Good Fellas

Good Fellas. Down the road a pace is a lovely little pizzeria known as Good Fellas. The atmosphere is great and the food is even better. We stop in every so often to have a pizza pie and get a salad bar rush. A little independently-owned pizza place. Maybe it's called some other hunger-inducing Italian name like Luigi's or That's Amoré or Gondola's or Romano's in your community. Not a franchise and you just know the food is always going to be good.

The other day, I had a hankerin' for a nice deep dish pizza, so I rolled up to Good Fellas, mouth watering and anxious to feed the need. But what I found was a padlocked door and a make-shift sign, sharpie-scrawled with "We're Out Of Business." Sadness overtook hunger and I questioned, "How did I not know? How did it come to this? My family eats here a couple times a month, everyone loves it. How did I not know that Good Fellas was struggling?"

A friend of mine wondered if it would have made a difference had they had posted a sign several months ago that said, "Hey, we are struggling and we need your business. Times are tough and we may have to close our doors." Wow, what a thought. What if, as a community, we more fully supported each other's businesses and made known our vulnerabilities? Would it make a difference or would it seem self-serving or too blatant? Thirty years ago, it was unethical - today, we tell different stories.

How many of us have recently been asked by friends, family, customers, clients, other business owners --"How's business these days?" Are we being honest or are we playing the big cover-up... "Oh, we're doing fine, of course, it is difficult right now, the economy and all." What would the askers think if we answered honestly, "If I don't close a deal within the next month, I will be closing my doors" or "If I don't pick up two more paying customers, I will have to change the direction of my company or pick up a second job in order to support myself/my family."

When is it ok to be vulnerable? Is it ever? Is illusion more important than saving your business or developing stronger bonds with colleagues or clients? The jobless rate is holding steady, yet the future is still unclear. When what we have tried is no longer working, what then? I am uneasy with waiting it out. I am uneasy with someone else holding my future in their hands. What if I wore a sign to the next Chamber of Commerce meeting in my community? "Will Work for You for Money."
The very root of marketing -> sautéed,
the essence of business development -> broiled,
and the need for sales -> filleted.

Are you hungry now?

by rayannethorn

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Thomas Patrick Chuna on August 27, 2009 at 8:29am

I don't think it serves a purpose, if a business owner is blunt about " I need business or I go under", because those who would patronize said business will still only do so if and when the business can address a particular need.

The business owner just comes across as desperate, and nobody wants to deal with desperate people.. think of the dating game - if one gives the hint of being needy, you get a one way ticket to friendsville, and are never taken seriously.

The only way out is for the business owner to keep reaching out with a value message - by that I mean offering something other than the lowest price, and not allowing themselves to be viewed as a commodity.

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Permalink Reply by Ambrish Kochikar on August 27, 2009 at 11:42am

Interesting point about the vulnerability. That vulnerability, or the feeling of being an underdog regardless of your size, or the desire to always keep your eyes on the horizon for the next big idea, is often what some customers feel distinguishes how some business operate from others.

Thomas makes a valid point. To see it another way, when someone decides to open a business, the compact is pure and simple. Serving unmet needs - for a profit. Ultimately, every business owner faces the question about who they're really serving.

Relying excessively on local patronage at the expense of reaching outside the zip code (for example) may not appear to be a sound idea in normal times. Similarly, lowering your prices OR seeking to draw in customers with anything that sounds like 'please visit us' ONLY when the climate gets rough, undercuts the message of value in your offerings and makes the customer feel like a loser for giving you business in good times because they see you arriving at a different idea of what your product is actually worth.

Some businesses are more vulnerable to the changes in buying habits (temporary or otherwise) of their local community (cleaners, barbers, take out places come to mind), but there are countless other businesses whose products meet the needs of a much larger or more diversified marketplace. And these business don't just get there by sheer luck.

When loyal customers seek out these outstanding businesses over those they might pass en route say, the seemingly simple choice they make is in reality the holy grail of capitalism and the bedrock upon which stands every enterprise out there, small or big, cool or mundane, minority-owned or not. Whether we think of it this way or not, our choosing to patronize a local business for reasons other than our own self-interest, doesn't serve anyone truly well because it does involve a compromise of some sort. We might end up depriving a more deserving business somewhere else of our well-deserved dollars, and then who will save it?

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Permalink Reply by Mat von Kroeker on August 27, 2009 at 5:28pm

I think it's implied, purely by the economic times, that businesses are struggling-- and you're hitting Good Fellas one more time a month might not have helped. Usually family restaurants, especially pizza joints, make the bulk of their profits from large gatherings ie. after baseball games, large family outings, business luncheons, etc. and people and businesses just aren't shelling out the cash these days like they used to. And you don't know if Good Fellas ownership might not have been keeping the books as well as they should have too.

Concerning the possibilities of "being vulnerable" in business, I think you come across as a Gil Gunderson in most peoples eyes (old Gil's gonna get'm this time!!)-- and unfortunately, most people translate that into an inferior product or service. (why are they so "desperate" for business?). Better off just going with your strengths and hope for the best.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Ceccarelli on August 27, 2009 at 7:37pm

Interesting concept you propose. Here's my story. There is this amazing little bistro in a very lovely older neighborhood in my city. It did great business for the first two years, and then things really slowed down. They did specials, they did value propositions, they did everything the others suggested to do but NOT to say "help....we're struggling here and might have to close if more of you don't patronize us". Well, they did just that and the neighborhood rallied around them, called their friends to come in, and I have to say, five years later, even in tough times they are doing very well by doing exactly what you suggested. They even posted a sign on their door asking the neighborhood for help.

Most of us were brought up to be tough and to stand strong and never show our weakness. And where does that really get you in the end? It gets you ulcers, stress, anxiety, etc. Oh wow.....what a payoff! What's so wrong with reaching out and asking for help? It's difficult to do in the beginning, but as people start to come forward and help, because people naturally want to help, we accept it as more normal to our comfort zone which in turn allows our creative process to kick in (less stress) and manage and run our businesses better because we asked for help.

I like your suggestion.

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Permalink Reply by Steve van horn on August 28, 2009 at 11:57pm

Interesting thought about Goodfellas. I think most business fail, much like your pizzeria because they stopped moving forward. Contentment sets in, then all of a sudden they aren't keeping up with the trend OR the pressure & stress overwhelm the weak. I like to believe that prior proper planning produces practically perfect production;but, I know as a small business, there are any number of things that can kill you, some beyond your best plans & control. So, in that sense, aren’t we all vulnerable? However, because I’m a small business, I'll speak for most owners of their own product. It takes courage, strength & a belief in one’s ability to overcome doubt & trouble that all business encounter.... So, with that mindset, where’s the vulnerability?
Love the cartoon!