As my friends, family, followers and subscribers know, I’m a collector — and sharer — of recipes and entertaining ideas. I thought I had enjoyed meeting fellow cooks and bakers through social media … and then Pinterest came along. Oh, wow. The social world’s latest and greatest invention is catching the online community by storm as everyone everywhere seems to be “pinning” these days.
The other night as I was pinning-and-browsing I came across postings of recipes for “Grown-up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches” and “The Greatest-Ever Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese”. I had to laugh. Have we progressed so far? Are we so cutting-edge? Are we so determined to create, find and share the “next best” that we cannot simply let certain things be?
Grilled cheese sandwiches and baked macaroni and cheese should be among these things.
I’m kidding of course. Yes, we love the tried-and-true. We all have our favorite slippers, our favorite chairs, that pair of pajamas … and many more special things that make life comfortable. Then again (as Pinterest shows so well!), we also love to branch out and try new ideas for our homes, new styles, travel to new places … and, oh yes, adding that second … third … and fourth cheese to a long-time classic recipe.
There’s a lesson in this for our businesses as well. Once you’ve established your company and your services, remember what your customers count on day-to-day. Create comfort and build confidence when it comes to reliable, prompt service and good products. Then take a chance with fresh innovative ideas, new services, extra touches — those additional “ingredients” your customers cannot resist trying — at least once!
“Growing up and going gourmet” isn’t such a bad thing when you think about it.
P.S. for fellow cooks and Pinterest fans: The set of mixing bowls (as shown) is from Williams-Sonoma.
