National Clothesline

It’s safe to assume that most entrepreneurs are in business to make money, and in order to make money you have to be willing to spend it first. Then again, every penny saved is a penny earned and, unless you are actually made of money, every penny counts. You can bet your bottom dollar on that. After all, money makes the world go round. Although, some claim it is the root of all evil. That might explain why it burns holes in our pockets. Of course, it has also been said that time is money, and since time heals all wounds, then shouldn’t those holes in our pockets be mended before the money falls through them?

Now, we’re just talking nonsense. Maybe time isn’t on our side and money isn’t everything. As the Beatles point out, money can’t even buy love and love is all you need. Love conquers all. Yet, love eventually makes fools of us all, and a fool and his money are soon parted. That won’t help your business one bit.

As far as cliches go, there are a million out there. If you want to make more money in your business, there’s no time like the present to look at the big picture and go that extra mile. OK. You’ve heard it all before. Such cliches probably lose impact the more times you hear them. Important things may bear repeating, but nobody likes listening to a broken record.

So, let’s get to the point. If you are just like every other cleaner, then you are but one face in a crowd. Nobody will remember you. However, if you broaden your horizons and think outside the box, you can wipe your marketing slate clean by distinguishing your business from the rest of the pack. It’s time to march to a different drum, or as National Clothesline columnist Dennis McCrory puts it, you have to develop your company’s “special benefit.” (See page 42 for the full article.) Why should customers take their business to you? What makes your company so unique? If you can answer that question, then you have a strong message to communicate to the public. You’ll need it to be strong, too, because McCrory also notes that consumers are bombarded with over 1,500 advertisements daily, most of which are uninspired and unoriginal. Avoid falling into that same trap. Don’t just say that your business is one in a million — head and shoulders above the rest — prove it by providing legitimate reasons why in your marketing program.

Of course, you might want to spend the extra time in choosing the best possible wording. Using the same old cliches can prove costly, because, after all, they are a dime a dozen.

Odds are things will be getting better over the next few months. Already, the U.S. stock market is rebounding. Analysts are predicting that by the end of the year we will see a significant upturn in the economy. And if nothing else, one can certainly say that it’s been down so long that it’s bound to starting heading up.

But if your plan is simply to be have your ship of fortune lifted by a rising tide, you could be in for disappointment. During this current downturn, many cleaners have responded by streamlining and economizing their operations while investigating new opportunities and positioning themselves for growth. They are the ones who will benefit the most when “things” start getting better. There will be no easy ride to recovery and renewed growth. Too many things have changed and too many problems loom in professional garment care for the same-old, same-old to be a winning strategy for the future.

For those who haven’t been planning, this is the perfect time to start. The first plan one should make is for plane reservations and a hotel room in Las Vegas during the week of August 11-14. That’s when the biennial Clean Show — the industry’s showcase for what’s what and meeting place for who’s who — will take place. Time is running out to take advantage of the reduced-rate advance registration for the show, and hotels are filling rapidly.

The next step is to take a hard look at where you are today and where you would like to be tomorrow. And if you’re not certain how to get to that better future, be assured that there will be plenty of people in Las Vegas next month with a cornucopia of ideas — and the equipment and technology to make them work.

So plan to be in Las Vegas for the Clean Show. If you’re of a gambling mind, plan to have some fun in the casinos. But also plan to place a bet on a sure thing — your future.