Gifts Today - December

Job satisfaction is often considered irrelevant if you’re the owner of a gift shop. But in reality, it’s vitally important, writes Jeremy Piercy.

Q. Do you enjoy your job?

This is not the sort of question a consultant would usually ask a retailer – or a wholesale for that matter. It’s the kind of question you’d expect to get asked when you phone the Samaritans or go to see a psychiatrist because you’re feeling depressed.
So why ask it? Well, I won’t say that you have to enjoy your job to run a successful business. But I will say it gives you a much better chance. For a start, it gives you a lot more energy, so you get a lot more done, which of course saves wages.

Shared Earth has just opened two new shops in Brighton and Canterbury, which we’re running as franchises. I’ve rarely seen a living dynamo like our new franchise in Canterbury. He’s so keen that you’ve hardly finished suggesting he should do something that it’s already been done. He’s already reporting fantastic sales. Would they have been as good without his enthusiasm? I doubt it.

If you enjoy what you do, you also convey your feelings to the people around you, and in the gift trade this of course includes customers. You become more friendly, helpful and attentive, and you sell more, because your customers like you. There’s a stall in York market which until recently had a sign above it, “Service with a Smile”. Wonderful sentiments! The only thing is, I’ve never seen the couple who run it smiling. I wonder whether that’s why they took the sign down. I stopped buying from them when they complained because I was choosing my apples to check they were not bruised. “Do you mind?” I was told in an angry voice, as if it was a crime. “Just take what you get!” Their stall is often empty. In contrast, a nearby stallholder who’s always friendly attracts a roaring trade. 
 

One of our suppliers, Agung Alit in Bali, Indonesia, has built up a big Fair Trade business. Is this despite the fact that he’s always joking, or because of it? The first time our buyer went out to Bali, he was careful to dress smartly, despite the heat. Agung sauntered out to meet him, dressed in a T-shirt and surfing shorts. “Why so formal?” he asked, laughing. “You think I’m some kind of businessman or something?” Agung later told me how he started up his business. “I went to see some producers to tell them how they could benefit from Fair Trade. But they thought I was some kind of weird hippy. Maybe my hair was too long? So I got Hanni, my wife, to take me again in her posh car. She always dresses smartly too. “Hanni’s an important buyer,” I told them. “She’s an agent for some large companies in Europe and America. They could be placing some big orders.” He laughed at the memory. “They then started treated me seriously.”
He recalled his visit to Shared Earth a few years ago. “I think you must be very good at recruitment, Jeremy,” he said as we walked to the pub with some of our staff at the end of the day. I was flattered, and smiled. “Your staff are very friendly,” he continued, and went on, “very beautiful – I like. Your designers – wahey! When can I come back to see them again?”

The moral of this story? Don’t get bogged down in marketing, ordering and cash flow projections. Certainly they’re important, but enjoy your life too! You’ll motivate your staff better, you’ll be more creative, and you’ll attract more customers! We live in a materialistic society where for most people a higher wage, a better house and a more expensive car are more important than a job you enjoy and a happy life at home.

Yesterday, I led a workshop in Leeds for teenagers from different schools who were all concerned about ethical issues like racism, climate change and unjust trade. One wanted to be an accountant, another an actor – one girl even wanted to be a fighter pilot. “Having ideals is great,” I said, but whatever you decide to do – make sure you enjoy it. In the end, you’ll find that’s far more rewarding than making money.”

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