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In high school, when I was working at Copps Hill Shell in Ridgefield, CT, we were one of the first gas stations in the area to get credit card readers at the pumps for customers to pay at the pump. The learning process for the customers was a bit haphazard, but one of our jobs working there was to introduce the service to customers as they arrived for the first 4-6 weeks of the new readers being in place.

There were a handful of customers who still preferred paying inside of the building, and we didn't discourage customers from paying that way, as it enabled us to capture some sales inside of the convenience store.

Some of the learnings we took out of this were that there is no simple way to train the same way in every situation without having a good system in place. We set up a basic system to follow.

1. Greet the customer with a hello and telling them about our new card readers
2. If the customer said they'd rather pay inside, we'd show them how to do it so they'd become more comfortable the next time around
3. For customers paying cash, we'd also show them how it worked in case they wanted to change their payment method in the future.

Following these procedures got us to know our customers better, educate all customers regardless of whether they'd use the technology or not, and enabled us to be more than just the guys who worked at the gas station.

I joked with one of my friends that one of the reasons I get invited to be a panelist or participant in events is because I'm the Charles Nelson Reilly of my network.

Reilly was one of the funniest people from my childhood and he always added some wit and charm to the shows he appeared on.

In my life, I've always found that when there has been a need for someone in a pinch, when I get a call I am able to deliver a quality presentation, class, or contribution on short notice.

What can you do to become that reliable and energetic presence for those in your network or business?

Here is more on Charles Nelson Reilly from Wikipedia:

He was also a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, appearing more than one hundred times. Because Reilly was such a lively and reliable talk-show guest and lived within blocks of the Burbank studios where The Tonight Show was taped, he was often asked to be a last-minute replacement for scheduled guests who did not make it to the studio in time. During this time, Reilly was perhaps best known as a fixture of game shows, primarily due to his appearances as a regular panelist on the television game show Match Game.

As the New Year started, I committed myself to committing to more "big picture" time and it began today with an all day retreat with the folks at LifeStylized. My new friends Rono and Sierra invited me to attend an all day workshop to "Envision 2012" where I participated in a number of great activities to recharge and refocus on the bigger picture.

45 minutes after the session ended, I walked away with a renewed sense of self as well as a renewed focus on the future of my company and the future of me. I've got some great action items for my business and my personal life and am on my way to reinvigorating my life with passion.

Why did I attend? Because I felt I didn't need to, but because I wanted to. Many times, I fell companies and people don't make the time to focus on yearly goals until the goals have been missed. Others make time for events like this after a major tragedy. I disagree with both of these approaches. As I mentioned at the beginning of today's events, my company grew over 60% in revenues last year from 2010, and this year our goal is to bring in the total of 2010 and 2011 combined. Lofty goals, but realistic given the great people I've been able to bring in as virtual interns, colleagues and freelancers.

It's not too late to retreat this year for a day, a weekend, or an hour. Put it on your calendar and find time to focus now, rather than later.

How do people know whether or not they should frequent your business? Do you have a good website? Do you advertise?

From an HR perspective, some people need to hear you in action or see you live in order to get a better feel for whether or not they will want to work with you or for you.

Tune in to an episode of Capital District Business Profiles, which debuts this coming Monday at 7:30pm (and in February will also air Wednesday mornings at 10am) to check out some of the local businesses that may be offering opportunities for doing business or potential job opportunities in the future.

On Capital District Business Profiles, we will be interviewing local business owners to find out more about their business and how they go about doing what they do.

I have professionally fallen in love with a few businesses and businesspeople in my time. I'm not talking about the romantic, touchy feely, lovey dovey kind of love, but more of an overarching admiration and respect for the totality of another business person or business.

You know the person or business I am talking about; the business or person representing a business who loves what they do, cares about their clients or customers and is extremely passionate in their belief in their products and their belief in you.

Have you professionally fallen in love with anyone?

Here are signs that you are professionally in love

1. You wouldn't think about buying or working with anyone else.
2. You go out of your way to talk to others about how great they are.
3. You actually believe your life has been changed because of your experience.

Sounds a lot like romantic love, doesn't it?

Get people to fall professionally in love with you and your business, and you will never be short of customers, business, or momentum.

Earlier this year, I wrote about Attitude, Attendance, and GPA and why most employers and schools that matter don't care.

Today, I expand on this thought by coming up with a new meaning for the GPA acronym.

