Business Pride Cycles and the Comeback of 2010

As I write this blog, I find myself sitting in an airport terminal in Houston Tx, flying back from a two day conference where I was able to give two extensive seminars on Web and Marketing 2.0 principles to small business owners throughout the United States and Canada. In this particular setting,

The Sun Rises for a New Age of Small Business Education

the participants were owners of swimming pool and hot tub companies, just like me.

Tough Times

Like so many small businesses, the pool and spa industry has been brutalized by the difficult economic conditions of late 2008-present. It has been an incredible refiner’s fire, with a huge portion of companies closing their doors under the weight of financial hardship and a major lack of demand for their products.

But the struggles of the pool and spa industry are no different than so many businesses around the globe, especially ones in the home improvement industry. With the collapse in the housing market having had an incredibly detrimental domino effect on just about everyone.

But if I may be frank here (which tends to be my only style), I’d say that much of the hardships businesses have dealt with these past 2 years were simply a product of the ‘pride cycle’ that is almost always prevalent during plentiful economic times.

Pride Cycles

And what do I mean by ‘Pride Cycle’? Let me give you an example from my own industry. 2005 was a great year to be a ‘pool guy’. With houses popping up faster than spring clovers, as well as home-equity skyrocketing every day, and credit available to anyone with a heart beat; buying a swimming pool became as easy to many as purchasing milk from the grocery store. Demand for pools was at such a high that even the worst pool companies had more than enough work. And what was the state of marketing in the industry? Simply put, non-creative and traditional ‘interruptive’ mediums were still the common method of lead generation.

My company also experienced prosperity during this time, but I can distinctly remember my feelings of uneasiness at the end of the year as I witnessed pool manufacturers and suppliers showering their customers (builders like me) with trips, cruises, prizes, etc,.

Now don’t get me wrong, as I do enjoy having my own share of fun here and there, but allow me to recall a conversation I had with a manufacturer at that time. This is how it went:

Me: Look, I appreciate the fact that you guys want to reward us, your dealers, with this cruise. But do you think that instead of going on such a trip we could all get together and have an educational and networking ‘pow-wow’ for all your existing dealer base?

Manufacturer: Well, I guess we could do that, but we feel this is what the dealers want.

Me: I understand, but we can have fun and learn at the same time. Personally, I’ve got a few classes I’ve been thinking about regarding sales and marketing that, if you’d let me, I’d like to teach to your entire dealer base. I think there is a huge need for this type of class in our industry and I’d really love to teach it.

Manufacturer: Marcus, I’m sure you’d love to teach the class and would do a good job, but most of our dealers aren’t like you. They are satisfied with where their business currently is and simply wouldn’t be interested. They just don’t see the need for such training like you’re offering.

In reality, all this guy was doing is letting me down easy. Truth is, he wasn’t interested in serious training and education for his dealer base. Simply put, he, and many in the pool and spa industry, had lost track of what brought them successful in the first place. They had stopped sharpening the sword and complacency had become greatly entrenched within their businesses.

Ill-Prepared for the Fall

So when the bottom fell out of the market in 2008, and pool guys actually had to use skill and creativity to generate business, and manufacturers no longer had a back-log of production demands, the majority of the industry was ill-prepared. Essentially, they had fallen asleep at the wheel. This, my fellow readers, is the essence of ‘business pride cycles’.

I cite the pool and spa industry as an example here, but in reality this cycle is applicable to just about any business that prospered in the early to mid 2000s and bombed by the end of the decade. I’d also note that not all businesses and business owners fell into this pride-cycle trap and rested on their laurels. Even the best of us have struggled to deal with the current economic climate, although such cases are in the minority.

Excitement for the Future

Nothing better than speaking Web and Marketing 2.0 to Small Biz Owners

But enough of the history analysis. The real reason I’m so very excited at this moment is due to the incredible events of this past weekend. As I mentioned earlier, I taught two Web/Marketing 2.0 seminars to roughly 100 business owners in the pool industry and the participation, learning, networking, and desire that I witnessed from these incredible men and women was one of the most uplifting and inspiring moments of my life.

Literally, for two days, business owners young and old threw themselves into sharpening their sword, embracing the direction of Web/Marketing 2.0, and more than anything else, many started to overcome their ‘pool guy only’ label so as to ‘take the wheel’ of their business and web marketing through such platforms as Hubspot(CMS systems), blogging, and other creative web strategies.

I cannot explain to you how rewarding it is to have someone who is 55+ years old tell you, “I’ve never seen myself as one who would or could handle my company’s website and marketing, but you’ve now shown me that I really can do it.”

Literally, I’ve heard positive statements like this one over and over again these past few days, and my heart leaps at the idea that this ‘refiner’s fire’ we’ve all been through has actually built a new foundation for a new age of small business owners. I see a future now, at least for years to come, where small biz owners, manufacturers, and the like learn to mix education and entertainment in an effort to maximize everyone’s success as well as elevate the entire industry as a whole.

Time Will Tell

Only time will tell if this comes to pass, but without a doubt I greatly anticipate a new beginning for small businesses across the world—A time when companies, owners, managers, and employees embrace learning as a means of entertainment, and find joy in the presence of other like-minded professionals. This, to me, is the definition of a 21^st century entrepreneur and business owner—one that embraces the future, respects the past, and takes full advantage of the present.

So what are your thoughts on business pride cycles and the direction of small businesses in 2010? As always, I’d love to hear what you have to say regarding this important topic.

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