Small Business Shoulda Coulda Woulda's

So you want to start your own business. Great! It is one of the American dreams. But many entrepreneurs will tell you that along the way to that dream there can be some nightmarish lessons to be learned. Here are some of the Shoulda Woulda Coulda lessons from a few veteran entrepreneurs.

Attitude Counts

Most successful business persons agree, you’d better enjoy and be passionate about your business. You’ll need that love to carry you through the bad days. “Even if you're doing what you're passionate about - which you better be in the world of entrepreneurialism - some days will suck. We all think it’s hard. It's ok. Tomorrow will be better,” says Andy Hayes (http://www.andyhayes.com/).

Having the Right People Is Important

In one of my favorite books, Good to Great, Jim Collins notes that one of the keys to a company – in fact any organization – making the leap from good to great, rests in their having the “right people on the bus and then the right people in the right seat”. This metaphor, quite simply, illustrates the role human capital or a human resource plays in the future success or failure of a company. Many small businesses owners first need to realize that they can’t always do it alone. Then once you’ve made this crucial decision to seek help, you have to choose the right partners and the right staff.

“Probably one of my biggest ‘wish I knew then’ moments would be know who the right people to hire are. As a young company with limited capital, you're usually going to go for the cheapest option and one of those is your friends. I wish I realized that hiring friends is not only bad for your company, but also your friendship, “ says AmyLynn Keimach of Border7 Studios (http://www.border7.com/).

Brad Shepard, one of the founders of Innovar Partners (http://www.innovarpartners.com/), an operational improvement firm, is involved in his second startup. He admits that some of his mistakes from his first company, Eyeformatics, are benefiting his new venture. One of Mr. Shepard’s lessons learned? -- Assemble the right team. He notes, “People! Very cliché, but so true. With Innovar Partners, that meant finding the right business partner, Shawn Coffman, and then surrounding ourselves with an absolute all-star team of professionals. Taking care to assemble the right team reaps more rewards than imaginable. Although you have to get the ball rolling to attract top people, once you do it is imperative that you find creative ways to get people excited and keep them engaged. At Eyeformatics I tried to play too many roles in which I had no direct background experience.”

Greg Stallkamp , (http://www.holosfitness.com/) “feel[s] that one of the most important things in starting a business is having the right resources at your disposal, especially human resources. I would never approach a business with the idea of, ‘we'll find the right person after we launch’. Instead, I feel it is completely necessary to have the right resources lined up before launching. This will save a lot of time and headaches. And if you're not able to find the right resources prior to launch, it’s only going to become more difficult as time goes on.”

And just as finding the right people is key, when you realize a relationship isn’t working, Act! “Don't wait too long to get rid of people that aren't performing well - they just drag the whole organization down,” says Mike Walker of WalkerTek Interactive Marketing (http://www.walkertek.com/).

Put it in Writing

There is a saying that a goal is just a dream until your write it down. Sometimes small business owners underestimate to power of a business plan. “Boy did business hit me upside the head!”, says Ros Guerrero of Ficklets (http://ficklets.com/). “Having a vision in my mind is one thing, but not having it on paper isn't visionary at all. What I would have done from the beginning is created a comprehensive business plan that included a comprehensive marketing plan. Now that our company is growing, working capital is needed to expand and g row with the demand. Having a business plan in place would have [helped] us prepare to seek funding from potential investors.”

Find a Good Accountant or Bookkeeper

Leah Cochran (http://www.glocalconsulting.com/)— who has been in business since 2008 -- believes that being proactive about your bookkeeping and taxes is very important. “Things I should have done, immediately -- talk to a CPA about what is able to be written off, etc for taxes. I volunteered pro bono services (about $15,000 worth) after hearing other companies being able to write-off the work. When I got to my CPA this year, he said NOOOOO. It's not income, so you can't write it off.

