Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Learning new skills: What is your motivation

"I'm sure it will come in handy sometime"
There are some of us who suck up odd bits of useful knowledge every day on the basis that it just might come in handy sometime. You might call this the "Hoover Principle". This is a real motivation driven by memories of time when we didn't know how to do something that mattered. If you have ever been blind-sided by life because you were missing important skills, you are generally motivated to learn all kinds of skills that will let you handle people and emergencies better.

This does not mean digging out every last scrap of information available. It might mean just enough research to see that the data is useful and bookmarking the route to finding it again.

"It will make people notice me"
In a plastic, mass produced world, people with talent and unusual skills get noticed. If you acquire these skills, you will stand out from the faceless masses and will get job offers and other offers of a personal nature that will make life ever so much more interesting.

You will quickly find that, in addition to new opportunities, your talent creates challenges that require you to learn other skills, such as how to deal with people in a win-win manner.

"I'm tired of being treated unfairly"
This requires learning what you are doing that is setting you up for losses in life. You need to learn what makes you tick and that will miraculously help you understand others better. There is much more, of course, but understanding yourself and adopting a philosophy of exchanging fairly with others will go a long way toward giving you the ability to deal effectively with whatever life brings you.

"I need more income to support myself and my family"
Many people have found that they were able to generate additional income in hard times by using their skills and expanding them. Sometimes barter is involved or part cash and part barter. This is usually part time work, but can evolve into full time work if your service is exactly what is needed by others.

Even in hard times, people need their children and pets looked after or want music, dance, fencing, or kickboxing lessons for themselves or their children. Similarly, people still want to learn to draw or to sing or how to drive a car or need their homes fixed or repainted. If you ask around, you may be surprised at how much help is needed by others. Some of it will be work that you can do or learn to do.

Small business always need occasional help with organizing, filing, and clerical work which usually involves spreadsheets and development of forms. They also need help with graphic design.

All of these skills can be learned or improved, if already known at some level.

"It would be interesting do "
There is nothing wrong with this motivation, but the normal pressures of daily existence may be far more important and you will find that learning Spanish or welding or even First Aid classes will not be attended after the first few meetings.

These activities and classes may be very useful, but your motivation must rank high on your list of priorities in order to continue with them.

The bottom line:
Your motivation will determine what new skills you acquire. You will notice that I did not include, "I need this skill for my job" or "My boss, wife, significant other would like me to have this skill". If your motivation is determined by others as opposed to the real needs of others, you will find it difficult to follow through on acquiring those skills.

There is more that can be written on learning new skills and the challenges that result from this.

Feel free to send in your questions and recommendations.

Learning new skills - bite-sized steps are vital

Why bite-sized steps are vital
Have you tried to learn something only to end in confusion and then quit in disgust?

You have fallen into the trap of skipping over words you did not understand and have not made the data your own by using it in examples before going on.

This confusion is the major cause of why children or adults cannot learn. It is caused by going by too many words or symbols that were not understood and by inhaling information faster than it can be put to use and understood.

Misunderstood words can be a career killer
Let me give you a real example from my own life. I did very well in high school as I was able learn at my own speed by reading. When I got to college, I would go unconscious in certain lectures because these instructors used new terms every day without explaining what they meant. I looked much like these students.

Most instructors would not explain what the terms meant even when asked by students. They told us that was what the reading assignment was for. It took a long time before I realized that the reading assignments were where the learning should take place and that the lectures were for filling in the gaps.

The problem is that once you have gone by any word and do not understand it, the material immediately after that word is a blank in your mind. If the word is an important word like the name of a subject, you can fail the subject entirely, because the subject just does not make sense!

I failed a subject in college, twice, because I did not know what the name meant. Even though I did the problems and attended the lectures, the material would not stick because my understanding of the subject was precariously balanced on a giant confusion of what the  subject name meant. Years later, I thoroughly cleared up that confusion and my understanding of the material has returned.

(I am not giving the subject name because I do not want to cause you pain and unconsciousness either. You probably have one of you own.)

What bite-sized step is right for you?
If you are studying a new subject and are eager to get on to the next topic, you are probably taking in the data at the right rate. The acid test is whether you can apply the information you just encountered.

