In PART I, I made the Statement that all businesses are in the information and technology business. In PART II, I explained that the important factor to realize is how to leverage that information to create business opportunity. Now in this PART III, I want to illustrate a simple case study of a “Shoe Shine” business that is in the information and technology business.
Case:
A shoe shine business operator leases a small 6 Ft. by 12 Ft. space in the lobby of an office building. The building is a prominent business location with plenty of lobby traffic. The business operator; we will call him “Ira” does well in his business and he is very well liked because of his people skills. He also has the daily paper, and current magazines for his patrons to read while he performs his shoe shine services. Over the years he has made many friends in the building and he always asks for a business card so that if any of his patrons leave anything behind he can always call them to let them know. Besides you never know when you might need a good insurance man, lawyer or accountant who work in the building. Ira acquired a simple “non smart” cell phone. As he learned how to use it he realized he can input all is business card contacts into his cell phone directory. In doing this he realized that a small percentage of clients were from the surrounding office building but by far most of his clients where from the businesses that operated in his building. (Here Ira analyzes data!)
Ira, is an entrepreneur who is always busy thinking, He asks the building owner if he can place a sign outside to advertise his business after he recalled many of his clients comment; they had no idea he was in the building and that only by chance did they stop in on business and notice his stand. However, the city won’t allow him to put a sign outside and the building owner was not willing to allow him to affix a sign on the building wall for fear of damage.
Ira kept thinking about the customers in other buildings that came very infrequently. He realized there was a whole untapped source of clients he wanted to serve. On a slow day he started looking at the directory and came across some executives he knew from other buildings. He decided to call them and asked a simple question; Would you be interested in a shoe shine while you sit in your office and have lunch or make phone calls? Essentially, Ira let his clients know he would come to them on a schedule convenient to them. The answer was a loud YES!, from almost all of those executives. (Here Ira has leveraged data into useful information to increase sales)
By scheduling visits, on one day every other week Ira was able to triple his income and increase traffic to his lobby. As word spread more people would stop by and visit his building. In addition he started a pick up and delivery service. He would pick up shoes when he visited the other buildings, shine and repair shoes, and either deliver them on his next round or call his new customers for a pick up when they were done. (Here Ira differentiated his business from other shoe shine businesses) His business picked up so much he had to hire an apprentice. Soon Ira had so many clients he had to figure out how to group his contact list on his cell phone by building. Ira is in fact in the information and technology business by the simple fact that he used a simple cell phone database and leveraged that information to generate more business.
Conclusion:
The Economist, a business magazine, published an article on January 27th, 2011; “Not Just Talk”, commenting on the use of cell phones and simple text capability for many business uses in non developed countries. The uses included providing market rates and quantities for common commodities by use of text messaging. An informal market of demand and supply allowing subscribers to find goods for sale by various vendors and locals. Another was a texting service where codes could be texted into a database system which would validate the authenticity of prescription drugs. A system designed to thwart drug counterfeiters. Even simple “non smart” phones have boundless capabilities in their use.
A qualified external CPA, with an operations approach, can take a fresh look at your business and provide valuable support. But looking beyond the numbers is skill set that takes years in the making.
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