312: The Small Things That Make a Business Feel Established

Speaker A: Uh, you're listening to the Black to Business podcast, an educational podcast providing black entrepreneurs with their tools and resources to start and grow their businesses. We chat with vetted black entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and business owners as they provide tips and resources to help take your business to the next level. I'm your host, Unique T. Marshall. Hello, and welcome to the Black to Business podcast. I am your host, Monique T. Marshall. So over the years, one thing people have said to me more than once is, I thought black to business had a much bigger team. And every time I hear that, it makes me smile a little bit, because there have been seasons where it was just me, little old me. But there's also been seasons where we have had a small team. And there have been seasons where people probably assumed way more was happening behind the scenes than what was actually happening. But I think that says something. And what I noticed is a lot of times people aren't really responding to the size of the business. They're responding to how the business feels, and that could be how things are handled, how clear the process feels, how much confidence they feel when they interact with you. And I think that this is important for small business owners because sometimes we assume our business has to feel small just because our team is small, or we assume we need a bigger team, a bigger budget, or a more complicated setup before the business can feel more established. But that's not always the case. Some of the most established feeling businesses I've interacted with were run by one person or a very small team. And some of the business that look bigger from the outside, they didn't always create the best experience once you got a little bit closer. So I say all that to say size is not always the thing the experience is. And when I think about moments where people assume Black to business was bigger than it was, I don't think it was because everything was perfect, because it sure was not. But it was because there were certain things that we tried to be intentional about. So the way we communicated, the way we followed through, even with a small team, we wanted the experience to feel organized. And I want to talk about this today because I know a lot of entrepreneurs are in a season where they want their businesses to be taken seriously. They want people to trust them. They want the experience to feel organized, and they also want the business to feel like it can hold the opportunity that they're asking for. But they may also be thinking, well, it's just me, or I don't have a big team yet, but. Or I'm still trying to figure this thing out. And I want you to know that your business can feel established before it is big. And that doesn't mean pretending it to be something that it's not. It just means being intentional about the small things that shape how people experience your business. So today we're talking about the small things that make your business feel established. Because people, People may not always know how many people are behind your business, but they will know how your business makes them feel. So without further ado, let's get into it. So one thing I've noticed about businesses that have a really good impression is they don't leave people wondering what's going on. So think about it. Have you ever bought something or reached out to a business? And after the first interaction, you're just like, waiting and you're wondering if they got your message. You're wondering, okay, what happens next? Or maybe you're even wondering if you miss something. It's not a great feeling. Now compare that to a business where everything just seems super clear. You know what to expect, you know what's coming next, you know when you'll hear from them, and there isn't a lot of guesswork. And I think that that's one of the biggest differences. Businesses that feel established don't make people work to figure out how to work with them. They've already thought about those moments. One thing that I've learned is that when people know what to expect, they feel a whole lot better doing business with you. So when people know what to expect, they can actually focus on why they came to you instead of wondering, okay, what's going on? And here's why I think that this is important for small business owners, because a lot of us spend time trying to look more established, when really one of the fastest ways to create that feeling is to remove confusion. So ask yourself, where might people be guessing in my business after someone reaches out, do they know what happens next? After somebody buys, do, do they know what to expect? If someone has never worked with me before, have I made it easy for them to move through the process? And so those are simple questions, but they'll tell you a lot. Because every time somebody has to stop and wonder, your business lose a little bit of credibility. Ask me how I know, because I am one of those people that would judge a business. If I feel like I'm going into their process and I'm m confused, I will just move on. Because for me, it's okay if this is confusing. Lord knows what else is going to be confusing once I start to work with them. So I'd rather not. Now, I say all this to say that when you are going through these processes and you're doing these things and you're asking these questions, I don't want you to think that you have to map out this elaborate customer journey. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about paying attention to the instances where people naturally have questions and answering them before they have to ask. And I think that this is one of the easiest ways to make your business feel more established. Not by adding more to your plate, but by making the experience feel a little bit more thoughtful. And the best part is that has nothing to do with the size of your team. It has everything to do with being intentional about the experience that you're creating. Now once you start thinking about the experience you're creating, you'll probably notice something. A lot of the things that leave an impression on people aren't the big things, they're the little things. And I think that we underestimate this as business owners. We spend weeks thinking about a new offer, a, ah, new logo, a, uh, new website. Meanwhile, somebody else is simply making it easy to work with them. They're easy to reach, they do what they said they were going to do and their process just feels smooth. And that's the stuff that people remember. I can't tell you how many times I've interacted with a business and thought, okay, that was easy. Nothing about it oftentimes was over the top. Nothing felt harder than it needed to be. Everything just felt like somebody had taken the time to think it through. And then you look at under the hood and you realize, okay, this is only one person behind this, or they got a small but mighty team behind them. And then you're sitting there thinking, I would have never guessed. And this is why I wanted to have this conversation. Because I don't want you thinking that you have to wait until your business get bigger before people have that confidence in you and your business. A lot of that confidence is built through, through the experience, is built in those small moments, the things people don't always talk about afterward, but they definitely notice while, uh, they're happening. And one thing that I've learned is that every interaction is communicating something. Maybe it tells people they're organized, maybe it tells people they're thoughtful. Maybe it tells people, I know what to expect. Whatever it is, people are forming an opinion before you've ever had the chance to tell them how great your business is. And that's why I think it's worth asking yourself every now and then, what does it feel like to do business with me? Not what does my website look like or what does my branding look like, what does it actually feel like? Because that's the part that people are going to remember. And also another thing that I don't think we talk about enough is that people are learning your business every time they interact with it. So think about the businesses you go back to. After a while, you already know what to expect. You know how they're going to communicate, you know how they'll handle things. You know what their experience is going to look like. And there's something comforting