like Mother Earth. Crazy busy or not, it is our responsibility to keep the future in mind. The actions we take today will affect our businesses in the future.

What practices do we need to institute to sustain our businesses?

START WITH YOUR CASH FLOW

Cash flow must be responsibly managed to sustain your business. After nearly four decades in the window treatment business, we know we must stockpile cash in Q3 and Q4 in order to sustain our business through Q1. This year we are also making additional plans for the unthinkable: a resurgence of the pandemic.

Just as a small warning, your cash on hand is a very different thing than your cash flow. If you don’t understand the difference, do not be embarrassed. Ask for help. Speak with a mentor or your accountant. It is imperative to learn how to evaluate and project your cash flow.

ALWAYS BE MARKETING

Marketing is critical to sustaining your business. It can and will look different for each business depending on your gross sales, years in business, target clients and business goals. But even if you think you have no available money for marketing, you can be and should be marketing.

Here are things you can do for free:

• Create a Facebook Live show to educate and speak to potential consumers.

• Create an email newsletter. This keeps you top of mind with your hottest lead source: people who have already bought from you.

Create a habit of asking every customer for a Google review. This increases your search ranking and your credibility with new-to-you customers.

Here are things you can do with just $10 a month:

• Send handwritten cards to previous customers.

Invite business owners who have companion businesses to yours (real estate agents, builders, architects) to coffee to discuss collaboration ideas and trade referrals.

Do as much as you can, whatever that is. There are always things you can do to sustain a top-notch marketing campaign. No excuses.

In truth, you should have put aside at minimum 5 to 10 percent of your yearly gross revenue for marketing. If you are new and growing, definitely shoot for that 10 percent range. If you didn’t do that in 2020, do it now for 2021. REVIEW YOUR PROJECT PIPELINE

Consistently review two things: Is your current pipeline enough work to sustain your current employee roster, and can your current employee roster sustain the current and projected pipeline? These are very different things. Both can be difficult to manage, especially when the answer to either question is no.

We look ahead at each quarter, with an even closer look at the next month, and review our actual sales and sales forecast. Then we compare that to our available man/woman power. Do we need to double down on marketing efforts to reach our numbers and keep our sales team busy, engaged and productive? How about the installation pipeline? Do we need to ask for some Saturday install time over the next few weeks or months? Conversely, when the installation pipeline isn’t full, we plan and schedule time to address our inhouse property maintenance projects that typically go undone during busy times.

EMPLOYEE HAPPINESS

Our most important resource as business owners is the people who work for us. Sustaining this most precious resource takes attention and care.

Bonuses, health benefits and paid time off are valued and should be part of the employment package for your employees to the level you are capable. However, never overlook the simplest of ways to invest in the sustainability of your team. Studies show over and over that the happiest and most productive employees are ones who feel seen and genuinely appreciated by their direct supervisor. For

many small businesses, this supervisor is us, the owner. Basic human kindness is critical in the sustainability of your staff.

Here are a few ways to show your team you care:

Each week, find five or 10 minutes to talk one-on-one with each employee. Ask how their day was and if there is anything they need from you to do their job better or more enjoyably.

• When a team member gets a compliment or a fabulous review, share it in front of your entire staff and celebrate it.

• Surprise everyone now and again with treats at your weekly meeting.

Plan time for your team to get away from the business and plan, bond, laugh and dream about what’s next for everyone in your company.

If we aren’t conscientious caretakers of our company, we put it and everyone connected to it at risk. The decisions we make daily affect its long-term survival and the sustainability of our livelihood. I hope you will join me in the crusade of sustainability in every form it takes. V

LuAnn Nigara is an award-winning window treatment specialist, a board member of WCAA and co-owner of Window Works in Livingston, NJ. Her highly successful podcast “A Well-Designed Business” debuted in February 2016. She has since recorded more than 600 episodes.

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