We’re over halfway through the year; it’s time to sit down and think about how you’ve done so far with your business. Often we get so caught up in doing the work and going through the motions that we don’t look at what we’ve done. So, this week, I want you to take some time and ask yourself these 4 questions:

• How are sales compared to where you wanted to be by this time? (Or how are sales versus the budget/goal?)
• What are your three biggest accomplishments this year?
• Who are your top 20 clients and when was the last time you spoke to each one of them?
• What has not gone well and what are you going to do in the next 5 months to improve your year?

These are just some of the questions I like to ask myself. I find sitting in a quiet place with a pad of paper and thinking about the answers to these questions and giving some thought about how I am going to improve is one of the best ways to spend 2 hours.

Now, I only hope you do the same. Success in business and in life has a lot more to do with doing a bunch of little things right than to get one thing right every once in a while.

There’s still time to sign up for the 10 Mistakes Most Landscapers Make & How to Avoid Them webinar on August 9th, from 4:00-5:15 pm, EDT. Why don’t you sign up today!

Hi, it’s Joe Calloway with what I think is the single most powerful way to win and keep customers. The key is consistency.

That’s the gold standard. If you consistently do what you say you’ll do over a long period of time, the world will beat a path to your door. Consistency of performance is the single most powerful builder of customer enthusiasm and loyalty. Inconsistency of performance is the single greatest business killer. The reason that Coke is the preeminent world brand is because when I open that can or bottle, I know exactly what’s going to be inside. Can the same be said for your organization? Is consistency of performance the norm across all areas and with all people? If so, you’ve built something compelling. If not, you’ve got work to do.

I hope you enjoy this photo of me wearing a new form of ear protection.

Okay…now that you are laughing, let me explain. I am holding two Tervis Tumblers over my ears. One with the logo of my beloved Dayton Flyers and the other with the logo of my favorite pro sports team—the Cincinnati Reds. And I was happy to pose for this photo. Why? Those are two brand new Tervis Tumblers sent to me by them as a result of their no questions asked guarantee.

Tervis Tumblers are manufactured in North Venice, Florida. Check out their website at tervis.com.

My house is full of Tervis Tumblers. I love them as they are great glasses but what I really like about the company is the way they stand behind their product. And look what happens as a result. Those two glasses failed, probably because my kids dropped them. Tervis has a “lifetime warranty,” no questions asked. Tervis doesn’t ask; they realize if they take care of the client, it will come back to them ten-fold.

Sometimes in business you take a risk and it pays off. Tervis Tumblers is a well run company with a lot of loyal fans. No wonder.

This week think about what you could do to build a fan base. A warranty that makes a client say “WOW” is one way to do just that.

Do you ever make mistakes? I know I do but I try not to repeat them. Ironically, we had a mistake with Tuesday’s 10 Mistakes Most Landscapers Make & How to Avoid Them webinar so we had to reschedule it to Tuesday, August 9, from 4:00-5:15 pm, Eastern Daylight Time. But that means that you have another chance to sign up for this webinar.

I enjoy eating at Panera. I think their food is pretty decent and I like to work there as well. As I write this great idea, I’m in a Panera in Deerfield, Illinois. We’re visiting family and since everyone is asleep, I snuck out early to get a couple hours of work in. I had a nice experience and wanted to share it with you.

This Panera opened at 7:00 on Sundays. But at about 6:50 or so the manager opened the doors and waved for me to come in. Nice move. I ordered a bagel and a green tea and gave Mariam a $5.00 bill to pay for it. She handed me my food and I looked at the receipt and the total was $5.03; she never said a word; I asked her if she needed the 3 cents, she said, “Of course not, sir, enjoy.” Really Nice Move. I sat down with my bagel and before I could turn around to go get my drink at the coffee bar, here comes Dusty from behind the counter with my drink. Another really nice move.

Look, none of what they did there at Panera was incredible; it was very nice. But it was good service; I felt valued; I felt important. When your clients feel valued and important, they will come back. You create an emotional bond with them. And so many businesses don’t do the little things Panera does well that you can stand out by doing them. Don’t think so?

When was the last time you went to a chain fast food place or chain grocery store and felt valued? I’m going to guess not very recently. Panera is a chain that has a lot of things figured out. A lot of things we small business people would be smart to copy. As I have said countless times, “Little Things Make a BIG Difference!”

You’re going to take a vacation this year, aren’t you?

It is very important to take time off. You need to get away from work and recharge the batteries. No one can stay fully engaged at work forever.

I used to think I couldn’t take a vacation. I thought I just needed to keep working harder and harder—I was wrong.

A couple of weeks ago, we went on our annual Tent Camping Trip with my wife’s family in Indiana.

My family on this year's Camping Trip (from left to right) Grant, Lily, Emily, my wife Lisa, Katie & me

We had a blast. I didn’t shave, shower, watch TV, surf the web, or sit in the air conditioning. I hung out with my kids, watched them play, talked with my wife and her family, and slept in a tent with all of them. It was great; I came back refreshed and with a mind cleared out ready to work. It was so much fun; I want to work really hard and make some money, so I can do more vacations.

By the way, this annual event is a very affordable event and proof that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have fun. Besides, I firmly believe your family will never remember how much money you spent on them but they will remember how much time you spent with them.