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Back to Basics CEO Juli Bennett discusses why one of our summer college boot camp might be right for your student. See more videos.
Rethinking questions about career goals
An idea: Stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. Start asking questions that help them determine how strengths lead to goals.
Boredom may be key to creativity
Research suggests that boredom encourages us to explore creative outlets because our brains are seeking the stimulation that is missing.
Back to Basics Tutoring at JKCP Summer Camps
Back to Basics is excited to partner with Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs in summer 2019 to provide 1-on-1 tutoring and SAT/ACT test prep services
The best timing for SAT Boot Camps + 1-on-1 Test Prep
Back to Basics CEO Juli Bennett discusses the best timing for SAT boot camps and 1-on-1 test prep. We can help with both!
10 Tips for 2019 Graduates
Sharing some advice for graduates from educators who have seen many graduations. What advice do YOU have for the graduating class of 2019?
When it comes to customizing a plan for learning, rely on our experience. Tutoring franchises come and go, but we’ve been the most comprehensive and trusted educational services provider in Delaware and Southeastern PA since 1985.
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Back to Basics attempted to relaunch the government of John Major (pictured)
Back to Basics was a political campaign announced by British Prime Minister John Major at the Conservative Party conference of 1993 in Blackpool.
The campaign was intended as a nostalgic appeal to traditional values such as 'neighbourliness, decency, courtesy'. It was often interpreted as a campaign for socially conservative causes such as promoting the traditional family, though Major denied this. The campaign became the subject of ridicule when a succession of Conservative politicians were caught up in scandals.
- 4Scandals
Context[edit]
The previous year of Major's premiership had been beset by infighting within the Conservative party on the issue of Europe, including rebellions in several Parliamentary votes on the Maastricht Treaty. He was also dealing with the fallout from the Black Wednesday economic debacle of September 1992.[1]
John Major's speech[edit]
Major's speech, delivered on 8 October 1993, began by noting the disagreements over Europe:
Disunity leads to opposition. Not just opposition in Westminster, but in the European Parliament and in town halls and county halls up and down this country .. [a]nd if agreement is impossible, and sometimes on great issues it is difficult, if not impossible, then I believe I have the right, as leader of this party, to hear of that disagreement in private and not on television, in interviews, outside the House of Commons.[2]
Major then changed the subject to 'a world that sometimes seems to be changing too fast for comfort'. He attacked many of the changes in Britain since the Second World War, singling out developments in housing, education, and criminal justice. He then continued:
The old values – neighbourliness, decency, courtesy – they're still alive, they're still the best of Britain. They haven't changed, and yet somehow people feel embarrassed by them. Madam President, we shouldn't be. It is time to return to those old core values, time to get back to basics, to self-discipline and respect for the law, to consideration for others, to accepting a responsibility for yourself and your family and not shuffling off on other people and the state.[2]
He mentioned the phrase once again near the conclusion of his speech:
The message from this conference is clear and simple, we must go back to basics. We want our children to be taught the best, our public services to give the best, our British industry to be the best and the Conservative Party will lead the country back to those basic rights across the board. Sound money, free trade, traditional teaching, respect for the family and respect for the law. And above all, we will lead a new campaign to defeat the cancer that is crime.
