Business Education

Reconstruction Red Shirts Relay a Valuable Lesson Entrepreneurs Can Still Use Today

You may not believe it, but the experiences of the Red Shirts during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era provide a powerful lesson for today’s small business owners in recognizing when a cause is futile.

Why?

Well, the Red Shirts were a paramilitary group that fought against Reconstruction efforts in the South, often with overwhelming odds stacked against them. Their struggle, despite fierce resistance, ultimately failed to stop the sweeping societal changes brought by federal authority.

For business owners, this history can highlight the importance of recognizing situations where their efforts are likely to result in little or no success, despite emotional or ideological investment. You see, sometimes, persistence can be misdirected, leading to wasted time, resources, and energy. Instead of relentlessly pursuing a failing strategy, business owners should focus on adaptive strategies, learning when to pivot or walk away from a failing investment.

In today’s business environment,, just as with the Red Shirts, recognizing when a fight is unwinnable can prevent further losses. Entrepreneurs should focus on evaluating their goals, assessing market conditions, and knowing when to change direction before a venture becomes unsustainable. Resilience in business does not always mean continuing a doomed effort, but sometimes, recognizing when to change course entirely.

Learning from the Red Shirts: When to Quit

Let’s recap to get the most out of this analogy. The Red Shirts, a white supremacist paramilitary group active in the American South during the Reconstruction era, faced numerous setbacks and failures in their attempts to suppress black voting and maintain white dominance. While their actions were abhorrent, their experiences can offer valuable lessons for today’s small business owners about recognizing futile situations and knowing when to give up on certain pursuits.

This is particularly difficult for entrepreneurs because these self-starting, self-reliant individuals often believe they can make any situation work. With enough determination, grit, positivity, and a willingness to push past obstacles, entrepreneurs can fall into the trap of pursuing futile endeavors. So, it’s super important to recognize when something isn’t worth the time and effort.

Identifying Futile Endeavors

Lack of support. The Red Shirts struggled to gain widespread support, even among white Southerners. Similarly, small businesses may find it difficult to sustain themselves without adequate customer base or investor backing.
Opposition. The Red Shirts faced fierce opposition from both sides, residents of the North, and the South and federal forces. Small businesses may encounter obstacles such as competition, regulatory hurdles, or negative market trends.
Limited resources. The Red Shirts often lacked the necessary resources, such as funding and manpower, to achieve their goals. Small businesses may face similar constraints, such as insufficient capital or a shortage of skilled employees.

Now, here’s the real kicker. It’s not just about identifying when something is futile, it’s about knowing when to give up. That’s not an easy thing for any entrepreneur to do, but on some occasions, it’s not only entirely necessary but appropriate. Knowing When to Quit

Persistent failure. If a business consistently fails to meet its objectives despite repeated efforts, it may be time to reassess the situation. This could involve re-evaluating the business model, target market, or even the viability of the venture.
Exhaustion of resources. When a business has exhausted its financial resources or is unable to attract additional funding, it may be necessary to consider closing down.
Negative impact. If a business is causing significant stress, financial hardship, or damage to relationships, it may be time to cut losses and move on.

Learning from the Past

While the Red Shirts’ actions were reprehensible, their experiences can provide valuable insights for small business owners. By recognizing the signs of a futile endeavor and knowing when to quit, entrepreneurs can avoid wasting time, money, and emotional energy on ventures that are not likely to succeed.

It’s important to note that giving up on a business can be a difficult decision. However, sometimes it is the most prudent course of action. By learning from the past, small business owners can make informed decisions and increase their chances of long-term success.

