Business leaders share ideas

Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson referred to them as "conduits of influence" last week.

After listening and taking notes for almost two hours, many in the audience at the State of Retail and Small Business event Tuesday morning probably would have agreed.

Nelson acted as the moderator for a panel discussion with some local business leaders at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Amarillo. They talked about what it took to run successful companies, large and small.

"I think you need to put yourself in your customers' shoes," said Austin Sharp, the vice president of Mays Investment Group. "You have to have a purpose and a passion, and you have to know your 'why?' Once you figure out your 'why?' I think you can really drive those changes" and become a success.

The Mays Investment Co. was founded in 1951 and specializes in property management, asset management and real estate development.

"My dad always said that a desk was a terrible place to view the world," said Amarillo National Bank President William Ware said.

The saying probably didn't originate with Richard Ware, but the family gave him credit anyway, the younger Ware said jokingly. The point is that business owners have to "get out and learn about your community," Ware said.

"Respond to your competition. That's how you learn about how to change your business. You've got to get out, and you've got to go to the successful businesses and ask them what they're doing," Ware said.

Amarillo National Bank has been in business for 126 years.

Andrew Mitchell of Toot'n Totum seconded Ware's comment.

If business owners don't travel to the East or West coasts they are missing an opportunity to get ahead of the curve, he said.

"It starts on the East and West and comes to the central," said Mitchell in reference to ideas, marketing strategies and change.

And Mitchell said his business isn't afraid to try something different.

"We are big believers in trying to see what works. If it doesn't work, let's pull it back, pull in the reigns and try to do it again," he said.

Toot'n Totum, a convenience store that sells everything from gas and hot dogs to sodas and candy, has 98 locations in Amarillo and stores in 10 other cities in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and Kansas.

What should a business owner do with that employee who always knows more than the boss?

"We create a safe space for people to bring good ideas," said Joshua Raef, owner and operator of the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 2525 S. Georgia St. "We don't bristle at people wanting to change things."

He added that sometimes it's those employees on the front lines who have the best ideas, and the employer needs to listen.

"Those people know more than you do," Raef said.

An example is the way the chicken eatery handles its drive-through customers. They had an idea that the best way to speed up the process was to have one employee in the parking lot, writing down orders on a notepad and then calling another employee who would place the order. That idea took off. Somebody from corporate decided to develop software for iPads that eliminated the notepad and the need to call the store.

On Monday, Raef's restaurant served 166 cars in one hour in the drive-through.

"That's innovation that bubbled up from the field, that the corporate office listened and supported us," Raef said. "Just be open to ideas. Let people try them, even if you think they might not work at least they learn from it. They grow, and you grow. The long term is going to be really good."

Jacob Moren is the co-founder of Altura Engineering. The firm started more than four years ago with three employees; it now has 31.

His approach almost seems counter-intuitive to the old business model. Moren said one of the goals of his business is to help his employees achieve their dreams, whether it's coaching their kid's soccer team or volunteering on the weekends.

"Everybody has their own dream," he said. "My dream was to start an engineering company. ... We tell our employees all the time that we understand that you have something else. This may be your job, but you've got things way more important (in your life)."

Sharla Valdez is the CEO of Valmed Home Health & Pharmacy Solutions. She and her husband, Joe, started the business about 10 years ago.

"Our whole philosophy is to exceed expectations," she said.

Last week, she told the story of one of Valmed's workers delivering a new bed to a customer. However, a king-sized bed needed to be removed to make room. No problem. The worker removed the bed, set up the new one and the customer was pleasantly surprised.

"If you make a promise, you have to keep it," said Mark Huber of Amarillo Outdoor Power Equipment.

He added that studies show an unhappy customer will tell 15 of his or her friends about the experience, whereas a happy customer will only tell five.

Happy customers, after all, are the bottom line in business.