Media reaction[edit]
During 1993, Britain was going through what has been characterised as a moral panic on the issue of single mothers.[3] Government ministers regularly made speeches on the issue, such as John Redwood's condemnation of 'young women [who] have babies with no apparent intention of even trying marriage or a stable relationship with the father of the child' from July 1993, and Peter Lilley's characterisation of single mothers as 'benefit-driven' and 'undeserving' from the same year. The murder of James Bulger earlier in 1993, by two young boys from single-parent families, served to intensify the media frenzy.[3]
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Apart from some generic platitudes about families and self-reliance, Major's speech said nothing specific about sexual behaviour or single motherhood. On 6 January 1994, Major explicitly stated that the campaign was not 'a crusade about personal morality'.[4] Despite this, the 'Back to Basics' campaign was widely interpreted by the media as including a 'family values' component.[5][6]
According to Debbie Epstein and Richard Johnson:
It is true that there was little in his original speech about sexuality .. What proved critical, however, was the adoption of a moral traditionalist tone, including the usual references to 'the family' and 'responsibility', and the labelling of the Conservative Party as the party of morality. The party was now vulnerable to every personal moral disclosure, around financial and political corruption, but also, given the press's own agenda, around sexuality. For editors and journalists, the high-profile espousal of morality offered additional justification for the papers' risky stories, and a further defence against threats to introduce privacy legislation against press intrusion. It was indubitably 'in the public interest' not to hush up misdemeanours within the Back To Basics party, however private.[7]
Writing in his diary shortly after and in reference to the Michael Brown story (Brown being a government whip who resigned in 1994 in the wake of a homosexual trip to Barbados), Piers Morgan, who exposed many of the sexual scandals as editor of the News of the World, opined:
Major brought all these exposés on himself, with that ludicrous 'Back to Basics' speech at the last Tory conference .. It strikes me that probably every Tory MP is up to some sexual shenanigans, but we can hardly get them all fired or there will be nobody left to run the country. Still, needs must. Brown's shenanigans will shift a few papers, get followed everywhere and ensure the NoW [News of the World] leads the news agenda again. We're on a roll and it feels fantastic.[8]
Scandals[edit]
The following scandals were linked to the 'Back To Basics' campaign in the media:
1992[edit]
- On 24 September 1992, David Mellor resigned as National Heritage Secretary. Mellor had been the subject of intense press attention regarding his extra-marital affair with actress Antonia de Sancha. Mellor remained in office for two months after the story broke, but was forced to resign when it was revealed that he had accepted a free holiday from the daughter of the PLO's finance director. Although Mellor's resignation antedated John Major's 'Back to Basics' speech by more than a year, the media were quick to link the new campaign to the scandal.[9]
1993[edit]
- Between September and November 1993, newspapers revealed that junior transport minister Steven Norris had separated from his wife and was conducting simultaneous affairs with three different women (who were not all aware of each other's existence). A further two long-term mistresses from his past were also exposed in the media. Norris remained in office, with John Major reportedly believing that he 'was entitled to act as he likes in his private life'. The revelations continued during the conference at which Major made his 'Back to Basics' speech.[10][11]
1994[edit]
- On 5 January 1994, Tim Yeo resigned as Minister for the Environment and Countryside following the revelation that he had fathered a child during an extramarital affair.[1][12][13] Yeo had previously criticized the number of single mothers in Britain.[14]
- On 8 January 1994, Alan Duncan resigned as Parliamentary Private Secretary after it was revealed that he had acquired a council house at a reduced price by exploiting a government programme to increase home ownership by the underprivileged.[1][9]
- On 9 January 1994, The Earl of Caithness resigned from his post as Minister for Aviation and Shipping one day after his wife committed suicide. According to his wife's father, the tragedy had been precipitated by the Earl's involvement in an extra-marital affair.[1][9]
- On 10 January 1994, married Conservative MP David Ashby admitted that he had shared a hotel bed with a 'close' male friend on a rugby tour, but denied claims by his wife that he had left her for a man, or that he was having a homosexual relationship.[7][9][15]
- On 16 January 1994, Conservative MP Gary Waller confirmed newspaper reports that he had fathered a child with the secretary of another MP.[16][17]
- On 7 February 1994, Conservative MP Stephen Milligan was found dead as a result of auto-erotic asphyxiation.[18][19]
- On 13 February 1994, Hartley Booth resigned as a Parliamentary Private Secretary. The married father of three and Methodist lay preacher claimed that his 22-year-old female researcher had 'seduced [him] into kissing and cuddling'.[1][7][20]
- On 8 May 1994, Michael Brown resigned as a junior government whip after the News of the World revealed that he had taken a holiday in the Caribbean in the company of a 20-year-old man. At that time, the age of consent for same-sex male relationships was still 21 (it was due to be reduced to 18 later in 1994).[1] Brown subsequently acknowledged his sexuality, becoming the second openly gay MP.[7] In his diaries, Conservative MP Gyles Brandreth wrote of this revelation: You've got to pity the poor PM [Prime Minister] too. As [Brandreth's wife] Michele says, 'That's Back To Basics gone to buggery'.[21]
- On 10 July, Parliamentary Private Secretaries David Tredinnick and Graham Riddick resigned after being caught by The Sunday Timestaking cash in exchange for asking Parliamentary questions.[22][23][24]
- On 20 October, Tim Smith resigned as Northern Ireland minister after being accused by The Guardian of accepting cash for asking Parliamentary questions on behalf of Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed.[24][25] Smith admitted the allegations.