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Network Event Do’s and Don’ts

May 16, 2017 No Comments

Some people have an innate ability to walk into a room full of strangers and start connecting and uncovering business contacts galore. They seem to glide through the room, smiling, freely introducing themselves, while holding conversation. These people know how to read a room and individuals naturally. Then, there are people who move through events quickly, collecting an astounding number of business cards while shaking hand after hand. The difference between the two personalities couldn’t be more stark. One is making new contacts, the other is doing little more than trying to bag new clients. It’s obvious which one will benefit and which one won’t. The purpose of networking events is to do just that: meet new people and have conversations. It’s how you go about it that makes all the difference. Connecting with people is an art form, and, is learned over time. Before there’s any real connection, though, you’ve got to be prepared to meet new people. Network Event Do’s and Don’ts There’s a huge difference between meeting new people and connecting with them. Meeting a group of new people is even more of a challenge than meeting a single person or a very small group. Attending a networking event is something that stirs excitement and anxiety. These events tend to be noisy, where it’s not easy to hold a conversation. What’s more, you’re expected to participate and interact with several people. We network because we don’t work and live in a silo. Due to human nature, we tend to trust doing business with people we know or who are referred to us. People often think of the need to network whenever their jobs are in jeopardy, or whenever they’re in search of new business. —Career Builder When you go to a networking event, you do so to open new doors. There won’t be time to establish a relationship and connect with others, but there will be plenty of opportunity to introduce yourself and hold brief, casual conversations. To accomplish this simple, yet challenging feat, you ought to know the do’s and don’ts of event networking. Network Event Do’s Go prepared. You ought to have a brief list of topics to discuss and/or experiences to share. It’s okay to go over these out loud and practice introducing yourself. Just don’t practice too much, or, it will sound rehearsed and artificial. Keep one hand free at all times. Keep your dominant hand free of snacks, drinks, and other objects. You’ll be able to freely shake hands without having an awkward moment to find a place to temporarily set something down. Know who to approach. Just because someone is standing alone doesn’t mean you ought to rush over to approach. Take a moment to read his or her face and body language. When you do make eye contact, confidently approach and introduce yourself. Look for opportunities to offer help. One of the most powerful and likable gestures is to ask questions and offer your assistance. Only offer to help when it’s realistic and be sure to follow-up. Don’t make the mistake of over-promising or over-extending. Network Event Don’ts Believe collecting business cards is a measure of success. Remember, the purpose of attending these events is to meet people — not just to collect business cards. If that’s all you accomplish, the whole exercise is for naught. Be on the lookout for someone else while speaking with another. If you do have the misfortune of getting into a boring conversation, find a gracious and courteous way to excuse yourself. What you should avoid is awkwardly scanning the room for someone else to speak with to break away. Try to impress others with jargon or facts. Using big words, insider jargon, or trying to impress with a barrage of facts is a turn off. It’s pretentious and tells others you lack self confidence. What’s more, it keeps you from having a genuine conversation. Speak over or interrupt others. This sounds obvious, but, it’s something that can be unintentional when you’re nervous. When you do approach someone else and introduce yourself, be courteous, ask polite questions, and listen. Yes, the purpose of attending Network Events is ultimately to acquire new business. However, do not go to a Network Event if that is your initial purpose. Your priority for attending a Network Event is to develop Relationships which you can foster over time into a business opportunity with that connection or with someone they introduce to you. Minimize your agenda, and spend time listening and asking the other person questions about themselves and their business. Show them genuine interest and watch how your relationship moves to trust even during the Network Event. Isn’t it more rewarding to leave a Network Event with 3 or 4 really good, meaningful connections where both of you developed a relationship and can follow up after the event to further explore opportunities together? When is the last time you attended a Network Event and made some meaningful connections that turned into real business? [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

