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The Hot Seat
Show Me The Money--NOW
By Melissa Stock
I’ll take my success now, please. And throw in a big pile of cash while you’re at it.
Why not? There’s instant credit, instant soup, and fancy instant coffee drinks that you can share with your instant family while you instantly view the world on the Internet. I don’t think it’s much of a leap to say that anything less than instant gratification in our fast-moving world is suspect. In fact, I’m afraid we’ve all turned into two-year-olds, and WE WANT IT NOW!
Notice I say we. My husband and coworkers can all attest to the fact that no one would ever mistake me for the patron saint of patience. My vendors would probably wait in line to tell stories on how I need them to do things by yesterday. Heck, they might even have a support group. My excuse (and I think it’s a pretty darned good one) is hey, I work for a magazine--there are deadlines! But of course, it goes much deeper than that. Like most of you, I think I work really hard to make my company successful. I struggle to come up with new ideas, develop new products, and plan for the future of our industries everyday. But it never fails; every time I think I’ve just about got a project working smoothly (like those pesky ol’ magazines), and I decide things are in control, life throws me a curve ball. New competitors pop up, my daughter decides to show me what the term "projectile vomiting" really means, or I need to hire--or fire--an employee. Plus, there’s those little things like payroll and rent. Apparently a higher being somewhere either has a twisted sense of humor, or a mean streak. Sometimes I think to myself, clearly there’s been a mistake. I’ve worked really hard and should have more to show for it. I bet many of you are reading this and saying, "Yep, me too," and would like to make your feelings known at this time. So say it with me now: SHOW ME THE MONEY!
I recently read an article by Jan Norman in the Orange County Register that really illustrates the hope of quick success that we all want, contrasted with the reality of the true time it takes. The opening paragraph of the story speaks volumes. "Donna Billman’s cookies are an overnight sensation. And it only took 12 years." The story profiled the Laguna Niguel, California woman, a.k.a. "the Cookie Lady" who sells cookies, cakes and an assortment of corporate edible gifts through Donna B’s Bakery Boutique. Her "overnight sensation" came when a local movie theater agreed to bake and sell her cookies in the lobby. And if the cookies go over well, the concept will be repeated in five other California theaters. The article outlined all the ups and downs of Donna’s company from 1987 to the 1999 movie theater deal, which included everything from selling cookie dough as a single mom, to struggling through near bankruptcy, self-doubt and inexperience. And it only took 12 years.
Happily, sometimes success can be lightening fast. There’s nothing better than hearing that Chef Ivo Puidak reported writing more than $10,000 worth of business during the 1999 National Fiery Foods Show®. Or that our customer Fiesta Specialty Foods did so much business at the Show, that they actually ran out of order forms. According to Fiesta Owner Phil Clark, his company did more business on the first trade day then they did during the entire Show last year. But as he pointed out, his high-volume sales were anything but instant. It took him five years to get there with the hard work of building name recognition through advertising, exhibiting in shows, and following up with buyers.
While most of us manage to be in the right place at the right time once in a while, more often, perseverance, consistency of effort, and time are the usual elements of success. Although it’s not the "in" thing to say, I believe it ultimately comes down to personal responsibility, and what I DO to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. My company won’t get very far if everyone in my office simply waits for the phone to ring and doesn’t expect to spend months and years building up name recognition and following up on our leads.
In the meantime, I think I’d better start attending that patience support group; this success thing may take awhile.
As reported in the May/June '99 issue of Fiery Foods Magazine