Working Together

I work as a graphic designer for a toy company. Basically, I take the raw idea and design an attractive appearance for the new product. My job involves communication with more than just the brains in R&D though. If material availability changes, I have to know immediately so I can make adjustments to my designs. If we want to respond to a competitor’s new product, I need to hear about it as soon as possible. If advertising wants to focus on a particular angle, I need to play to it with my images and models. Each toy represents a conglomeration of the company’s different moving parts. Constant intercommunication is a necessity.

Ever since we installed a new project management software system, we’ve hit deadlines more easily and had the whole process play out more efficiently. The software is needed to get everyone together who works on a single toy. Everyone is able to see the entire process unfold and recognize their function in the corporate machine. The product management time tracking function keeps everyone updated on changes and even lets us input our work hours. Our manager’s bird’s eye view of the operation allows her to adjust resource allocation immediately to address changing needs. More than anything, though, I’m just glad that I have more time to actually do my job while I’m at work!

Small Things I Notice as a Customer

I think that one of the most important things that you can do if you want to operate your own business is to pay attention to how other businesses are operating. More specifically, I think it's a great idea to pay attention to the things that you appreciate as a customer so that you can implement those things into your own business.

For example, one of the things that I really like is when small businesses offer me the opportunity to take a customer satisfaction survey or customer service survey so that I can give them feedback on what they're doing. I started noticing this happening in restaurants that I would eat at and it caught my attention. It's something I think could be implemented by a lot of different types of businesses to make customers feel as though their voice counts for something.

Another thing that I really enjoy as a customer is when a business owner recalls something about me. For example, the woman who checks out my books for me at the library usually remembers a book I've gotten recently and asks me about it. This personal touch really means something to me and I think it's something that I, as a business owner, want to try to implement more in my own work.

Of course, we all like different things. What you notice as a customer may be different from what I notice. But noticing it will allow you to make changes to your own way of working that will reflect the things that you truly value in a business.