Our Town: Stayin’ alive, thriving on Main Street

Dr Tom Ferraro

The biblical story of David and Goliath applies just as well to our modern life as it did 2,500 years ago.  

Every shop owner in Williston  Park is David and all those big box stores and chains are Goliath. 

Suhwa and Minho Kim of Aroma Nails, Luigi Suppa, Allan Walsh of Pyramid Jewelers, John Robinson of Johns Variety, and Stephan Parmett of Minuteman Press, Tal’s of Tal’s Car Repair, John Reilly of Grasshopper Comics  or Aiden and James of Framing Mantis and are all examples of David doing daily battle with the Goliaths like the Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall, Home Depot, Toys ‘R’ Us and Jared Jewelers. 

As a psychoanalyst and sport psychologist  I’ve gotten to know many successful people over the years and I’ve come to learn  the secrets  of the business  success even during trying times.  

Here is what I have learned: 

1. Hard work: Uniformly, the people I know who have achieved success are the ones who work six-seven days per week.  

I see David Kim in his cleaners at 7 a.m. every morning. I see Tal’s crew arriving at the same time and notice the staff at Hildebrandt’s walking to work in the early morning hours too.  

The successful businessperson is very hardworking and devoted to their shop. 

2. Knowing how to market: Steve Parmett, owner of a very prosperous Minuteman Press franchise told me the best way to expand your business is “use your data base of former clients.  

Clients may have stopped using your service for a variety of reasons so if you reach out to them you can easily reconnect.” In addition he told me that when he was an executive in the fashion business he would regularly call major clients in anticipation of seasonal orders and then willingly fly to wherever they were to say hello and pitch a new design concept. This would cost him money and time but it paid off in large dividends by setting him apart from all the rest. 

3. Soft Skills: One of the most underrated but crucial talents in business  are a person’s  soft skills. 

Soft skills are a variety of social skills used either consciously or unconsciously to further your business aims and which make interacting with you a pleasant experience. 

Here is a personal example. I recently joined a Healthtrax  Gym in Garden City  to get myself ready for the competitive golf season. I go to the gym every morning at about 6 a.m. and do my workout.   

I noticed many personal trainers there and kept waiting for them to approach me with a smile and some friendly encouragement.  

Alas I waited and waited but no one approached.  

This went on for months and one morning as I was leaving the gym and walking toward the parking lot  I passed by one of the trainers  who was coming to work.  

She gave me a nice smile and a friendly “Good Morning.”  

I signed up for a series of sessions with her the next morning. Such is the power of  soft skills.

4.  Branding:  Many years ago I was playing golf with John Mariani, owner of world-renowned  Banfi Vintners. I recall walking off the fifth tee looking up and noticing a McDonald’s blimp high above. I wondered aloud how much  McDonalds spends on the blimp and he quickly remarked “They spend about $400 million per year in advertising and branding.”   

You will obviously not be spending $400 million but you can spend $4,000 per year on things like logoed shirts and sweaters, mugs with your name on them and all sorts of nice looking giveaways. And you can get all that stuff right here on Hillside Avenue by using Roberto Castillo of EmbroidMe.

5. Gifts and gratitude:  One of my more successful friends is Brad R. who works in the financial industry.   

One of the many things he does to show gratitude and consideration is the following.  

When he learns of a colleague or a client who just had  a new baby he asks his grandmother to knit him a baby blanket which he then proceeds to give to the client. 

Do you think that makes an impression?  

Now not everyone has a grandmother with great knitting skills but everyone can show gratitude and thoughtfulness by buying flowers or cookies or just by bringing some coffee to the person. 

Kindness and thoughtfulness go a very long way in business.

6. Social media:  

I reached out to my longtime friend and sports agent Ira Silverman of Ira Silverman Communications. He is one of the nation’s  most successful sport agents and I asked him what is the best way to market a small business. 

Without blinking an eye he said “Using social media is absolutely the most important thing you can do to market your business nowadays. You need to hire a social media consultant who will take over all the tweeting and facebook  connections.”   

So listen up all you David’s. 

Take note of the ideas mentioned above, load them into your slings and let them fly. I for one believe that as the small town goes so goes the nation. 

Williston Park is a lovely little town and the least we can do is to support all our David’s who are bravely battling all those mighty Goliaths.

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