The ABP’s of running a small business

You are probably familiar with the movie Glengarry Glen Ross. If not, I have a homework assignment for you. The oft-quoted scene, a true classic, revolves around an impossibly young Alec Baldwin brow- beating an inept sales team to “Always Be Closing.” Always pushing to finish to sale, sign the contract, make money. Any business, big or small, knows that feeling, of course.

But for those small businesses that have at their core a maker business, there is another “Always.” And if they are honest with themselves, it’s why they got into the business in the first place. Making, from scratch, a new thing. A new necklace, a new silkscreen design, a new hot sauce. You name it, each business creates its way to success.

And for some of us, this means constantly trying something new. Constant searching for the next new idea, or even the improvement of a tried and true item. Everything needs a new spin on it, after all.

Here at Sub+Urban Works, prototyping new things is what keeps us up at night more than any other aspect of the business. And we are happy to be increasing our product line by about 50% this fall. But this did not come easy. It comes after a summer of searching for the next unique item to make, and having to fit the parameters of the business. Keeping things manageable in size and reproducible, and as we try to maintain a recycle first business, products based on the upcycled material we can find. Sometimes that is the hardest part.

So Always Be Prototyping is a way of life for small business crafters like ourselves. It keeps us on our toes and engaged in the creative side of things, and that is certainly better than looking at spread sheets.