If you cannot apply what you have just heard or read, you need to clear up any misunderstood words or symbols and you need to use the information in real examples or demonstrate how it is applied before going on.

If you are having difficulty with anything you are doing, whether it is a work assignment, making pottery, knitting, or designing on a computer, take a look at the exact area of difficulty and see what words are confusing. There will be some and strangely enough your difficulties will begin to disappear when you clear up the words that are not understood. It often helps if you have someone work with you to spot and clear up these confusions.

The bottom line:
New skills can be acquired when you acquire knowledge in bite-sized steps that you can easily digest.

If you cannot acquire skills that you need, you might want to consider whether you really want to learn this material. Are you just doing it to satisfy someone else?

This leads to the next topic in this series: Learning new skills - what is your motivation?

(Image credit to Daniel at cuppy-cake.blogspot.com)

Learning new skills: step one - finding help

Why learn new skills?
Would your life be more satisfying if you had more useful skills? Are there things you would like to do that you cannot do right now?

Acquiring useful skills will help you live better at any time in your life. It can be done in your spare time and  you can do much of it on your own. The first step is to find sources of information or instruction that you can afford.

Let's start with the free stuff. Look for information on how to do things you want to do.

Where to start?
If you are willing to give up some of your TV watching time, you can acquire information that will help you in ways that you might not expect.

If you are not a TV watcher, give your email and text messaging a rest and browse the Internet for information instead of "twitter". It can give you a leg up in terms of handling work or being more creative.

If you do not enjoy reading articles on the computer, consider reading trade magazines, how-to magazines, and any other kind of publication with articles on how to do things that you do not currently know how to do.

Where does it come from?
There are tens of thousands of informed people (experts) who are sharing information every day on subjects like how to shoot photos, write fiction, interview for jobs, build kayaks, handle losses, raise difficult children, deal with difficult employers, or tune motorcycles.

Some of these people write in magazines, but many thousands write articles and comments on the Internet. You can find most of the answers you are looking for by doing a search on Google or the search engine of your choice.

Often, you will find that you can write to the author of the article and get more information. Many authors are delighted when they find that you share their particular interest and are willing to point you to more resources.

OK, what's the catch?
The biggest problem you will run into is the overwhelming amount of information that is available when you type in your search terms. How do you keep from being confused and overwhelmed by all the unfamiliar terms that you see on the screen or on the written page?

That will be the subject of the next post: "Learning new skills - bite-sized steps are vital"

UPDATE: Read mattbg's comment. Vacation time and those periods between jobs are excellent opportunities to learn new skills instead of spending money trying to suppress your current problems. New skills can create new opportunities for you and you may escape your current difficulties entirely instead of merely enduring them.

2011: Trendspotting for the next decade

Richard Laermer recently published 2011: Trendspotting for the next decade, a business book which he calls an exploration of trends that will affect our lives. It is available on Amazon and has an eyecatching cover.

Richard is a very bright guy, CEO of a PR firm and writes a fine blog.

His PR agency sent me a copy of this new book to review. I read the book over several days, first by reading 15 chapters chosen at random and then from start to finish. He covers a lot of ground but his new book does not measure up to his blog.

The book is a loose collection of observations and anecdotes that goes on far too long. At 295 pages there is something there for everyone. The problem I had was finding something new I could use amongst all of the extraneous comments.

The book would read better if one third of the chatter were excised from the book. This book is like an endless buffet of morsels of gossip, drive-by insights, and personal anecdotes that reflect years of experience. All of these are entertaining, but I left the table overloaded with minutiae and still hungry for basic information that I had not already seen on the Internet.

If you are not a blogger or a trend junkie and are looking for an amusing read, this may be just what you are looking for to while away the hours on your next plane flight.

If you want to get a sense of Richard at his best, read his blog.

If you own a Cittern, you might want a Vornbrock gig bag

A few days ago I saw Tina Liza Jones playing her custom designed Cittern and it was a sight to behold. The 10-string instrument has metal strings, is played with a plectrum, and is sheer beauty from any angle.

