Key Question:
A: Seek out information and advice.
Q: What did Paul say he learned the most in the process of buying the factory?
A: He learned what he didn't know. This is important because you must be willing to admit you don't know something before you're willing to learn. In other words, you must have an open mind. Paul said: "If I could give a small business owner just one piece of advice as they start in business, it is know what you don't know." And once you know what you don't know, you got to go find it out. But you have to fess up first. I don't know that. I don't know how to set up an office. I don't know what my customers want. I don't know how big the market is. There's going be a long list of 'don't knows.' Line 'em up, start checking them off. Go learn."
My advice to people is, "Don't overrate your own knowledge. You're only one person. A person can do anything, but you can't do everything."
Think about it
What woud you like to be accomplishing that you are not now accomplishing?
What would you have to learn to achieve that goal?
Clip from: Specialty Cheese
Lowell, Wisconsin: Visit the oldest continuously-running cheese factory in Wisconsin. In this episode of the show we meet Vicki & Paul Scharfman of Specialty Cheese. This story is about marketing. It may look like magic, it's not. It is all about testing, trial and error, and focus groups.
Prepped with their Harvard MBAs and seasoned with big business experience, these two bought a marginal business and turned it around. They learned how to put diversity into the land of cheddar and attracted a whole new customer base. This is America!
Go to all the key ideas and video of this episode...
Go tot he hompeage for this episode of the show...
Specialty Cheese, Inc.
Paul Scharfman, Owner
430 North Main Street
Reeseville, WI 53579
Visit our web site: http://specialcheese.com
Toll Free: 800.367.1711
Business Classification:
food
Year Founded: 1839
Admit What You Don't Know
HATTIE: Advice?
PAUL: If I had a wish for a person who has decided he wants to be in his or her own business, what I would wish they could emblazon on their forehead is: know what you don't know. And once you know what you don't know, you got to go find it out. But you got to fess up first. I don't know that. I don't know how to set up an office. I don't know what my customers want. I don't know how big the market is. I don't know my customers, fine. There's going to be a long list of `don't knows.' Line 'em up, start checking them off. Go learn. My advice to people is don't overrate your own knowledge. You're only one person. A person can do anything, but you can't do everything.
HATTIE: Like all entrepreneurial couples, Paul and Vickie find working together exciting. Paul stays on top of production and Vickie works from their home.
VICKI. SCHARFMAN: We both believe that we make much better decisions on everything together than either one of us would make individually. You have to multitask, all right?
HATTIE: Right.
VICKI: It's much easier if you multitask because we both do carpooling. I can be carpooling kids and talking on the car phone at the same time, and you have to be extremely organized.
We do have the flexibility not to be on someone else's schedule. Yes, phone calls are made during the business day, but because we operate across multiple time zones, I can do California later at night. Frequently I'm coming--all last--there was a week--two weeks ago where I was coming home and talking to Texas from 10:00 to 11:00 every single night, which, yes, it drove me a little crazy because I'd already put in a very long day at that point. But you can--you can organize yourself timingwise and then we work at night. We both you know, when the children go to bed, we come back and we work some more.
HATTIE: Paul drives this '83 Toyota with 260,000 miles on it. He let his kids do the paint job as a birthday gift.
PAUL: Hattie, I bought a lifestyle. In addition to buying the assets for a company and all the rest, I bought a lifestyle of balance. By scaling back my operation, I can scale back the number of people who need me and I could have a family life which includes teaching math to my children's school, being in the PTO, coaching soccer and basketball, being a husband and a father, not just a businessman.
HATTIE: (voiceover) You may think all small business owners live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. I don't think so.