4 Reasons You’re not Hiring the Best Talent

June 14, 2018 No Comments

We’ve previously covered how to deal with a lazy employee. Now, let’s take a look at the other side of the coin. Or, how do you hire the best talent out there? It’s more complicated and difficult than one would first suppose. That’s because practically every candidate will put their best foot forward to make the best impression. It’s only after you hire do you really know what you’ve successfully recruited. But, to get an advantage, you should be only interviewing the top in the game. Signs You need More Talent Before we go there, let’s take a moment to look at your current situation. If you get the feeling you need more talent or at least one or more highly productive team members, your intuition just might well be spot-on. For instance, if you can’t seem to break previous work production levels, that’s one sign. Or, if you’re employees aren’t growing your business, that’s another. Legendary Texas football coach Spike Dykes once said, “You give me the best players and an average coach and we will beat the best coach with average players every time.” CEOs should take this approach and own recruiting instead of abdicating it solely to HR. One of the five critical CEO responsibilities is to provide the proper resources, and people are the most important. In fact, to scale your business, it requires 4 key components; people, strategy, execution and capital. In my experience, people are the greatest resource in growing any business. —Inc.com Of course, if you’re losing business, that’s a big red flag. Another way to tell if you need more talent is when your company feels stuck. If the status quo keeps chugging along with no breakthroughs, that’s a problem. (This is one reason why it’s always a good idea to bring in a third-party, like a professional business consultant and coach.) 4 Reasons You’re not Hiring the Best Talent Now, we’ll take a quick look at some of the most probable reasons you’re not hiring the best of the best. It could be one or a few combined. But, if you identify or feel familiar with any part of these, it’s time to reflect. Here are the four most common reasons you’re not hiring the best talent: Your casting net is way too small. Let’s begin with the most obvious — you’re casting too small a net. Sure, you’re probably comfortable recruiting from your locality. But, that leaves out a whole lot of people. Your job description is too generic. This is something that too many businesses do: they copy and paste job descriptions when there’s an opening. This is a bad practice because it doesn’t “speak” to individuals who would otherwise engage. You’re not getting back to candidates. Okay, so this is a difficult one. If you do make a great hire, you’re probably not keen about letting others know they weren’t chosen. But, this is not only selfish, it’s rude. Keep everyone who has interviewed in the loop. Your interview doesn’t give an in-depth view. Just like generic job descriptions, when interviews are overly generic, they won’t reveal how candidates think and feel. Those are very important insights you’re not gaining. What other advice would you give about how to hire the best talent? Please share your experiences and thoughts by leaving a comment! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

I can’t Afford to give My Employees Christmas Bonuses this Year, What can I Do Instead?

December 10, 2021 No Comments

This year, a good number of businesses will continue to face the very unenviable position of not being able to afford employees’ holiday bonuses. For a sizable percentage of companies, it became an inescapable reality last year, obviously, due to the large-scale shutdowns across the country and overseas. While many businesses have recovered and regained a sense of normalcy, a significant portion still struggle. This means having to make hard choices when it comes to expenses that are not part of the business’s day-to-day operations. Fortunately, there are some alternatives to giving employees cash. Turn a Negative Situation into a Positive One When the economy or an industry takes a downturn, most entrepreneurs will take a good hard look at their books to determine exactly where they stand. Some make the mistake of cutting back too deeply, becoming too lean to fully operate, and only prolonging a bad set of circumstances. However, others embrace it as an opportunity to eliminate redundancies, reduce extra expenses, and put their resources where they most matter. A holiday bonus is a traditional gift given to employees by employers each year as a big ‘thank you.’ Many managers and business owners want to give their hard-working employees a bonus at the end of the year. The unfortunate truth is that many cannot afford it in today’s economy. As a result, many companies have had to get creative by offering their employees something enticing that is not a cash bonus. —Optimum Employer Solutions The latter strategy is obviously more effective because it makes the company more efficient. This type of audit should be done regularly since it’s so very easy to become blissfully ignorant of what’s actually happening with the business’ finances. Company owners who enjoy a nice regular profit line are typically the ones blindsided most when things change and go in the wrong direction. Regardless, if you really can’t afford holiday bonuses this year, be honest and upfront with your team members. This way, they will understand the gravity of the situation and be grateful for whatever you decide on as a substitute. Employee Bonus Alternatives Before you panic, be sure to know the exact numbers. The situation might not be as dire as you think. Although, if it isn’t truly feasible to give your employees holiday bonuses this year, here are some great alternatives: Extra paid time off. What’s wonderful about this alternative is that employees will appreciate this just as much as bonuses. People like extra time off when they don’t have to forfeit anything and this will not cost the business anything directly out of pocket. Incremental pay raises. Another option is to schedule incremental pay raises for every quarter over the next year. If possible, start this in the immediate future and your employees will feel appreciated and valued. Better benefit packages. Yet another alternative to giving out bonuses is to give your employees better benefits which they can always use. Look into better health insurance, dental insurance, and other benefits What other employee bonus alternatives would you suggest? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your input! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.