Upon seeing the overstocked, cluttered store room of a client who was moving to a new space, a colleague of mine remarked “she wouldn’t have to move into a bigger store if she just renovated the way she thinks about her stock.”
Truer words have never been spoken. Sadly, this is often the case for many business owners. Hiring an architect or interior designer to renovate your space or design a new one can be an expensive and overwhelming proposition, not to mention the downtime or cost of moving, but oftentimes, well worth the investment. However, if your business is already struggling, this might not fiscally be an option for you. Following are five inexpensive (note, I did not say “easy”) ways to help improve the look of your business without breaking the bank. Return customers are vital to your business and the best way to get them is to give them the great service you always have in an environment that makes them feel good about coming back.
Renovate your mind! If you are feeling crammed into a small space, consider how much stuff you have crammed in with you. Many business owners who feel the need to move to bigger digs need only spend a couple of weekends cleaning out store rooms and weeding out merchandise that does not sell. And if YOU are feeling crammed, then so are your customers. Have a sidewalk or attic sale and unload everything that is not absolutely essential to your business. Be brutally honest and ask yourself “have I used this (sold this, referred anyone to this) within the last year?” If the answer is no, then it’s got to go! Thinking about what physical items are essential to your business can have the added impact of helping you fine tune the focus of your business in general. The key is to be open-minded about what works best for you and jettison everything that is holding you back.
Can’t sell it? Donate slightly out-of-date items to a local charity. Not only will you get a tax deduction, but also the good feeling of helping someone else might ease the sting of letting your merchandise or supplies go for less than you paid for it.
Musical chairs. One reason your space might not be working for you could be as simple as inefficient arrangement of your furniture or display racks/cases. I have watched employees of a business step over or around tables and racks 10 times per customer simply because “that’s how the owner wants it.” Though it’s hard to believe that someone who owns a business “wants” their employees to work in an inefficient manner, what often happens is furniture gets placed somewhere temporarily and then never gets moved again. Everyone thinks that someone else placed it there for a good reason when the actual reason was lost years ago.
Consider rearranging the furniture. You just may be surprised how much useable space you can open up just by moving a table from one wall to another or by installing vertical shelving in lieu of display cases. If you have trouble visualizing how your workflow can possibly be improved from the well-oiled machine that it is, hire a professional organizer for a day. Their fee will be significantly less than the cost of renovating and moving into a new larger space. And they can give you a fresh set of eyes to help you see things you might not have considered, like that table your employees step around 10 times per customer.
Brokeback Desk Chair. Nobody likes sitting on a broken chair, nor looking in a cracked mirror, nor sitting in a room with water stains on the ceiling. If it’s broken or worn out, fix, replace, or toss it. Holding your cash register together with duct tape may have been a brilliant idea at the moment it broke, but leaving it that way for more than a few days sends a message to your customers that you don’t really care. Tired, outdated, worn out, or (the worst) smelly carpet can make the difference between a customer deciding to return to your business or to try that new shiny place that just opened around the corner.
Leaking roofs can create water stained ceilings and obnoxious odors that are very difficult to get rid of. First and foremost, get your landlord to fix the leak. Once fixed, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out how inexpensive replacing all of your ceiling tile or carpet can be. Try to negotiate with your landlord to chip in since he owns the roof that made your store stink. This is not a do-it-yourself project. Leave it to the professionals. You will have to move everything on the floor for carpet to be replaced. Use this as your opportunity (or excuse) to rethink how it all gets put back.
Unless it’s a home office, your office is not a home. You’re not fooling anyone with those country ruffled curtains and flowery wallpaper borders. Your business is not a home and nothing says “not a real business” like home décor in a commercial building. Hey doc, I’m talking to you! Doctors and dentist offices seem to be the worst offenders for this. If your bottom-line depends on soothing the frazzled nerves of your customers, take a cue from high-end spas. Go minimal with earth tones and neutrals, tone down the lighting, and turn down the piped in music. Providing comfortable modern seating, fresh flowers, and free cold beverages will go a lot further to adding a sense of calm than the needlepoint pillow that says “Bless this mess!” Oh yeah, and ditch the TV blaring 24 hour news. Consider free wi-fi instead.
Never underestimate the power of a fresh coat of paint. You can hire professionals to knock this out in no time, or if you have the patience to do the prep work right, there’s no reason why you and your employees can’t do it yourself in a couple of days. Update tired blah colors with a contemporary fresh color palette. Many home improvement centers have ready-made trendy color palettes or you can ask a stylish in-the-know friend to help you choose relevant colors for your business. Don’t be afraid of bright colors! Wise color selection and placement can help make your business’ physical presence zing with energy and grab the attention of potential customers that have not noticed you before.
To improve the look of your business, get rid of everything that is holding you back, rearrange the furnishings, fix what is broken, take the home out of office, and paint, paint, paint. Most importantly, “renovate your mind” and be open to a new way of thinking about your business. You just may surprise yourself.
