Monthly Archive: June 2012

Jun 25 2012

Eureka Pizza’s Discovery That Staying Local Was the Best Decision

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June 25, 2012

rolf-wilkin-and-sign

Rolf Wilkin of Eureka Pizza talks about discovering that staying local was the perfect approach for his pizza chain.

Over twenty years, Eureka Pizza has earned its place as Arkansas’ leading independent pizzeria. Owner Rolf Wilkin today is keeping it local with his nine Northwest Arkansas pizza shops. He talks about the journey to expand and shares his insights. He’ll be the first to tell you that massive growth doesn’t always mean more profit, or, more importantly, quality of life. Rolf has always believed in shameless self-promotion. From standing on street corners shaking signs to recording his own pizza commercials to engaging with followers on Twitter, he’s the face of Eureka Pizza. We aren’t just buying a pizza, we’re doing business with Rolf.

And like any serial entrepreneur, Rolf also has lots to say about his newest business, Local Trade Partners. This trade bank is nationally affiliated but he understands that what local business owners really want is to do business with other local business owners. We talk about why his local approach works for the barter network members.

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Permanent link to this article: http://businessengaged.com/eureka-pizzas-discovery-that-staying-local-was-the-best-decision/

Jun 18 2012

Reinventing the Kent Rylee Brand

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June 18, 2012

kent-rylee-and-stephanie-orman

In this episode of Business: Engaged!, Kent Rylee and Stephanie Orman talk about what it took to reinvent the new car dealership after the economy forced a change in the way General Motors did business.

It was 2008 and the writing was on the wall: Kent Rylee’s 20-year business relationship with General Motors was about to change forever. He was faced with many options. Instead, he chose to reinvent his business. While other car dealers faced with the same dilemma were closing their doors, he took a long look at what they could do with the facility, employees, and reputation they had. What emerged was Kent Rylee Automotive Solutions, a local Napa Auto parts dealer with a full service center that sells used  cars.

Join us as we talk with Kent Rylee and his marketing director Stephanie Orman as they share key steps they took in reinventing and rebranding the business. The name change was a minor detail. The major work was in operations and marketing of the company. With an experienced and highly skilled support and technical staff, Kent and his business partner Darrell Bone worked on streamlining the company, developing the auto parts business, and evolving the used car operation.

Gone were the co-op dollars that manufacturers and franchises provide to assist with advertising costs. And at the same time, how people shopped for used cars was changing. Stephanie had to look for guerrilla marketing techniques that would fit her reduced advertising budget and reach all the customers who shop for cars today on the internet.

You’ll learn the details of how they used focus groups to engage their existing customers and how the management team and the employees stepped up to re-launch this business.

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Permanent link to this article: http://businessengaged.com/reinventing-the-kent-rylee-brand/

Jun 11 2012

Addressing Employee Performance Issues

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June 11, 2012

kelly-riggs

Kelly Riggs of Vmax Performance Group talks about handling employee performance issues.

If she should know better, why is she not doing what you want her to do? One of the biggest management challenges is motivating and leading employees to do what we want them to do. The key to addressing performance issues with employees is communicating clear expectations.In this episode of Business: Engaged!, Kelly Riggs of Vmax Performance Group talks about importance of creating a culture of performance in an organization. He provides four steps to setting performance expectations and addressing issues related to poor performance. His one-on-one meeting process sets the stage for success and creates a culture of open communication.

Kelly is a management and sales consultant. He is also the author of 1-on-1 Management™: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t. You can follow Kelly Riggs on Twitter at @KellyRiggs and learn more about Kelly and his work with organizations at www.vmaxpg.com.

You can also follow us on Twitter at @businessengaged and we love it when you tell others about the show.

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Permanent link to this article: http://businessengaged.com/addressing-employee-performance-issues/

Jun 04 2012

When It’s Time to Close the Doors

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June 4, 2012

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Beth Cook shares insights about her 23 years as a retail shop owner and her recent decision for close her business. She also shares wisdom she’s gained along the way in managing people and engaging customers.

No business owner starts out with any thought of closing his business. The dirty little secret in business is that every company has a life span, no matter what size or format. Products change. Customer needs evolve. Life moves on. Owners need to stay close to shifting conditions and be ready to make tough decisions.

In this episode, we chat with Beth Cook, former owner of B Larue gift shop. She’s built her retail shops from the ground up, determining format and sourcing all merchandise. She even transitioned her last store to carrying all American-made merchandise, a ground-breaking decision in the industry. After a twenty-year love affair with retail, she recently decided it was over — at least the prospect of owning her own store.

She shares her journey in making that tough decision to close her business but she also gives us some wisdom that applies to any business. No matter what kind of business you own, you’ll love her honesty and how she’s set her sights on the next unknown chapter in her life. She’s locked one door for the final time and is preparing to walk through a new one. Join us as she reflects on what she has learned and the factors that she considered in making the decision.

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Permanent link to this article: http://businessengaged.com/when-its-time-to-close-the-doors/