Operating A Corporation Is A Lot Like Catching King Salmon In The Pacific Northwest
There are few things out there that are as breathtaking as spotting a fish. Some people like the sport more than others, but everyone will agree that the tug at the end of the line, the vanishing bobber and the first prospect of that scaly aquatic creature all add to the thrill of fishing. It was the perspective of this excitement, and more specifically, the need to have a freezer full of Alaskan King Salmon, that a couple of years ago landed me on the banks of Ship Creek in Anchorage, Alaska partaking in a local custom called "urban combat fishing."
Sounds to me like some sort of military survival exercise!
"Urban combat fishing" gets its name from the fact that 1) it takes place in an urban environment, 2) it's a type of fishing and 3) it involves tons of anglers lining up side by side along the side of Ship Creek all competing for the same limited number of Alaskan King Salmon. Sure, there are times when the fish outnumber the anglers, but this was not the case during my visit. In fact, while I was out there, only one of the hundreds of anglers within sight of me actually caught a Salmon. Now, the first thought that comes to mind naturally has something to do with the "chosen" angler being very auspicious. That probably contains some accuracy, but I'm a firm believer that the harder a person works, the more lucky he or she becomes.
The road less traveled. Please, go on.
After coming home from Alaska without any King Salmon and a slight feeling of self-pity, I began to think about what possibly could have made that angler the lucky one to catch a fish. My inclination was that this man was simply in the right place at the right time and that someday I would also be in the right place at the right time. But then, I started thinking about what I would have done had I been the one to catch the fish. Did I research where these fish tend to congregate? Did I know the ideal bait to use in order to attract a hungry fish? Would I have even been able to capably reel in a 30-pound fish in front of an audience of strangers? The answer to these questions is, quite simply, no. hence, my lack of preparedness most likely saved me from a potentially unenviable situation and it most definitely played a role in me returning empty-handed.
Ok...so what does this have to do with my company?
Super query. Had I, like the angler, been more prepared, I may not have caught a fish, but I would have at least known how to do so if the opportunity had arisen. This is crucial to metal signs because even though we may not realize it, we, as small business owners who publicize with personalized metal signs, must be just as, if not more prepared than our challengers in order to catch the fish (customer).
You calling me a fish?
Try to remember the number of personalized metal signs you see EVERY SINGLE DAY. You probably see more custom metal signs than you can count, and you MOST CERTAINLY see too many to recall them all. There are, nonetheless, more than likely a few made-to-order signs that you can tell me about. And that, my friends, is no coincidence.
Coincidence?
It's no coincidence that you are able to remember some metal signs rather than the other two hundred that you see in a day. That's because whoever the business owner is that configured the "chosen" metal sign put in extra work to make her business sign stand out so that you, the person passing by, would remember her custom metal sign instead of all the other . And, just like the fisherman who studied where in the water the fish are most likely to congregate, so too should the smart small business owner research where her potential customers are most likely to be. A small business owner has to be more educated and more prepared than the competition when designing a custom so that it will stand out in an ocean full of personalized metal signs.