The modern Cittern is also called an Irish Bouzouki and is similar to an overgrown Mandolin. There are many different variations including flat or curved backs and eight, ten or twelve strings. Tina's Cittern is just one of many variations and this design was created by her husband Eric Root.
 
Citterns have been around a long long time. Vermeer included a number of these beautiful 10-string instruments in his paintings. The image below is a detail from The Love Letter.

In more recent times, the Cittern has been used to perform Celtic music.  Visit these sites for more information on the Cittern and the Bouzouki.

So, today, I was wandering by the Art Gallery under the Winter Sun and I happened upon this timeless scene like something right out of history, a musician getting an instrument measured for a carrying case.

Tina Liza Jones was getting one of Betty VornBrock's custom Gig Bags for her Cittern and it is a fitting choice. The Cittern deserves a carrying case that complements the the beauty of the instrument.

Betty's quilted instrument cases are works of art. You can see some of the detail in Tina's guitar bag, made by Betty several years ago.

Betty Vornbrock creates instrument cases and Gig bags under the Autumn Wind name and can be reached by email at autwind-at-embarqmail-dot-com.

Betty is also a musician herself. She is an accomplished fiddler in several different traditional styles and created the "Reed Island Rounders" with her husband Billy Cornette.

Auto industry bailouts from a consumer perspective

When one gives money to someone in trouble, it is a good idea to see just why they are in trouble. Giving financial support to someone who is still engaged in self-destructive behavior is a frustrating waste of time and money.

Many of us have experience with this on a personal level. We are now getting a chance to see this being done at a national level with the auto industry bailout requests.

The big three American automakers have become uncompetitive. There is some evidence to the effect that government supported union activity helped bring about this state of affairs. There is also some evidence to support the fact that the products from the big three are just not good enogh to compete in today's marketplace.

At The Truth About Cars, TTAC has published the results of a poll that identify the ten worst autos of 2008. This is no Consumers Reports scientific fact finding, this contains graphic descriptions of features that would doom almost any product line, even if there were not competition.

Jeep Compass - From droning tires to a jouncy suspension to an engine that moans more than a five-year-old denied Disneyland, this un-Jeep is a cacophony of cheap.

HUMMER H2 - I secretly like the H2. It fits with my theory that all SUVs need to look like Patton could’ve used ‘em to invade Sicily. Problem is, the poster child for “Drill Baby, Drill!” is anything but. It’s a Chevy Tahoe in a fat suit.

Read the article and see if you agree.  If you think the article was hard on automakers, wait until you read the comments. (Put down your coffee first.)

It seems as if there is a rising tide of resentment toward companies which have defied consumer choice and are now seeking help after years of mismanagement. See an example after the jump.

We all need beauty in our lives...

Thanks to Andrea Marshall, Floyd County artist, jeweler, and musician, we have the gift of these fantastic Christmas ornaments made from dried okra and a little bit of fairy dust.

It is truly amazing how artists create beauty from humble elements.

 

Andrea's ornaments and jewelry can be found at Art Under the Sun on So Locust Street in downtown Floyd Virginia. She will often be heard performing during the Friday night gallery openings for the rest of the month.

What matters most to your customers?

Answering that question correctly can spell the difference between surviving this recession or disappearing into history.

Tom Asacker cuts right to the chase with a recent article, "Cut the fat, not the meat".

Smart organizations that focus relentlessly on what matters most to customers, while ignoring and eliminating those activities and investments that don't matter, will not only survive this recession, but will thrive when the economy invariably turns around.  The rest will find themselves in an even deeper and more perilous hole.

Unfortunately, there is no simple template for figuring out what matters to your customer because the buying experience involves tradeoffs that are unique for every location and product mix.

Price is increasingly important as money and credit dry up, but it is not the overriding consideration in making purchases. Convenience and being treated as a valued customer and getting your needs met in an emotionally satisfying manner are all part of the buying experience.

A local business needs to offer goods at a competitive price and a buying environment that adds pleasure to a customer's life. This is not easy when there are big box stores that buy products in shipping container quantities.

A small business may still have a competitive edge in these areas:

• Unique items or quantities at competitive prices
• Personal customer service
• Convenience and speed

Success as a local business depends on selling items that the big stores do not carry or by providing support services and information that mass retailers cannot provide, or by offering convenient shopping for commonly needed items. These are different business models and a local business may incorporate elements of all three. 