- On 25 October, Neil Hamilton resigned as minister for regulation and corporate affairs over the cash-for-questions affair.[26] Unlike Smith, Hamilton denied taking money and gifts from Al-Fayed and vowed to sue his accusers in court.[24]
1995[edit]
- On 6 March 1995, Robert Hughes resigned as Minister responsible for the Citizen's Charter over an affair with a constituency worker who had come to him for help from an abusive relationship. Hughes confessed the affair and resigned when he believed that the liaison was about to be exposed in a Sunday newspaper.[7][27]
- On 9 April 1995, Richard Spring resigned as a Parliamentary Private Secretary after a News of the World sting caught him in a 'three in a bed sex romp' with a male acquaintance and the acquaintance's girlfriend.[7][24][28][29]
- On 10 April 1995, Jonathan Aitken resigned as chief secretary to the treasury in order to sue The Guardian over allegations that Saudi businessmen had paid for his stay at the Paris Ritz hotel, that he had enjoyed inappropriate commercial relations with two British-Lebanese arms dealers while minister for defence procurement, and that he had procured prostitutes for a Saudi prince and his entourage while they stayed at a British health farm.[30] Aitken's lawsuit would later collapse, and he would subsequently be imprisoned for perjury.[31]
- Scottish Office minister Allan Stewart resigned after waving a pickaxe at an anti-motorway protester.[1]
1996[edit]
- On 2 June 1996, Rod Richards resigned as a Welsh Office minister after his extra-marital affair was disclosed in the News of the World.[32] Richards had been a staunch advocate of the 'Back To Basics' campaign in his strongly religious Welsh constituency.[24] Upon hearing of the revelations, John Major demanded that Richards resign immediately; this so-called 'one bonk and you're out' policy was a notable contrast with his earlier leniency towards Norris, Yeo and David Mellor.[7]
- David Willetts's disciplining by the parliamentary ombudsman over his intervention in a parliamentary enquiry in 1996.[33]
- Porter v Magill revealed Shirley Porter's role in the Homes for votes scandal.[34]
1997[edit]
- On 5 January 1997, the News of the World revealed that Conservative MP Jerry Hayes had been engaged in an extra-marital relationship with a young man. The affair began in 1991, when the man was 18 (the age of consent for same-sex male relationships at that time was 21).[7][35][36][37]
- Piers Merchant's affairs with a night club hostess, and his researcher in 1997.[38]
Later revelations[edit]
John Major lost the 1997 general election and resigned as Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader. Several years later, it was revealed that he had conducted a four-year-long extra-marital affair with fellow Conservative MP Edwina Currie in the 1980s. The liaison occurred when both were backbenchers, and had ended well before Major became Prime Minister. Currie disclosed the romance in her diaries, published in 2002, adding that she considered the 'Back to Basics' campaign to have been 'absolute humbug'.[39]
In 2017, Major said the slogan was an example of how sound bites can mislead the public, saying '[I]t was taken up to pervert a thoroughly worthwhile social policy and persuaded people it was about something quite different.'[40]
In popular culture[edit]
The phrase has since become used by UK political commentators to describe any failed attempt by a political party leader to relaunch themselves following a scandal or controversy. The phrase was satirised in the Viz strip Baxter Basics.
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefg'The Major Scandal Sheet'. BBC News. BBC. 27 October 1998. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ abMr Major's Speech to Conservative Party Conference – 8th October 1993
- ^ abChambers, Deborah (2001). Representing the Family. London: SAGE. p. 147. ISBN1412931622.
- ^MacLeod, Alexander (10 January 1994). 'Family Values Issue Creates Stir Among British Politicians'. Christian Science Monitor.
- ^Page, Robert (2007). Revisiting The Welfare State. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International. p. 97. ISBN0335213170.
- ^Stevenson, Richard W. (14 January 1994). 'British Scandals Jeopardizing Party's 'Back to Basics' Effort'. The New York Times.
- ^ abcdefghEpstein, Debbie; Johnson, Richard (1998). Schooling Sexualities. Buckhingham: Open University Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN0335230997.
- ^Morgan, Piers (2005). The Insider: The Private Diaries of a Scandalous Decade. London: Ebury Press. p. 38. ISBN9780091908492.
