How can a local business thrive in Tulsa?
With a population knocking on the door of one million, the Tulsa metro isn’t exactly a “small town”.
In a city where commercial real estate and advertising are competitive and usually expensive, how does a local company even stand a chance in the Tulsa business arena? A quick Google search for the keyword “Tulsa plumber” brings up information for more than 180 local plumbers in the metro. There’s no telling how many different Realtors — as another example — are working in the metro at any given time.
Is it just “tough luck” in a saturated market like Tulsa?
As it turns out, luck can largely be removed from the equation, by implementing some calculated and deliberate measures.
Shadowing Business Coaches
I don’t claim to be a businessman, but I’m always willing to hear out the wisdom of the people who dominate their respective industries. Having recently been invited to spend the day with local business coaches Clay Clark and Marshall Morris (both of ThrivetimeShow.com), I jumped at the opportunity.
As I mentioned in the blog post that I wrote about my experience at the Thrivetime business conference, I’m a big fan of what these guys do. I first stumbled upon these guys after hearing the Thrivetime Show (aka Business School Without The BS — gets me everytime!) on KFAQ 1170 AM (between noon and 2pm on weekdays), which Clay hosts with Tulsa’s own Dr. Robert Zoellner (aka Dr. Z, as you may know him.)
Outside of their daily radio show/podcast (check that out here), Clay, Dr. Z, Marshall, and even more bright minds from the Thrivetime business coaching program are doing something huge: they’re helping business owners take their businesses and turn them into something they had previously only dreamed of.
This is where I came in.
This gang gets started early. Like, reeeeeally early.
On the Monday that I came out to spend the day with Clay and Marshall, they had kicked off their meeting with a 6am coach’s meeting. I didn’t ask, but I imagine this is where a lot of the week-by-week strategy and daily to-do items are hashed out.
This all happens out at the north end of the Jenks Riverwalk — just north of FlyingTee.
I actually came in at 7am to sit in on a weekly client meeting with the first client of the day; a local medical clinic.
Around the second or third minute mark of this first session, I realized that I was sitting in on something powerful; without paying a single cent, I was getting a rare opportunity to hear the exact steps that business coach Clay Clark (who, along with Dr. Z, has built 13 multi-million dollar businesses) was urging his clients to take. These steps have been proven (that isn’t hyperbole) to grow business, reduce costs, and — perhaps more importantly — free up personal time.
In this session, the client (represented by the two people in the photo above) seemed to be humming along from a business perspective. As a matter of fact, this session was largely themed around getting their website 100% tuned in to work for them.
Clay and his client also spoke about something that is very important these days — the art of using stories to explain “why” a business does things.