Get Creative

One of the biggest complaints of small business owners is that the money just isn’t there. They might want to pay their staff more, they might want/need a new piece of equipment or just have a little more cash flow. We’ve already talked about making sure your product is priced correctly and that’s still important but your control over pricing is limited. I’d love to charge $40 for a 30 minute walk. It would allow me to pay my dog walkers amazingly well and give myself a raise but not only would I likely price myself out of the market, I’d also be effectively doubling my prices overnight. No one is going to pay that. Price increases are important, don’t put them off or forget them but what about when you have a one off cost and you just need a little extra? There’s always a go fund me or something similar but that’s not what I’m talking about here. Those are everywhere and no one is going to look at one for a business raising money for a new piece of equipment or staff bonuses and say to themselves, “Yes, that’s who I want to help! Not the person who has enormous medical debt or the puppy who was abused. That business owner right there!” So what do we do?

I’ve always thought holiday (or some kind of) bonuses, especially for the staff that keeps the business running, were important. Even when they’re not huge, giving a bonus shows that you see your staff and you’re thinking of them. My staff is now enrolled in a profit share so they’ll be getting more consistent bonuses but I still wanted to do something nice for them this year. Pawsitively Pooches has really “grown up” over the past year and I want to make sure we are paying it forward. My clients have always had the option to tip on invoices and that’s important enough that when looking at other options for software, I rule it out if it doesn’t have a tipping option. While it’s not required of our clients, I want people to be able to show their appreciation if they are so inclined and I want dog walkers to be able to benefit when they’re doing an exceptional job.

This year, in honor of Small Business Saturday, I asked my clients to tip and promised to match any tip up to $15 per client (we have around 150 clients getting these invoices). The response was amazing. I’ve gotten so many emails from clients saying that they love this idea and they really appreciate me matching to make their tips even better. Many of them have tipped much more than $15. It was a great opportunity to remind people that we take care of their family and we’re happy to do it but if they were wondering how they could give back this year, here’s the way! The dog walkers don’t know about it yet but they will soon. I love this idea because even though it isn’t why I did it, it earned me some good will with my clients (and hopefully my staff!) and it helped me give a little more to the staff that works so hard for me without dipping too deeply into our reserves.

It’s admittedly an easier sell to get people to tip dog walkers they already like and are often tipping regularly than to get some new equipment etc. It’s still doable though. You could host an event for your clients and have games where they’d have to buy tickets or host an auction etc. It’s a little more effort but if it really needs to be done it can be!

What have you done to show your appreciation for people or get something you need?