- ^ abcdTuohy, William (15 January 1994). 'Sex Scandals Contradict Tory Moralizing: Prime Minister John Major can't seem to plug all the leaks in his 'back to basics' policy'. Los Angeles Times.
- ^'Steve Norris: Tory who ran as a liberal'. BBC News. 5 May 2000.
- ^Newman, Judith (8 November 1993). 'Ministering to the Needs of a Nation'. People Magazine.
- ^Cohen, Nick; Routledge, Paul (9 January 1994). 'The revenge of the Moral Majority: The Yeo Affair: Traditional values saved John Major's career at last year's party conference. Now he is paying the price'. The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^Wynn Davies, Patricia (5 January 1994). 'The Yeo Resignation: Minister falls foul of 'back to basics' policy: Swift demise after constituency association released statement'. The Independent.
- ^'Conservative Party minister admits to love child'. UPI. 26 December 1993.
- ^Williams, Rhys (10 January 1994). 'Tories in Turmoil: MP denies homosexual affair: David Ashby: Wife blames marital problems on long hours in Parliament'. The Independent.
- ^Brown, Colin (7 February 1994). 'Two months of sex and sleaze'. The Independent.
- ^Katz, Ian (1 March 1994). 'Pecadillo Circus'. Washington Post.
- ^'BBC ON THIS DAY | 8 | 1994: Police probe MP's suspicious death'. BBC News. 8 February 1952. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^Darnton, John (9 February 1994). 'Rising Tory Politician Found Dead Mysteriously'. New York Times.
- ^Schmidt, William E. (13 February 1994). 'New Scandal Rocks Tory Party, With M.P. Admitting Infatuation'. New York Times.
- ^Brandreth, Gyles (2014). Breaking the Code: Westminster Diaries. London: Biteback Publishing. ISBN1849548188., entry of Sunday 8 May 1994
- ^MacIntyre, Donald (21 April 1995). 'Cash-for-questions MPs suspended by Commons'. The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^Foley, Michael (2000). The British Presidency. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 156. ISBN0719050154.
- ^ abcde'Key Resignations & Dismissals in the 1992-1997 Parliament'. BBC. 1997.
- ^Cooper, Glenda (22 October 1994). 'The Cash-for-Questions Affair: Tim Smith finds forgiveness – UK, News'. London: The Independent. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^'Profile: Neil Hamilton'. BBC News. 10 August 2001. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^'Minister admits affair and quits. Major pre-empts scandal by accepting resignation'. The Sunday Herald. 5 March 1995.
- ^Cohen, Nick; Williams, Richard (15 April 1995). 'Three-in-a-bed session MP was victim of `set-up''. The Independent.
- ^'Tory MP, The Tycoon and the Sunday School Teacher', News of the World, 9 April 1995
- ^White, Michael (11 April 1995). 'Aitken sues over Saudi claims'. The Guardian.
- ^Pallister, David (5 March 1999). 'Aitken, the fixer and the secret multi-million pound arms deals | Politics | guardian.co.uk'. London: Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^'Minister's bondage romp with divorcee', News of the World, 1996-06-02
- ^'Programmes | Question Time | This week's panel'. BBC News. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^'Dumping the poor: Nick Cohen unravels the homes-for-votes scandal engulfing Dame Shirley Porter and reveals that her successors on Westminster council are still . . . – UK – N..'The Independent. London.
- ^Popham, Peter (7 January 1997). 'Back to basics of vaudeville'. The Independent. London.
- ^'A history of Christmas scandal past'. BBC News. 23 December 1999.
- ^'Tory MP 2-Timed Wife with Under-Age Gay Lover', News of the World, 1997-01-05
- ^Barton, Laura (1 July 2002). 'Interview: Piers Merchant | Media'. London: The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^Hoge, Warren (30 September 2002). 'News of Liaison Recasts Bland Image of Britain's Major'. New York Times.
- ^Westminster Abbey Institute - The One People Oration 2017: The Responsibilities of Democracy
Further reading[edit]
- Wintour, Patrick (9 October 1993). 'Major goes back to the old values'. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
- Richard W. Stevenson (14 January 1994). 'British Scandals Jeopardizing Party's 'Back to Basics' Effort'. New York Times. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Back_to_Basics_(campaign)&oldid=900948713'
Students of all ages know that a solid education is the first step to a life filled with success. At Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, we’ve been helping students on that journey since 1985.