Traci Ellis (http://www.traciellislaw.com/), an attorney, agrees that starting off with bookkeeping assistance is key. “My BIG regret was not having a bookkeeper for my business operating account. As a result of trying to save money and be a "DIY'er" (Do it yourselfer), I totally screwed up my accounting records, didn't have a good handle on cash flow, and because I was busy practicing law, didn't pay bills on time. Of course, by paying bills late, I was hit with late fees and added interest, etc. How dumb is that? Also, my idea of cash flow management was to sign into online banking, and if there was money in the account spend it! But, when a nice guy from the power company showed up one day at my office with a disconnect notice, I KNEW I had to make a change. So, I hired a bookkeeper. My financial life has been incredible every since! I have a good sense of what I need to bring in every month, what my monthly expenses are, and actually even have reserves now! I am now a REFORMED DIY'er (and proud of it)!”

Cash Flow & Financing

Even before you hang up your shingle or register your domain name, you have to think about how you are going to pay the bills when there are no profits. Jenna Oltersdorf of SnackBox (http://www.snackbox.us/) says, “Create a nest egg for your company. The first few years can be tough from a cash flow perspective. When times are profitable, put money aside to help out during the lean times.”

LaTron Brown (http://www.seniorlifestyleconcierge.com/) realized that whatever you think you need to start your business, add on to that magic number. “For my business, I wish I would have begun with more funding. I underestimated the amount that I needed, even as I was saving while in a full-time position. I found that as general rule if you are serious about diving right into starting your business, you should save up enough/borrow enough for an 8 month emergency fund for bills, one year of salary and startup costs. Otherwise, do it part time while you are working a full time job. If one is downsized from a corporate job like I was and can't save that much because of [an] unexpected layoff, consider getting a job through a temp agency or a part-time job. However, if you have to borrow money, then try family and friends first; make banks loans the last resort. These are some factors that I wish I had considered.”

Be careful of relying on credit cards to help with cash flow. For every story of the successful entrepreneur or film maker who financed their project with credit cards and then became a big success, there are countless business owners for whom that doesn’t work. And don’t think you’ll make up for it later with a bank loan. That’s not necessarily always an option. “If I would have known that I could EVER be turned down for a loan (I had perfect credit) I would NEVER have used my credit cards to get me through the recession,” says Becky Sturm (http://www.stormsister.biz/).

Always remember to follow the money, “When overwhelmed with a ‘To Do’ list, remember: what's the next thing closest to money? E.g. if you need to do this marketing campaign, or take five minutes to send out invoices, shouldn't you really take a deep breath, do the invoices, then move on? Get organized, because at the end of the day, even if your ideas are good and your plan is solid, if you run out of cash, you lose,” says Mr. Hayes.

Marketing Marketing Marketing

Let’s face it. You are not going to be successful if no one knows you exist. When it comes to marketing Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda’s, Carolyn E. Stys (http://www.bluemontcapital.com/) just wishes she had hired a true marketing pro and started networking SOONER!

Eugenia Francis (http://www.teachildmath.com/) wishes she had learned the value of press releases sooner. “A well written press release is a good investment. ‘Times Tables, the Key to Your Child's Success?’ (which I wrote) was blasted over the internet. Not only has [the press release] appeared in several languages, but [it] was reprinted in EDUCATION MATTERS, a periodical for teachers. I should've done this earlier,” says Ms Francis.

Press releases are important, and with so many free and low-cost press release distribution services online, it is possible for even a small business to develop a strong marketing campaign that includes press releases. Just know that to see tremendous return on your investment – like anything in life – it’s not just quantity, it’s quality. Send out press releases often, but you have to have a great story to tell before you decide to send out a press release.

And don’t do any new marketing strategy unless you can evaluate its effectiveness and your ROI (return on investment). Ms. Francis suggests adding coupons to your newspaper ads. “Advertising in magazines [and newspapers] is expensive. Every quarter, the ad exec would beg me to renew my ad. I decided to include a coupon in the ad. When not one coupon was redeemed, I dropped my ad. My advice: include a coupon in your ads to see if indeed you are reaching/persuading customers.”

