{"id":774,"date":"2006-12-17T08:05:18","date_gmt":"2006-12-17T15:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=774"},"modified":"2006-12-17T10:39:33","modified_gmt":"2006-12-17T17:39:33","slug":"theres-no-business-like-show-business-like-no-business-i-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/774\/theres-no-business-like-show-business-like-no-business-i-know\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s no business like show business, like no business I know"},"content":{"rendered":"

You wouldn’t know it from its advertising<\/a>, but Jordan’s<\/a> is a furniture store local to Boston. And a rather successful one too. Always near or at the top of national lists for most sales per square foot<\/a> in the retail furniture business. So profitable, it attracted the attention of the Sage of Omaha<\/a> who bought Jordan’s with the expressed purpose of leaving a good thing alone. He wanted it to continue doing what it has always done: Act like anything but a furniture store while making money at a phenomenal rate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you didn’t know better, you might think Jordan’s was a movie theater<\/a>. Or a theme park<\/a>. Perhaps a restaurant<\/a>. And when you got to know better, you would be right. That’s because Jordan’s realized early on that success in the furniture business first required success in the baby-sitting business. So they created stores that kids thought were way cool. A place where mom and dad would eagerly take them — and leave them alone! — for unadulterated fun. Mom and dad too thought this way cool. Because where else could they safely escape from the kids for an hour, and serenely spend their suddenly free time exploring an adult fantasy of their own? An Eden filled with rooms of perfectly arranged and accessorized furniture, all of which — when combined with a ready credit card and the relaxed sales resistance of couples floating in what feels like homes for their dreams — could be delivered whole the very next day?<\/p>\n

Without jumping ahead, I know you already know what makes Jordan’s successful. And what you can learn from their example. The brothers Jordan<\/a> asked “what business are we in?” And the right answer was show business. Entertainment for kids to be precise. A perfect, powerful synergy — because kids, most of all, drive the demand for furniture. You buy it when they’re born. You replace it as they grow. Again when they ruin it. And once more when they move away — free at last to repeat the same cycle.<\/p>\n

Summon the gods<\/a> and you’ll learn “What business are you in?” was Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And medical breakthroughs for the high-priced specialists they always seem to recommend.All of which is a long way from the real estate business– and long explanation of why I have not posted here since an initial flurry when Greg announced me among his list of all-star collaborators if not conspirators (as some of the comments would have you believe)…. And learning from your example._____**all right, go ahead, engage in some puffery for prideful parents and call it : “The Late Start Guide to Getting Good Kids into Great Colleges** Without Going Broke”***College are good examples too of institutions that appears to be in one business but are engaged in another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-marketing","7":"category-real-estate","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5883,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5883\/someday-soon-we-may-have-to-turn-back-the-clock-on-home-lending\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":0},"title":"Someday\u00a0soon we may have to turn back the clock on home lending","author":"Greg Swann","date":"November 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). \u00a0Someday soon we may have to turn back the clock on home lending Furniture stores are offering weekly payments. Department stores and jewelry stores are making Christmas easier with layaway plans. Check the calendar. Did someone dial\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lending"","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2552,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2552\/obeo-baby-where-have-you-been-all-my-life-why-should-buyers-stop-at-virtually-moving-in-their-furniture-when-they-can-virtually-redecorate-inside-and-outside-as-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":1},"title":"Obeo, Baby, where have you been all my life? Why should buyers stop at virtually moving in their furniture when they can virtually redecorate — inside and outside — as well?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"January 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"We are too much misled, surely. Too much miscounseled, misdirected, misinformed. Too many of the people we turn to for advice on selling homes don't actually sell homes themselves -- never have -- and, in consequence, too often, they are too much mistaken. Consider that 2006 was to have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":440,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/440\/blogoff-post-63-divorcing-couples-need-togetherness-on-sale-of-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":2},"title":"Blogoff Post #63: Divorcing couples need togetherness on sale of house . . .","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a special favorite from my Arizona Republic column:Consider this: I walk into a home, escorting buyers. In the living room there are two pieces of furniture: a big-screen television and a lawn chair. The bedrooms are empty, except for the master bedroom, where there is a bare mattress.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marketing"","block_context":{"text":"Marketing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/marketing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5965,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/5965\/seriously-whos-a-better-risk-for-a-mortgage-than-someone-who-has-already-lost-a-home-to-foreclosure\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":3},"title":"Seriously,\u00a0who’s a better risk for a mortgage than someone who has already lost a home to foreclosure?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"December 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). \u00a0Seriously, who's a better risk for a mortgage than someone who has already lost a home to foreclosure? We talked last week about credit flexibility among merchants as they try to find ways around the banking crunch.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Lending"","block_context":{"text":"Lending","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/lending\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2049,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/2049\/relax-the-department-of-justice-is-solving-the-real-estate-commission-problem\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":4},"title":"Relax, The Department of Justice is solving the real estate commission problem","author":"Russell Shaw","date":"October 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Last Wednesday the citizens of the United States became a lot better off. I was surprised that no one publicly popped open a bottle of champagne to celebrate. This is not some small thing, it is exciting news. The Department of Justice, Anti-Trust Division launched a website that is going\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Disintermediation"","block_context":{"text":"Disintermediation","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/disintermediation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"flyingpig","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/flyingpig.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16993,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/16993\/divorcing-couples-need-togetherness-on-sale-the-sale-of-their-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":774,"position":5},"title":"Divorcing couples need togetherness on sale the sale of their\u00a0house.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We plant the seed of love and it takes root and grows toward the sun, a straight, proud, sturdy tree. That's the hope, anyway. Sometimes, alas, the sapling of love withers and dies. Pulling it up by the roots can occasion no end of problems, but the real-estate problem may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Flourishing"","block_context":{"text":"Flourishing","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/flourishing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/hutomo-abrianto-p5CFpOiYweU-unsplash-480x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}