MISSION STATEMENT
Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc. exists to provide a 1-on-1 educational experience conducive to each individual’s learning style, regardless of age, and to inspire personal growth and support learning goals. To this end, our mission is to educate and build self-esteem in children and adults to make a difference in their lives. Back to Basics contributes to the needs of our regional communities by consistently providing high-quality wrap-around educational services to schools, districts, businesses and government agencies.
Our vision is for Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc. to be the premier, most comprehensive and trusted educational services provider in Delaware and Southeastern PA.
Rethinking questions about career goals
An idea: Stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. Start asking questions that help them determine how strengths lead to goals.
Boredom may be key to creativity
Research suggests that boredom encourages us to explore creative outlets because our brains are seeking the stimulation that is missing.
Back to Basics Tutoring at JKCP Summer Camps
Back to Basics is excited to partner with Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs in summer 2019 to provide 1-on-1 tutoring and SAT/ACT test prep services
Never too early
Rising high school sophomores who are considering college should begin to consider whether they will take the SAT test, ACT test, or both.
The best timing for SAT Boot Camps + 1-on-1 Test Prep
Back to Basics CEO Juli Bennett discusses the best timing for SAT boot camps and 1-on-1 test prep. We can help with both!
Excellence in Education Since 1985: A Company History
1985 | As a teacher, Beverly Stewart has a vision of reaching every student. Her six years of experience in a traditional classroom have shown her this is not always the most effective method of instruction. So, in 1985 Working from her one-bedroom apartment she establishes Back to Basics Tutoring Service., Her dream of delivering 1:1 instruction is born .
1989 | Back to Basics 1:1 model enjoys great success. The company offers over 30 traditional subjects and employs 12 tutors and purchases a three-story building at 1824 North Scott Street in Wilmington, Delaware to accommodate the needs of its deserving students.
1991 | 1:1 instruction proves its need and Back to Basics is named as one of the “Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies” by the Philadelphia Business Journal and is also featured in Entrepreneur Magazine .
1997 | Back to Basics responds to customer demand and introduces translating and interpreting services for corporate clients in need of improved employee/employer communication with English as a Second Language (ESL) and foreign language instruction.
2000 | With an expanded clientele and educational offerings, Back to Basics moves into a larger spaee at 6 Stone Hill Road expanding its classroom and office space by 250% and changes its name to Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc.
2004 | Back to Basics is named the 90th largest employer in the State of Delaware on the prestigious “Delaware 100” list, The Business Ledger names Back to Basics as the 7th largest woman-owned business in the state and the 16th largest privately held company in the state.
2006 | The firm employs over 100 professional degreed tutors, instructs in over 50 subjects, and has served the diverse educational needs of over almost 10,000 students in the tri-state area.
2010 | Back to Basics’ Founder Beverly Stewart is inducted into the Hall of Fame of Delaware Women and Back to Basics receives the prestigious Better Business Bureau (BBB) Torch Award for exceptional leadership, transparency, and business ethics. The award underscores the importance of corporate conscience, responsibility to upholding a fair and honest marketplace, outstanding service, and responsible business practices.
2012 | The company earns the Marvin S. Gilman Superstars in Business Award of Excellence and continues serving the growing needs of the community to include 60 subjects including 17 different foreign languages.
2013 | Back to Basics K-12 Private School, Delaware’s only Department of Education-approved 1:1 private school, is certified by the Federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to accept international students for high school. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program provides international students with the unique opportunity to study in the US at certified schools.
2016 | Back to Basics celebrates over 30 years in business, and tutoring contracts with 12 school districts, and surpasses 16,500 students served.while also adding Professional Development services for educators, administrators and education professionals to the roster of services. Languages available for students, as well as translating and interpreting, surpass 21 offered.
2018 | Our Founder transitions Back to Basics Learning to Juli and Scott Bennett to ensure that her vision started in her one bedroom apartment more than three decades earlier to reach every learner needing 1:1 instruction would continue uninterrupted and be positioned for continued growth and success.
Through hard work, perseverance and a true dedication to education, founder Beverly Stewart, M.Ed. turned what, in 1985, was a fledgling, 1-person tutoring service into the largest, most comprehensive provider of educational services in Delaware and the surrounding tri-state area.
