In her column, Leslie Cunningham describes asking “are you a rabbit or a wolf?” to our Power Women training group and what followed. There can be a lot of interpretations of what a wolf or a rabbit represents to people. Personally, I couldn’t land on which I related to most. But it’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about as we’ve worked on this edition of the magazine.
Over the last few years, I wonder if a lot of us have felt like rabbits — racing around just trying to keep up, not feeling like we were able to make any of the strategic decisions we normally would. Hopefully, you’ve given your rabbit self a chance to relax and catch your breath because it’s time to become the wolf. As things have slowed down, now is not the time to sit back on your haunches, it is the time to be aggressive.
I couldn’t help thinking of the wolf metaphor when I was talking with Jay Broyer and Brandon Jones from St. Cyr Pool & Spa. Not only do they have an extremely ambitious growth plan, but during the pandemic, they aggressively pursued improving their service department to make it a profit center for their business. They don’t see service as a necessary evil (“It’s too much of a pain in the butt to not make money at it,” Broyer says) but as a true extension of the customer experience.
We talk about service quite a bit in this issue — and as you examine your business plan over the next year, I’d encourage you to give that department another look. Are you making money? Are your margins what they need to be? What do you need to change to make it as profitable as possible?
Be the wolf. Be aggressive. Be a change-maker in your business.
Best,
Megan Kendrick, publisher
megan@kendrickcontent.com