about that. You don't have to guess whether today is going to feel completely different from the last time you went in or the last time you interacted with that business. And I think that that's a big part of why businesses feel established. They've created an experience where people can count on them. Now, that doesn't mean every interaction is going to be perfect. Things happen. We're all human. But there should be a standard, there should be a way your business operates that people come to recognize. Because every time someone has a good experience with their business, they're learning something. They're learning whether they can depend on you. They're learning whether you'll follow through or whether your business does what it says it's going to do. And that doesn't happen because you told them that you're reliable. It happens because they've experienced it. And I think that that's an important distinction. As business owners, we spend a lot of time thinking about what we want people to know about us. I want people to know I care. I want people to know I can provide great service, or I want people to know that they can trust me. Those things are very important. But, uh, here's the question that I even found myself asking a lot these days. Does the experience actually reinforce that? Because your business is always teaching people something. Maybe it's teaching them they can expect clear communication. Maybe it's teaching them that you'll do what you said were going to do. Maybe it's teaching them that working with you is simple. Whatever it is, people are learning from the experience. And so over time, that's what builds confidence. Not you having one off interactions, but the consistency of many good ones. And I think there's one more thing that separates businesses that feel more established and that's that they make decisions from standards. And what I mean by this is they don't reinvent the way that they operate every single day, there are certain things that they've already decided, how they communicate, how they might handle certain situation, what's acceptable, what's not. And that doesn't mean that they have this rigid way of doing things. It just means that they. They aren't making everything up as they go. And I think that that's something that a lot of entrepreneurs run into, especially in the beginning, because everything depends on how you're feeling that day. One day you might respond right away, the next day you might forget and there's a delay and one customer gets one experience, and the next customer might get something totally different. And I'm not saying that when this happens, you don't care. But I'm saying that when this happens, it's happening because there really isn't a standard yet. And so this is why I think that standards are so valuable in business, because they take some of the guessing out of running the business. So you're not waking up every day asking, okay, how should I handle this? You've already made that decision. Now you're simply following through. Another way you can think about it, or at least a way I think about it, is every time you make a thoughtful decision about how your business is going to operate, you're making life a little easier for your future self. So you're always making the experience more consistent for the people that you're serving. And also another thing that I've noticed is that the businesses that feel established, they usually aren't trying to impress anybody. They're just consistent in the way that they show up. They've decided, okay, this is what's important to us and this is how we're going to do it. And so they've built those business, their businesses, around those standards. And so over time, people come to recognize, oh, that's how they get down. I know how they do business. And I know even for black to business, one of the things that people oftentimes give us or will say about us is that they know that we're very detailed. We're going to always be crystal clear in whatever we're sending out. And so I like that because I'm a stickler for systems communication, clearly communicating something. And I like to minimize confusion. So that's the standard around here. And so another thing that I would encourage you to think about is if somebody asks you, how does your business handle xyz, would your answer depend on the day or would you already know? Because every standard that you create is one less decision that you have to make later. And so a, uh, little by little, that's how business is going to become easier to run and the experience becomes more consistent. People know what they can expect. And so over time, that's the kind of thing that helps a business feel more established. And with that being said, one thing I'd encourage every business owner to do every now and then is to experience your own business the way somebody else would. And I know that this sounds super simple, but it's something that we don't do nearly enough, even though it's super simple. I mean, we're so close to the business that we already know how everything works. We know where to click, we know what happened next, we know what we meant when we wrote something. But the person on the other side, they don't know that. So they're seeing it for the first time and they're trying to figure out whether this feels like a business that they can trust. And sometimes you don't notice the little gaps until you slow down and look at them from their perspective. So I try to do this every now and then, even with black to business is I. I like to walk through a process and I read something back to myself and I might be clicking around on something and I'm going through this process as if I haven't been through it before as a beginner. And I don't do this looking for perfection. I do this because I'm looking for friction. So I'm asking, where might somebody get stuck? Where might someone have a question? Or where my. I have assumed something was obvious when it really wasn't. And I think that those questions have helped me improve the business more than almost anything else, because sometimes the smallest adjustments make the biggest difference. And so a, uh, clearer next step, a better email, and just a smoother process overall. And those things might not seem like a big deal while you're building them, but. But they shape the way that people experience your business. And that's really been the thread of this conversation. The business that leaves a lasting impression usually aren't doing one big old extraordinary thing. They're paying attention to the experiences that they've created from beginning to end. So with that being said, sometime this week, I want you to spend 30 minutes. Just 30 minutes. You can find 30 minutes. And for 30 minutes, I want you to spend some time looking at your business with fresh eyes. So go through your inquiry process, read one of your emails, walk through your customer experience, and ask yourself, if this were my first time interacting with my business, what would stand out. And I'm not telling you to go find 50, 11 things. If you find one thing you can make easier or a little clearer, that is progress. Because over time, those small improvements become the experience people remember. And, you know, after pulling together this episode, I think the biggest thing I keep coming back to is don't underestimate the power of how your business feels. Because at the end of the day, most people aren't sitting around wondering how many employees you have. They're not thinking about whether you're working from home or the office or storefront. They're paying attention to the experience. They're paying attention to whether they feel taken care of, whether they know what to expect, whether your business feels like it's ready for them. And I think that's encouraging. I think that that lifts a weight off someone's shoulder, because every single one of us can improve that. You don't have to wait until your business reaches some big old milestone before you start creating a better experience for the people that you serve. You can start with what you have and start with where you are, and. And sometimes that's all it takes. So that's my message for you today, and thank you so much for tuning in to the Black to Business podcast and being a part of the Black to Business family. As always, we appreciate you for spending your day with us, and I can't wait to see you back here next week. But until then, keep building boldly and keep pushing the culture forward. Later, Sam.