Just say no
Posted: June 18th, 2015, 7:33 am
As I enter my sixth year in the business I have asked myself a simple yet life changing question.
What do I want my business to be? Do I respect my business and all I have put into it to the extent that I am willing to forgone short term gain for long term control and happiness?
You must ask why did I go into business for myself?
For me it was to regain control I had willingly abdicated to others for a paycheck.
As a self employed person you must remember this control is paramount to your success and happiness.
Yes you take on customers and work your arse off in the beginning as you build, but there comes a point where you must define who your customers are and how , where, and how much you want or need to be happy.
I detest stress which is why I love this business.
Therefore now that I can, I have deliberately dumped several dealers that caused me stress by their inability to expedite the time I spend waiting for them and wasting valuable time. I have dumped dealers that repeatedly ask for duplicate invoices as a technique to slow down payment. I will not deal with dealers that churn upper management because I have better things to do with my time than re-train them to my way of doing business.
And yesterday I refused to work on a crack because of high moisture, bad light, inability to park, and a customer's bad attitude. I did offer an alternative venue for repair that would guarantee me success but was rebuffed by customer.
To sum up, we can only be successful when we can offer superior products and services, with a smile, because we are happy with how we do business and have customers that appreciate us.
Incidentally, I refuse to deal with insurance companies on weekends when they are slow and I am extra busy.Will only have customers come to me on Saturday, no mobile, and cash only. Never had an issue with this policy.
What do I want my business to be? Do I respect my business and all I have put into it to the extent that I am willing to forgone short term gain for long term control and happiness?
You must ask why did I go into business for myself?
For me it was to regain control I had willingly abdicated to others for a paycheck.
As a self employed person you must remember this control is paramount to your success and happiness.
Yes you take on customers and work your arse off in the beginning as you build, but there comes a point where you must define who your customers are and how , where, and how much you want or need to be happy.
I detest stress which is why I love this business.
Therefore now that I can, I have deliberately dumped several dealers that caused me stress by their inability to expedite the time I spend waiting for them and wasting valuable time. I have dumped dealers that repeatedly ask for duplicate invoices as a technique to slow down payment. I will not deal with dealers that churn upper management because I have better things to do with my time than re-train them to my way of doing business.
And yesterday I refused to work on a crack because of high moisture, bad light, inability to park, and a customer's bad attitude. I did offer an alternative venue for repair that would guarantee me success but was rebuffed by customer.
To sum up, we can only be successful when we can offer superior products and services, with a smile, because we are happy with how we do business and have customers that appreciate us.
Incidentally, I refuse to deal with insurance companies on weekends when they are slow and I am extra busy.Will only have customers come to me on Saturday, no mobile, and cash only. Never had an issue with this policy.