Getting Feedback

Most veteran entrepreneurs would agree that you can never do too much networking. One of the outcomes of networking is getting feedback on your work. This is especially true for creative types of business ventures, where your success depends on pleasing the aesthetic sensibilities of your target market – or at least the professional buyers and gatekeepers of your target markets.

According to Marybeth Wydock of Velvet Lime Designs (http://www.velvetlimedesigns.com/), “ You’ve got your vision...your ‘pie in the sky’, but getting in front of retail people and getting yourself into a showroom is literally a dog-eat-dog world. You're fighting trying to make yourself completely different and stand out from the crowd so that people notice you. I think a lot of it is about networking and getting the most opinions -- good and bad -- from anybody you can. Once you go through the whole process for a while, what you originally envisioned might be completely different from what you end up with and that can be a very good thing sometimes!“

The Customer Relationship Is Not Always Right

They say that the customer is always right. Well that’s not exactly true. However, in customer service your goal may be to figure out a way to make the customer right, or at least satisfied, so that you can keep them. But sometimes, you have to admit that some customers are just not right for your business. Ms. Oltersdorf believes that sometimes you have to “[k]now that it's okay to fire a client. If they aren't a good fit for any reason, it's more than okay to sever ties and move on. Knowing how to go about firing the client would have been incredibly helpful [to me].”

Focused Effort

Knowing when to fire a customer goes hand in hand with the realization that you cannot be everything to everybody. You have to have focus. If you try to make your product or services fit everyone, you actually dilute your worth. Sometimes your better served when you figure out “Who is the right customer for my product or service” and focus on being the best for them.
Likewise, figuring out what business you are really in helps move you toward success. Did you ever hear why lion tamers use a stool as a prop when they enter the arena? It’s because the lion tries to focus on all four stool legs at once and the lack of focus helps the trainer keep the lion from his natural goal, devouring the trainer. If you lose focus you lose your ability to devour the market.

Jared OToole of Under30CEO (http://www.under30ceo.com/) states, “ When I started a business I wish I knew the importance of focusing on one area. It’s so crucial to pick a path and put all your efforts into it. We spent a year in the beginning changing plans and biz models. Once we picked a path and made the leap 100% we saw explosive growth and haven’t looked back.”

Learn From Your Mistakes

I love the Sesame Street song, “Everyone Makes Mistakes,” sung by Big Bird. I even use it in my Power of CARE™ motivational/quality improvement speech and workshops. The basic message of the song is, hey everyone makes mistakes, so why do you think you’ll be any different? The key to success is not that you will never make a mistake, it is what you do after you make those mistakes. What did you learn from it? How are you going to do better tomorrow?

As Mr. Shepard put it, “In the end it is not one single element that I think makes a difference between success and failure. It is the combination of several working together. In my case, the experience with Eyeformatics has deeply impacted our Innovar Partners success. Without the prior failure, Innovar Partners would be a different company if it existed at all.”

What Does Success Mean to Me

I may not be under 30 anymore, but the Under 30 CEO used my answer to the question: What Does Success Mean to You.

Check it out. Mine is #36.

Board Games as Metaphor for Life

One Thanksgiving weekend at my Cousin Amy’s house in Maryland, several of us were playing games in the living room. One table had a game of Spades under way, and I was playing a new game with my young cousin and my Aunts. None of us had ever played this game before, so this was going to be a learning process for all of us.

The game was Blokus, which before that day I had never even heard of, let alone played. Put as simply as possible, it kind of reminded me of a board game version of Tetris. Each person had a series of colored blocks that resemble Tetris configurations and your goal is to place as many of your pieces down on the board, corner to corner, while blocking your opponent (s) from placing theirs.