As Director for 33 years, she helped expand the company far beyond her original vision. Today, Back to Basics provides over 125 wide-ranging educational and related services including 1-on-1 tutoring in over 60 subjects, translating and interpreting in over 20 languages, speech and occupational therapists, behavior and reading specialists, paraprofessionals, ELL and computer lab teachers, RTI support and homebound services, psycho-educational testing, 1-on-1 test prep for the SAT, PSAT, SAT II, ACT, GRE, PRAXIS, GED, and HSEE, professional development, summer school, original credit and credit recovery.
It seems today that just about everyone’s got a different approach to business. Some say you should focus on one-upping your competition, while others say it’s best to be original, while still others recommend reinventing the wheel and forgetting about competition altogether.Trying to navigate all these different tactics can be extremely overwhelming, especially because of the intense pressure to get it right… or else suffer a hit in your business.
“In a business environment that is changing faster and becoming more uncertain and complex almost by the day, it’s never been more important to choose the right approach to strategy,” says the Harvard Business Review.
So how exactly are you supposed to sort through all the information and decide which strategy is best for you?
One successful businessman says his winning strategy is sticking to the basics -- the simple principles that have stood the test of time.
Meet Brent Underwood, founding partner of Brass Check, a creative advisory firm that has produced and marketed content for major clients like Google , American Apparel, and Tony Robbins. He’s also the founder of the #1 rated hostel in America, HK Austin.
Underwood shares how he’s made it happen using classic techniques on this week’s episode of Unconventional Life, “Why The Business Basics Are Your Best Bet.”
Underwood graduated from Columbia University at the age of 23, the youngest graduate student in his class. During a college study abroad trip, he says he discovered a passion for traveling that would serve as the inspiration for him to later create his own hostel.
“I love traveling, I love interacting with people, and the hostel’s a way to travel--it was a way for me to backpack all around the world. I was exposed to so many different perspectives and the excitement of traveling,” Underwood says.
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By 2014, he had stayed in over 150 hostels in 30 countries. A seasoned expert, he decided it was time to open up his own hostel.
Back To Basics Housewares
Underwood recalls having little startup capital to fund the project -- but that didn’t stop him. Instead, he stuck to the timeless principle of making due with what he had and pouring money into what mattered most.
He says he forewent serving breakfast to guests in exchange for purchasing high-end mattresses—which guests have been raving about ever since. “Everything else—the atmosphere, the common room, the location, the book collection, the guests, the reviews—was secondary, and, to some extent, outside our control. But if we could make at least the beds an unforgettable experience, we knew we would be putting money on a sure bet,” Underwood says.
Back To Basics Clothing Company
Today, HK Austin is the highest-rated hostel in America, which Underwood credits to his application of simple, sound business advice. Below, he shares three tips you can use in your own practice to replicate his success.
1. Hire faster than you think you need to.
As a business owner, it can be difficult to let go of things getting done “your way” and delegating responsibility to others. After all, things might not be completed to your standards, and quality could suffer. But trying to do everything yourself is a sure path to destruction, Underwood says. Your skills are needed to run the business, and you can’t do that while you’re focused on all the nitty-gritty details. Hire employees to take care of the small stuff, train them to do their jobs well, and commit yourself to what really matters.
2. Look no further than your own community.
It can be tempting to want to solve a problem or provide value on a massive scale—which is why so many businesses try to serve a worldwide market. The problem is, they find themselves disconnected from the world’s needs, only able to speculate or approximate because of the vast size and distance, and as a result end up serving no one. Underwood says he conquered this problem by serving his local community in Austin, TX, home of the HK Austin. This allowed him to oversee important matters such as adhering to city building codes and tailoring the guest experience. Hone into your own city because you know its needs best of all.
3. Cut the distractions and focus on the actual product.
So many business owners believe they have to have every aspect of their business perfect—from their business cards, to their website, to their logo, to their social media accounts. What they don’t realize is that this is actually a massive distraction from their actual product. Focusing on how many Twitter followers your business has, who might never become actual customers, doesn’t produce profits at the end of the day. The best businesses are the ones that strive to make their products and customer experience the very best they can be. Focus on your product first and foremost, and the smaller details will take care of themselves.
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