The Benefits of Dog Friendly Cafes Like Santos Coffee House

San Diego is a dog lover's paradise. From the animal shelter that looks more like a Hilton for pets to the dog beaches you will find that locals love their dogs. They love them so much they can't imagine leaving them home when they head to the coffee shop. Heck! Have little Buster carry the newspaper for you. Santos Coffee House is one of those places where dogs are more than welcome to lounge while nibbling on a doggy snack while their owners do something more constructive.

Pets are allowed both in the main area as well as the patio. Within moments of entering you will notice the water bowls and overstuffed jar of treats. The clerk promptly comes out from behind the counter and gives a reassuring pat to your unsure pooch. 

 In a big city like San Diego Santos has something unique to offer. Finding a niche in a larger market allows the business to attract a core following. Return customers return a couple of times a week and create positive cash flow. They are the easiest to maintain and keep once their shopping pattern is formed.

There are limited resources to market cafes and coffee shops. Having a narrow focus in marketing and advertising online will do much more for the business than trying to be everything to everyone. For example, searching Yelp for coffee shops will get you a long list of options but searching out dog friendly coffee shops cuts it down to a more focused number. 

Santos is a epicurean kind of place nestled in an area that seems to be wonder whether it should convert to residential or small business commercial. It is a neighborhood coffee shop that roasts its own beans and engages in philanthropic pursuits. After a few visits you will start to know a few people who live in the area.

3191 Thorn St
San Diego, CA 92104

Why We Should Support Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday came and went just after the Black Friday Holiday shopping spree. Small business Saturday is that one day where shoppers come out in droves to support their local businesses. For good reason small business is seen as the backbone of the American economy with higher growth rates and potential than many large corporations offer. 

According to the Small Business Administration small business has contributed to 64% of new jobs and 44% of private payrolls. Small business is a significant contributor to the American economy and supporting small business has a long lasting impact on the overall economy. Small Business Saturday is designed to remind us of that importance and support small business through our purchases.

America itself was started and developed from family owned small businesses. It is this entrepreneurial spirit that has helped a great many native and immigrant Americans moving up the social ladder. Even in today’s world small business still stands as a primary pathway for people to move from poverty to wealth. 

If you have ever ran a small business you will soon understand how difficult it can be run one. There are mountains of things to learn, lots of regulations, and a lot of difficulties on the way. The far majority, go out of business, eight out of ten, within the first year. Enthusiasm resigns itself to the cold hard reality of life. 

Supporting small business is about supporting the entrepreneurial spirit within the country. These small business owners may have families, be running part of the year in the red, and have lots of stress. Having one day out of the year to support their efforts is not a bad idea. These businesses can be a strong support for the economy and our neighborhoods.

Can Small Businesses Use Size as a Recruitment Strategy?

Recruitment and employee loyalty are an important functions in any business but can make or break a small businesses. For smaller firms a few bad hires can really cause financial havoc. Not only is there lost time and money expended on poor hiring practices but also the cost of training. A paper by Allen, Erickson and Collins (2013) delves into the importance of developing employee commitment as it relates to revenue growth and firm performance. 

One of the very first criteria is that leadership must have a solid vision of the organization. Without a solid vision the overall hiring processes and the type of recruit will naturally be misaligned. Recruitment starts with knowing the type of person needed, their skill set and how that position will help achieve the organizational vision. 

It is often assumed that prestige and money are the most important factor in recruiting high quality employees and helping ensure they are retained for a significant period of time. Sometimes, highly paid industries are able to recruit bright minded people but these same people bounce from employer to employer seeking higher levels of compensation. 

Small businesses are limited in resources and simply don’t have the ability to keep increasing the pay to recruit and retain employees. They will need to compete where their organization is most likely to be successful-and that has nothing to do with size. The interactivity and relationships built in a small business can have a more profound impact than pay and prestige. 

Firms that follow an employee commitment strategy create attachments based on relationships, company identity, coordination of autonomy and informal control, and selecting employees based upon firm values. Such organizations are not command and control structures and seek to improve upon the positive affectivity the employee has with the firm. 

This is different than what you might find in larger organization. Even though large organizations seek to create stronger cultures it is much more difficult than smaller firms. The sheer size and power-distance relationships can be difficult to overcome. Instead many firms focus on compensation and prestige as driving factors. 

Nearly 65% of all hiring is based in smaller businesses. It is important for such businesses to focus on using their core strengths where size can actually be a detriment. Hiring people based upon their value systems, encouraging them to be independent in their thinking, foster close relationships, and creating commitment to the firm are important for success. 

Relationships and sense of belongingness can go a long way in gaining commitment. People are social creatures by nature and will stay in organizations that they develop positive and meaningful relationships. Smaller businesses offer an opportunity to socialize employees to a smaller group of people they can develop deep relationships over time. A family like atmosphere can be a significant draw for talent.

Allen, M., Ericksen, J. & Collins, C. (2013). Human resource management, employee exchange relationships, and performance in small business. Human Resource Management, 52 (2).

Are Military Veterans Natural Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners?

Military veterans have earned their place in society along with others who contributed to either developing or protecting American society. As it turns out Military veterans are also natural entrepreneurs that want to grow and develop opportunities. They have the right experiences and skills to manage a business. A study by Bressler, et. al. (2013) helps show which veterans hang out a shingle and why. 

Approximately 13% of all small business owners are veterans while 30.4 to 48% of veterans are unemployed based on age and race. Many of these veterans have a difficult time finding jobs and employment opportunities. Sometimes these difficulties are personal and other times they are society based. Yes…society still has a lot of work to do on multiple levels. 

As despicable and/or illegal as it sounds, some veterans who are in the reserve status, have lost their jobs for being recalled to duty. Some statistics have put this up to as much as ¼ of reserve veterans. Those losses account for lost seniority, replaced employment positions or even discharge. Others have found that the skills they learned were not directly transferrable to civilian work which made it difficult to find a job. 

Small business affords veterans an opportunity to develop long lasting income while still giving them the freedom they need to be successful. For some veteran’s, the small business is part of the American dream that they rightfully are claiming for themselves. To others, it is their only option in hoping to find secure employment that will support their families. 

As it turns out gender has some influence on the decision to open a small business. Males were more likely to take the jump into the entrepreneurial world. Those who are more educated had an easier time finding a job and didn’t go into business while those who were less educated needed to make their own opportunities. Age didn’t seem to have an influence on the decision. 

Encouraging veterans to either move into the employment field or start their own business can have implications for the nation. Veterans are naturally more adventurous than the rest of the population and this fits well with the entrepreneurial mindset. When veterans do succeed in small business they also improve upon their local economy and encourage the hiring of other veterans.

Bressler, M. (2013). A study of verteran-owned small business and the impact of military reserve call-ups since 9/11.  Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 19 (2).