The first time we played, I was completely blocked from placing any more of my pieces within about four turns around the table. I realized quickly my Aunt and cousin were not allowing for a “getting up to speed” round of the game. That was okay. I used the rest of my idle time at the table studying the remaining two players and learning the strategy of the game.

After that, the addition of another Aunt to my list of opponents and one more game found me in my “game zone”. After one win by my young cousin, not only was I hooked on this game, I knew I had unlocked my strategic energy…I never lost another Blokus game that night.

The Game Master

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am very competitive when it comes to games. I love playing board and card games, especially those that require intense strategic thinking to win. And oh yeah…I HATE TO LOSE.

I look at the average board game a lot like I look at life. It drives me crazy in games of partnership like Spades, when my partner doesn’t think strategically, but simply plays cards without thinking of future consequences to the game. When I play cards or a board game, I’m not just thinking about the card I play or the move I make at that moment. I’m usually considering the impact of this move on the next, third or even fourth move thereafter.

To win the game, you cannot play cards or make moves in isolation. The same is true in this far more complicated game of life. The choices you make in life are never in isolation. The choices you make today will always have impact on the choices you make tomorrow; or are impacted by the choices you made in the past.

As in that game of Blokus, you must take every opportunity to learn from your mistakes. I could have sulked away from the table after losing that first game so quickly, but I took it as an opportunity to learn the game better, to learn my opponents and how they played the game.

You must do this in life. Whether it is your marriage, your business or your profession, no one comes in knowing all the rules and the “ways of your partners and opponents”. You will make mistakes. But the bigger mistake would be quitting after your first loss or misstep.

By the third game, I was in serious strategic planning mode. As others were taking their turns, I was coming up with two or three options, in case one got blocked by another player. I was also looking at my pieces and figuring out how I could link two or three pieces based on the current board configuration.

Have you ever been in an experience where a new person comes into a company or organization and immediately wants to change everything? That’s a person who hasn’t learned a valuable lesson in life…before you can “improve” something, or put your mark on it, you first have to understand it. True understanding takes time. And true understanding sometimes takes a few tries and mistakes.

Some of the best inventors in the world had hundreds, even thousands of mistakes before they “got it right”. They were able to ultimately reach their level of success because they didn’t see those failures as just failures, but as opportunities to learn what doesn’t work.

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed.”

– Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison -- perhaps one of the greatest inventors of all time -- contended there were no such things as mistakes so long as you learned from them. For him, “Every wrong attempt discarded is just one more step forward” toward success.

So, in this game called life, I advise you to think like Edison and learn from your mistakes. Take the time to seek understanding of the people and circumstances you are surrounded by before you jump toward making decisions. Think strategically. And don’t ever volunteer to be my spades partner unless you know how to play the game.

Flirting with Your Spouse

I am a firm believer in the power of flirting. It has benefits not only for the flirter, but also the flirtee. If you are married, do you still flirt with your spouse? Do me a favor and take this quick survey.

If you feel strongly about this topic or you have a particularly good story to tell. Contact me, I'd love to interview you for an upcomin article.

How Do We Encourage Creativity?

Lessons Learned

I've contributed to an article on Carol Roth's blog called Unsolicited Business Advice

Check it out.

A Chef and a Fish Farmer Who Know the Power of Relationships

4 Reasons to Update Your Resume

Despite what I think is an obvious practice for any professional -- updating your resume on a regular basis -- many professionals’ resumes have cobwebs on them.

In a way, it’s easy to understand how one falls into this habit of inactivity. You may be a long term employee of your company and feel you will never look for another job in your life; so why do you need to update your resume? Maybe you feel your profession doesn’t require a resume as part of the application process. So even if you do apply for another job in your lifetime, you won’t need a resume. Or maybe you are one of those people who feel “I’ll cross that bridge when and if I need to so why bother until it’s absolutely necessary”.