Genuine
Professional
Attitude

With a Genuine Professional Attitude, you can walk into any door and find work wherever you go. Without it, you will end up endlessly searching for work and the right opportunity.

People who are genuine show it not necessarily with their words, but always with their actions.

People who are professional walk their talk, apologize when necessary and carry themselves with a high level of credibility.

People with the right attitude look for the opportunity in every failure and success.

What is your GPA? Have you paid attention to it lately? Think of this new GPA acronym -Genuine Professional Attitude instead of your Grade Point Average.

It doesn't matter if you have a 3.0 or 4.0 if your attitude sucks, you aren't professional or are insincere!

PS - If grade point average meant anything, it would be a field you'd need to fill in on your LinkedIn profile! (Guess what, it's not!)

I've spoken for years with friends about wanting to invent a concept called You're Welcome Notes. My friends have said although it sounds like a great idea, they wonder where the endless cycle of Thank You and You're Welcome will end.

"Do you have to send a Thank You card for receiving a You're Welcome note?" is one of their questions. My response is always no, that is a little tacky, but writing to your friends and customers is always a good idea if you want to keep a continuing conversation going.

I did a Google search on You're Welcome Notes this morning and all that came up was a Facebook page that someone came up with stating that "You're Welcome Notes are the greatest demonstration of the welcomeness of the other person's previous thankfulness"

I look at You're Welcome Notes as a great opportunity to keep in touch with people after the holidays have ended, or after you've received a Thank You Note.

Here's a situation where you can see how valuable a You're Welcome Note could be in a business situation...

You sell a product or service to someone and offer them a great experience. They send you a Thank You note thanking you for the great service rendered, and expressing gratitude for all that you did for them. A few days or a short time after, follow up that note with a short letter (or You're Welcome note) checking in with them on their experience, and thanking them for their appreciation of your work.

After a recent shopping experience where I felt like I was treated like a criminal for going in for a price adjustment, I have almost completely abandoned traditional shopping entirely. I've grown tired of the lack of care of the management, the ambivalence and/or ignorance of the staff, and the general lack of care for the customer by many traditional retailers.

Why am I so jaded? It could be because I worked in retail management and my standards are higher than those I encounter today. Maybe it is also an HR issue that can possibly save retail in its traditional form.

The next time a customer walks in your door and no one greets them from your team, someone needs to pay on your staff. I don't care how busy you are, but when a customer or potential customer walks in and no one meets them within the first 30-60 seconds (sometimes less), you've lost that customer.

The next time a customer walks in for a price adjustment on an item that went on sale, don't treat them like a criminal because you are having a bad day at the office.

For now, until someone convinces me otherwise, I'm taking my business online and to the retail businesses that are friendly consistently.

Does your business have holiday hours? How do you determine who will work and when? In many businesses, seniority is the only tool used to determine who works on the holidays and who doesn't. If seniority is your only basis for scheduling, you may be faced with having your second best team on board during the busiest days and times of your business.

Most successful businesses that I have seen have employed a mix of seniority based and talent based scheduling for holidays. The best salespeople work during the peak periods, while the newer sales people are paired with the best people during these shifts to learn the tools of the trade. On off-peak periods, management often takes on a more critical role to ensure the staff is motivated and prepared in the event the off-peak quickly turns to peak.

Another point about holiday scheduling is the determination by the business as a whole whether to stay open or closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Many times, it is the mall that a store is within or a corporate decision to open, but often the decision is determined by the local management. Think about your customers, your people, and your long-term business goals before making a rash decision to open or close on these days; it may make more sense to stay closed on the actual holiday itself to give your staff time to spend with their families, while it may make more sense to close the day before or after certain holidays to serve both your customers and your staff best.

Does your staff know what Small Business Saturday? Founded in 2011 by American Express, Small Business Saturday has become one of the new shopping phenomenons along with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Small Business Saturday is designed to encourage people to shop small businesses for holiday gifts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. On November 26th, Braathe Enterprises will be offering discounts on Apple computer training, business courses through Saratoga College and more. Stop by anytime from 8am-4pm at our office on 12 Circular ST in Saratoga Springs, NY.

If you are a small business, make your staff aware of the importance of this day to the health of your business. Take advantage of all the free tools at the American Express Small Business Saturday website. Use Small Business Saturday as a way to really push your business to the next level and create customers who will return time and time again. By encouraging your customers to shop small, you can create great relationships with your customers, fellow small businesses, and perhaps even larger businesses looking for that personal touch.