Last of all, the business environment can be a deciding factor. It is not a matter of how tastefully decorated or how spotless the store is. What matters is how the environment meets the customer's expectations.

The interior of an auto repair shop like Protocol Automotive of Floyd Virginia may be a bit rough and ready, but it gets consistently high marks because of the excellent work done and the professionalism of the owner. What you see at Protocol is purposeful action and that is what counts.

The Blue Ridge Restaurant of Floyd makes patrons feel at home because it is "cozy" and the service is friendly. It is a country diner and delivers country food at affordable prices in plain surroundings.

On the other hand, the Bell Gallery and Garden, a gift shop in Floyd Virginia, sells extremely affordable trinkets and craft items in an exquisite high-end gallery environment. This provides customers with a memorable buying experience at a great price and an added bonus of giving a gift from a highly respected source.

Organizations that survive this recession will have figured out what matters most to their customers.

What feedback have you gotten from your customers? How do you think you could get more of this information?

How can we create fantastic deals and still stay in business?

Seth Godin always has some useful advice. Recently he wrote about what people tell themselves when they go to buy something.

If you want to avoid being stuck with inventory or downtime during a recession, you might profit from realizing that people tell themselves a different story when they go to buy something.

During good times, we wonder, "can I get this house before the price goes up or someone else snatches it?" or we think, "my time is really valuable, it's okay if this is a little more expensive than the store down the street." ...

In our current times, people tell themselves the story, "I got a steal!" If it's not a steal, they wait.

Read the entire article, in which Seth explains the difference between lowering all your prices and giving the customer a great deal. He inspired me to see what I could do to give my customers a better deal.

Like many businesses in Floyd County, I operate on margins that are thin enough to shave with and lowering prices further is not a viable option. I needed to come up with a way to save customers significant amounts of money without putting myself in financial jeopardy.

The best answer so far was getting customers involved in creating a great deal for themselves and we did this by thinking outside the box. Instead of working with cheaper frames, we have been finding used expensive frames and recycling them.

Incorporating these recycled frames and framing materials into new designs has produced satisfying results at truly affordable prices.

I have added a new web page to my Floyd Custom Framing site that explains exactly how recycling works in professional picture framing.

Innovation is vital during hard times

Continuing to do the same old things and expecting new results is not a winning proposition, whether we are discussing a small business, a large corporation, or the nation as a whole. This even applies to those who work for others in a well-defined job.

In good times or bad, there is a basic rule that will make running your business or your life much easier:

In order to keep earning income, we have to come up with compelling reasons that our services will make someone else's life easier.

Figuring this out and communicating it effectively are skills that can be learned.

During an economic downturn, doing this will make your own life much easier.

When there is not enough money for business as usual, buyers and employers alike start looking for ways to bring costs in line with income. Every expense gets scrutinized to see how it contributes to survival.

A business needs to adapt products and services to changes in customer needs if it is going to survive. A small business can do this more easily than a large corporation.

I saw a good example of this at the Bell Gallery and Garden in Floyd Virginia. This family-run gallery offers a wide range of unique gift items: sculpture, jewelry, fine art and photography. Without sacrificing quality, they have recently introduced smaller versions of expensive photographs that can be purchased for much less money. They have other low cost offerings to complement many of their high end items.

I am finding a similar solution in my own business, Floyd Custom Framing. My customers still want to give framed art as gifts this year, but they need to do it with a smaller budget than usual. Rather than ordering less expensive mouldings for them, I suggest that we find and recycle elegant frames by resizing and refinishing them to complement their artwork. The end results are quite spectacular and the savings delight customers who want art on a tight budget.

It turns out that there are many people in this area who have unframed prints and even originals tucked away and at the same time have old picture frames which they no longer use. With a little artistic recycling, we are able to create stunning effects in an affordable way.

Since I'm seeing a growing demand for recycled picture frames, I keep my eye out for opportunities to acquire overstocks and elegant frames that can be recycled. In the process, I am learning new techniques for refinishing frames. My services are expanding because of these changing customer requirements.

Making life easier for customers is good business.