Well I’m here to tell you, no matter what your reasons for not updating your resume in the last year, two years or two decades, even if no one but you will ever see it again, there is value in updating your resume on a regular basis.

Reason #1 -- Career Reality Check

Updating your resume is an opportunity for you to look back on your career and assess the strengths and weaknesses. If when you do take the time to update your resume, you find that you have very little to add or update since the last time, that’s not a good sign of the health and vitality of your career.

In my workshops on resume and cover letter writing, I have advised participants that their resume should be a snapshot of a successful career, and therefore should include milestones and accomplishments they have achieved. If it’s been over a year since you have updated your resume and you have no new accomplishments, achievements or newly acquired skills to add, that’s a clue that you need to work on your career.

The process of updating your resume can be a very valuable barometer of how well you have managed various facets of your career. Does your resume reflect a desire for continuous training and education in your field? Does it show that you have taken on new and increasingly more difficult responsibilities over the years? Does it show positive outcomes and results that benefited you, your company or your customers? If the answer is no to any or all of these questions, then your exercise in resume updating can serve as a kick start to your working on any of the weaknesses in your professionalism.

Reason #2 -- Resumes Are Not Just for Job Searches

Just because you’re not looking for a job doesn’t mean your resume doesn’t have other uses. If you are in the public or non-profit sector, it may be a necessary piece of an application for funding. Likewise, many companies have employee recognition programs and almost all have annual employee evaluations. Having your resume up to date can prove valuable in both of these situations.

Having been in the non-profit, community action arena as a Director myself, I was often involved in grant writing to fund key projects. Many grantors wish to know the people they are potentially investing in as well as the programs. Therefore, they request applicants included resumes of the key staff members who will be running these programs. Imagine your program is submitting a grant with a tight deadline and your supervisor says she needs a copy of your resume. Ooops, it’s been three years since you updated it and it doesn’t even have your most recent promotion and increase in duties. Do you give it to your boss as is, or take the time to update it and hope you don’t make a mess of it while you try to get it done by tomorrow?

Sometimes resumes can be an essential component of expressing your personal benefits and value to your company or agency. Does your organization have a merit award program to recognize outstanding achievement among its staff? Imagine how much easier your case for recognition would be if you were able to include an up to date resume that details many of the significant contributions you have made to the success of the company. Even if you aren’t looking for a specific merit award, during that annual evaluation process, having taken the time to contemplate your career for your resume means you will be that much more prepared when you and your supervisor analyze your job performance over the last year.

Reason #3 -- Always Be Prepared

When I was a Director in a non-profit, one day a staff person called me up to ask if I’d help her with her resume. She was interested in applying for a newly opened position within the program, which would be a promotion for her. I had helped individual staff before, plus she knew I had presented resume and cover letter workshops for staff and clients. Most of my staff knew I have high expectations for resumes, even for internal candidates.

Although I was more than willing to help her, I had to also bring to her attention that she was asking one of the persons who, in part, would be involved in the hiring decision making to help her with her application package. Had she come to one of my resume workshops she would have known that I was a strong advocate of always having your resume ready, just in case an opportunity presents itself. She in turn said she didn’t feel she needed a resume until she found out about this new position within the program. This is exactly the kind of thinking I try to change.

I like that saying… luck is when opportunity meets preparation. The opportunity for advancement within your current company may present itself when you least expect it. However, you will not be able to take advantage of this opportunity if you haven’t prepared yourself, both in your daily work performance and your ability to present that positive work ethic in written form.

Reason #4 -- Life Happens…Never Say Never

There is no such thing as complete job security these days. About the only people who have true job security are the Supreme Court Justices and the Pope.

We may think we have a job for life, but as we see in this current economy, your company's economic health can change directions like the wind. Having taken the time to update your resume on a regular basis means you will not be caught ill prepared should the day come when your secure job gets eliminated or outsourced.

Quite simply, David Pogue is fabulous

Top Tips for Elevating Your Personal Brand

My tip is #32 on Cindy Yantis' Blog

Check it out.

