To Kill a Mockingbird

Set in a small Southern town, To Kill a Mockingbird is a quintessential story about justice. The movie, which won 3 Oscars (including best actor for Gregory Peck), was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same title.

Told through the eyes of a precocious 6-year-old tomboy named Scout, the story revolves around Atticus Finch’s (Peck) principled defense of Tom Robinson, a poor black man who is wrongly accused of rape. Intermixed is the story of the fascination Scout and her brother have with Boo Radley, their shy, mysterious neighbor whom the townspeople believe is insane.

At the heart of the conflict lies self-induced ignorance and blind hatred versus benevolence and uncompromising principles. The conflict reaches its apex when Atticus rebuffs an armed mob with nothing more than the power of his convictions.

Just as Atticus stood alone, so we must often stand alone as the owner of a smallbusiness . We must often reject the common wisdom and create a new path. We must often stand alone, with nothing but our independent judgment.

Business success requires that we offer a superior value than our competitors. This means breaking the mold, being better in some regard. It means that we can’t do it like everyone else. That takes strength in our convictions, confidence in our judgment, and the courage to tell the mob to go home.

Collecting seed corn for your small business

I grew up in a rural area. Our nearest neighbor owned a working farm. The oldest boy was my age, so I frequented the farm to ride horses, feed the cows, and assorted other activities.

One day the farmer was taking the kernels off of a load of harvested corn. He had usually stored the corn without doing this, which he then fed to his animals. I asked about this activity. “This is my seed corn,” he said. I still didn’t understand. “Next spring I will need to plant another crop of corn. If I don’t save some of my harvest from this year, I won’t have anything to plant. These are the seeds for next year’s crop.”

So it is with a small business—if we don’t save some of today’s harvest, we won’t have any seed corn for next year. If we don’t save some of this year’s harvest, we cannot grow our business.

In the case of our business, cash is the seed corn. Cash allows us to advertise, to purchase and maintain equipment, to invest in training, to save for a rainy day. Cash allows us to invest in our business and provide benefits. Cash allows us to grow our business. Just as a farmer can’t grow a crop without his seed corn, a business can’t grow without cash.

The farmer gets his seed corn from today’s crop. The businessman gets his cash from today’s sales—but only if it is built into his price. If his price does not include seed corn the cash will not be available. If he does not anticipate tomorrow’s needs he will not be able to meet tomorrow’s expenses.

The farmer plants more corn than he needs today. The excess becomes his seed corn. The businessman must charge more than he needs for today’s expenses, and the excess becomes his seed corn.

I see many small business owners focus on their immediate income and expenses. This short-term approach denies them seed corn. For what will they do when equipment needs replacing? How will they advertise? How will they weather a temporary lull in business? Without seed corn, they can’t. As a result, they get locked into a vicious cycle of feast or famine.

Those who do not collect seed corn will have nothing with which to plant next year’s crop. And without a crop, there will be nothing to harvest come the fall.

Give it to make it

It is often said that business owners must spend money to make money. You must invest money in inventory, supplies, advertising, and countless other things before you can even open your door for business. And you must continue to do so.

An often overlooked corollary is giving up something to make money. In this instance, the “something” is information.

To some extent most small business owners do this. They share information with consumers regarding their products and services with the intention of educating the customer. But there is an aspect of this that is often overlooked and under utilized.

Harvey Segal explains this in his free e-book, The Ultimate SuperTip. In fact, he does more than simply explain it–the book itself is a demonstration of this powerful marketing strategy.

Giving away information can be a very effective method for differentiating your business, developing trust and confidence, and “pre-selling” your products or services. For example, in an e-book you can offer tips on product selection, explain the benefits of various options, and position your company as the expert. And this can be done without high-pressure tactics via an e-book.

We live in the Information Age. The Internet, cable television, and many other resources make it easier than ever for consumers to obtain information on the products and services they desire. By giving your customers more information you help them make better purchasing decisions. And that is good for you.

Click here to download The Ultimate SuperTip and learn how to give it to make it.

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