(Reposted from our Collaborator Community)
Global Food Collaborative is celebrating 20 years of business this year and it has been a great privilege to have had so many awesome experiences and meet such innovative, hardworking individuals and families. I am forever grateful.
Spoiler alert: This is not a good-bye, but rather the evaluation step in the process of business management, i.e., planning, organizing, staffing, controlling and evaluation. It is my very favorite step allowing for everything from tweaking to major pivots. It should also serve as time to pat yourself on the back for meeting or exceeding your metrics (and living to talk about it.)
The origin story: GFC was born out of frustration that small and medium food and related producers did not have what the big guys had in their toolbox: connections and resources. How were the innovative new and small/medium, often remote businesses going to thrive if they didn't have access? I had already been teaching and counseling small businesses and repeatedly observed that direct connections to others doing similar in business was one of the most powerful drivers to success. It worked decision maker to decision maker, owner to owner, farmer to farmer, etc. What could I provide that was missing? 1) Access to the resources that were integral to the success of the big guys - the supply chain. 2) B2B decision maker connections. So, what's a girl to do?
A plan: I hunted the globe for a business model and talked to leaders from various aspects of the supply chain and came up empty. So, I just started Global Food Collaborative, LLC. I knew it would have to grow organically and maneuver through new business territory fueled by curiosity and passion. It started with a newsletter, telling short stories of communities and their food supply chain - fishers, farmers, distributors, retailers and so much more. I simultaneously completed my Masters in Global Supply Chain co-opting most of my cohort class to focus the 18-month program on food.
The newsletter was later supported with in-person events, as well as a constant flow of e:introductions and circling back around like a herding dog with great satisfaction with the benefits - sometimes transactional and others strategic.
So, what are my top 5 takeaways?
1
Products and services are constantly being developed without input or feedback from existing or potential customers.
Is your business market driven? If not, it should be. If so, here are two questions that I have found key to ask in a survey of existing and potential customers. What would you like and how would you like it with special attention on the how. I strongly encourage the best practice of an annual evaluation of your business starting with a survey of your existing or potential customers. In person is optimum, calling is a close second and an on-line survey will work. It continues to floor me that this easy route is not universally adopted and I can tell you it is over and over and over. This is why business owners rave about tradeshows and farmers markets, because it is instant feedback. Here's the deal. When you see people in person or call, you are truly communicating and ad-hoc conversations can ensue that provide greater business insights and opportunities. Relationships are built here. A lot is left on the table, when this most crucial step is abandoned.
There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. - Sam Walton
2
Managing expectations with your family and business partner(s) is more than a hack.
One of the most under-rated considerations leading to mis-steps and business failures is not having the discussion with your family and/or business partners about expectations for the coming year. I'm in awe of the couples, families and/or business partners that establish and grow their business together. These stories seem like they'd make a great movie, book or podcast. Shout out to each and every one of them. Unfortunately, the alternative is far too common and good ideas fall apart at execution. Take time to listen to your family and partner about their expectations and ask them to listen to your expectations of themselves, you and the business. Relationships are strengthened here. This is an exercise to determine if your expectations are realistic and those, you're counting on have the ability to fulfill your expectations. Don't set your business or them up for failure. I've seen my share of divorces, bankruptcies, families torn apart, partnerships dissolved and disputed and great solutions sold off in frustration. It's a risk easily averted by routinely having "the talk.. and listen sessions". Sometimes the greatest relief is the understanding things aren't working out and facilitating a new plan.
3
Ask for help.
As I write these, I can't help thinking of individuals I've worked with over the years who have asked for help. One such individual has a business celebrating about the same length of time as GFC. His business manufacturers a food product that has met and exceeded benchmarks of direct to consumer, food service and retail channels. He stands out, because he asks for help and/or advice from nearly everyone he meets. It may be his business relationship building strategy and, if so, it works. At the very minimum, it keeps his brand top of your mind and differentiates him as inviting in - not closed off from his customers and supply chain partners. Relationships are valued here.
I recently used this technique to inquire with a subject matter expert on a critical aspect of the supply chain where I needed help. We had a good conversation and I learned quite a bit, including the fact that most who call him for similar information are pretty much only the "big guys". You'd be surprised the people who will offer qualified expertise with a simple request for help.
4
4 - Don't abandon your business.
It just be a thing these days as a shiny new object (or perceived) opportunity appears and you promise to return later. There is an official business term called the theory of business continuity. I learned about it early on when my boss wanted to (and did) go fishing every summer. She'd hang a sign on the door and head for the Kenai River to do what she loved. During the hiatus, new competition arrived and became more formidable. She did not like that! It was a choice she had made and I doubt she had any regrets, but the value of her business and relevancy evaporated, as a result.
It seems to be a more frequent phenomena these days with an endless list of explanations on why it makes sense. Remember, a business is an extension of you until such time as you close, transfer it or go public. In absentia tells customers that you've prioritized another option in overseeing the service or product you promised. It is rare that another option doesn't exist for your customers. Relationships are broken here. Consciously nurture them or move on.
5
5 - The power of collaboration.
As recently as last month, I observed a small group of business owners gathering together in a tight circle. They were attending a health-related event for food producers and previously never met, but during the introductions and first break, they became inseparable. They couldn't get their questions out fast enough to each other - where do you get your labels? do you have a distributor? how is your website doing for local sales? It was 2 full days of breaks and meals that these 3 formed their circle, but now with paper and phones recording contacts and information.
I observed this same behavior decades ago, realizing that these owners were open to share resources, experiences and connections with each other more readily if it was direct and protected (in the tight circle above). Thus, GFC living on a private platform designed to support direct connections for the purposes of leveraging their respective resources, including time.
There is nothing as valuable as direct connection and resulting collaboration in a curated group of business owners. I would be remiss in not mentioning that over the last 20 years, the number of interlopers inserting themselves between these relationships has grown exponentially.
Relationships are best formed, grown and sustained directly. There is no substitute for comparing notes on each others businesses and seeking out collaborations. Learning and applying this earlier, rather than later goes directly to the bottom line.
Collaboration is the best way to work. It's only way to work, really. Everyone's there because they have a set of skills to offer across the board. - Antony Starr
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