I Have My Mother's Face

We lost my mother to cancer in 2000. Today would have been her 69th birthday. In honor of her life and the special gifts of love and friendship she gave her family & friends, I say Happy Birthday Mummy...we miss you.

I have my mother’s face. Now I don’t mean I look like her; although, I do look a lot like my mother. A running “bit” between us was when someone would say I looked like her and she’d say, “You think so?!? I think she looks just like Peter.” (My father, of course.) To which I’d say, “You know I look just like you. You can’t not claim me!”

My mother had one of those faces. People, strangers, seemed to be drawn to her. Perhaps because she had one of those faces that somehow seemed familiar. Many people seemed to feel they knew her from somewhere. But mostly, people seemed to feel she had the face of someone they could talk to.

Many times when I was growing up, I was fascinated by how often my mother seemed to have a long conversation with a total stranger in a store or some other public place. They just seemed to want to tell her their life story in the few short moments they had her attention. And since she was one of those persons you could talk to, my mother would listen and talk back.

I have my mother’s face. I seem to experience this same phenomenon. People -- strangers -- just come out and start talking to me. And many of these chance encounters resonate and remain with me, months and years later.

There are the completely bizarre and humorous ones. Like the time on the train between home in Boston and school in Virginia where a nice elderly white woman sat down next to me and the first words out of her mouth were, “We have a black girl in our family and we just love her.” I smiled and said, “That’s great. Every family should have one.”

And then there are the times when what started as a great conversation turned to awkwardness. Like on a plane when after more than an hour of a wonderful conversation with a woman on everything from politics to health & nutrition to education she said, “How are you so knowledgeable? You are so knowledgeable!” She said it with such surprise in her voice that I knew – as any intelligent black person who comes across a well meaning, but still sheltered Caucasian person knows -- the unspoken conclusion of that sentence was, “…for a black person.” And the wonderful experience was ruined. I simply answered, “I read.” And the rest of the conversation just lost its enjoyment.

But then there are those times, which I love. Where I feel like I’m one of those human story archivists who has the pleasure of peeking into another person’s life. Like the time I talked with Mr. Cohen.

On an unseasonably cold fall day, I was at the local post office, waiting in the car for my husband, who was waiting for Triple A to come fix his car. Up to my mini-van window came Mr. Cohen. I rolled it down in response to his smile and gentle tap and we proceeded to have a wonderful and humorous conversation...for more than half an hour.

Mr. Cohen was about in his mid-seventies, maybe early eighties. He lived alone, having lost the love of his life a few years ago. He had a great sense of humor, a ready laugh and obvious from a few of his stories, did not abide by people being just plain silly.

Despite the brisk cold air, Mr. Cohen was determined to have a conversation right there in the parking lot. And aside from the fact that he kept me company while I waited, he also taught me a lesson and made me think about my mother-in-law.

We often joke that we can tell when my mother-in-law calls on the phone because the people on this end barely get a word in edgewise. She is a strong and relatively healthy octogenarian who also lives alone, having lost the love of her life some 25 plus years ago. My conversation with Mr. Cohen reminded me of the importance of taking the time to have conversations with our elders. Even if you find it's more of a monologue verses a dialog, there is worth in the experience.

So not only did I have a great conversation with Mr. Cohen, he helped me to remind myself of the importance of taking time with our loved ones, because -- relatively speaking -- we have such a short time with them.

And it was all because I have my mother's face. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Understanding Your Brand

What is your company brand? What is your personal brand? In business, people often confuse the company logo with the brand and assume they are one in the same. But actually, the logo is just a symbolic representation of what your brand has come to mean in the minds of your customers and potential customers.

The Brand Is the Relationship

Put very simply, your brand is your relationship with your consumers or stakeholders… your reputation. It is the level of expectation that has been set and will continuously be renegotiated upon each new interaction with the consumer.

