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Avon is calling and Avon is educating
What
are you doing about education?
Avon announced the creation of its first in-house content studio. The studio, which is meant to better educate the company’s nearly 6 million representatives across the globe, went live in March.
Avon sees the content studio as a way to further emphasize the company’s “Open Up Avon” strategy. “The transformation of our company begins with the millions of our voluntary entrepreneurs” said James Thompson, Avon Products’ chief beauty and brand officer.
“We want to be learning from our entrepreneurs as much as we are training and educating them. Why not help them further their platforms?”
“Two of our three challenges are relevance and service, so by becoming a high-tech, high-touch business, we will have a constant feedback loop for representatives to do their jobs better,” said Thompson. “That’s the only way to be more consumer-friendly and for our business to grow.”
Avon reported the size of the active representative workforce declined by 6% last year. The company also reported two years of sales decline; 14% alone in the last quarter as well as a net loss on the bottom line.
Having been the fourth generation of our family to have owned the business, I read the article about Avon with great interest. While from a distance I would see plenty of differences between the individual with an Avon business and the individual with a business like yours and mine, we are all small business owners.
The observation of differences would note that your business would be much more complicated; employees, building, many more SKUs and inventory depth, insurances, financial statements, a lease or mortgage, and much more money invested in the business.
Avon as a company did $1.3 billion in sales last year, sold by their 6 million representatives. Using these two numbers, the average representative would have sold only $217 worth of product last year. Yet the announcement says they are developing this educational program to help all 6 million become better business owners.
While we share the summary of this news article, we think it should give cause to ask questions about ourselves. If Avon would make that much of an investment to help one of their business owners, perhaps they are on to something about learning how to be a better business owner.
Obviously, you are working with numbers that are much more sizable. You, your family, your employees and their families depend on your business. With this much on the line, we should all be looking at the investment we are making in ourselves as owners and managers of our business.
A friend who owns over 160 locations with his business says his lead question is to ask what is the last business book an individual read. He does not ask for a review of the book but states it is an indicator of a person investing in themselves.
Another appropriate question is to ask what was the last business management seminar you participated in whether in person or online.
We can suggest taking a personal summary of your management and ownership skills. You can create multiple categories to rate yourself. Start with your level of financial understanding and the ability to communicate with your accountant.
Look at your skills in business strategy; do you have a written business plan? If so, when was the last time it was updated?
While many state they have repeat and referral customers, do you have a marketing plan or is your business on auto-pilot?
Have you developed an education program for all your employees or is it just an occasional pep talk or lecture they receive?
Are you looking for new opportunities for your business or waiting for the finish line of retirement?
These would be some good starter points for a self examination to which you can add more to the list. Score yourself as you are likely your own toughest critic.
And with your score you will know just how much of an investment you should be making in yourself. One key component; education should be ongoing for as long as you want your business to be ongoing.
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This article is copyrighted by Tom Shay and Profits Plus Solutions, who can be reached at: PO Box 128, Dardanelle, AR. 72834. Phone 727-823-7205. It may be printed for an individual to read, but not duplicated or distributed without expressed written consent of the copyright owner.
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Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business
Management
Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.
Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?
Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.
We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.
Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.
Article of the Month
Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.
And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.
The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."
Book of the Month
Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.
As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.
Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