To illustrate, think of what your personal “brand” is as an individual. As an individual, are you seen as trustworthy, intelligent and responsible? Or do you in fact have a negative brand? Are you seen as rude, combative or lazy?

Based on the long or short term relationship that has been established, you have set up a certain level of expectation for current and future interactions with others. If your reputation is positive, you will have to work less to continue the relationship. Even if you have small slips in your performance as a friend, spouse, family member or colleague, your past positive relationship will give you the “benefit of the doubt” and the relationship can survive.

However, if your reputation or personal brand is based on negative previous experiences, even if you seek to change that reputation and improve, you will have to work that much harder to overcome people’s bad opinion of you.

Branding In Business

Now that’s your personal brand. And ones personal brand can certainly have an impact on ones business brand. For some they are one in the same. Just ask Martha Stewart.

As a business person or professional in any industry, you should be aware of your organization’s brand. And don’t think your stakeholders won’t remind you of what they think it is.

Why I love IKEA

I’m reminded of an incident when I was in my twenties and furnishing my apartment, and I had to remind IKEA of their brand.

I had bought two tall black cabinets to put in my dinning room. I got them back to my apartment and began to assemble them. I had bought assemble-it-yourself furniture before, so I was pretty secure in my abilities to put them together.

I got to the point where I was supposed to put on the doors and I came to a problem: there were no pre-drilled holes to put on the door hinges. Even a muscle man would not have been able to get these screws into that black laminate covered MDF frame of the doors. Frustrated but determined, I stopped the fruitless efforts and put the project aside. I’d have to borrow or rent a power drill; which I did a few days later.

Being a twenty-something, not mechanically inclined, individual, my efforts at using an unfamiliar power tool were not exactly stellar. So after a couple of even more frustrating tries I gave up and called IKEA.

The Specs Don’t Call For Pre-Drilled Holes Ma’am

Now IKEA’s customer service representatives were more than civil and respectful, but they were also being absolutely no help what so ever. When I told them my item didn’t have pre-drilled holes, more than one representative told me, “Ma’am, the specifications for that item do not call for pre-drilled holes.” As if I were calling them because I thought the manufacturers had simply forgotten to drill the holes. And this is where I had to remind them of their brand.

I reminded them that one of their major brand identities (no I’m sure I didn’t put it that way, but I was close to saying this) was the ease of assembly of their products. According to them, I should be able to put together all of their items with a screwdriver, a hammer, and that ubiquitous little “L” shaped tool that they supply. If the item required me to use a drill to assemble, that went against the established promise they had made to me the consumer.

They offered me the option of bringing the items back to the store of course. But since I was in Delaware and the two closest IKEA stores were at least 45 minutes away from me, and the two cabinets were already mostly assembled except for the doors so they wouldn’t fit back in my little car, AND because I still wanted my cabinets, that was not an acceptable solution for me.

Truth be told, I really hadn’t a clue how to resolve this situation. I wanted them to figure out how to make me happy. I can’t remember if I came up with the ultimate solution or they did, but I do remember that I ended up speaking with a supervisor. Since the front line reps were no help, I asked to speak to a supervisor, because I learned from my parents early on, “Never accept no from someone who doesn’t have the authority to say yes in the first place.”

IKEA Customer for Life

So once I heard the same line about the specs and the lack of pre-drilled holes from the supervisor and she realized I wasn’t going to let them off the hook or the phone that easily, she finally said the words that will make me an IKEA customer for life…”Ma’am, we will send a carpenter to your home to assemble the cabinets for you at no charge.”

Needless to say, that option made me very happy, and even if it wasn’t exactly the solution that was most cost effective, it was the one that saved my relationship with them. It saved my opinion of their brand.

That was more than a decade ago and I’m still talking about it and still purchasing from IKEA. And even more important…those cabinets have seen two other apartments and are now sitting in the lower level office of my home.