How Is Your Business Going?
Short cuts to success - learn what the Business section of Affolter Academy is all about.
Small businesses have always been the backbone of America. Small retail shops, barbers and hairstylists, healthcare providers, restaurants, the list goes on and on. Are you an entrepreneur? If so, how’s it going?
The Business section will have something about being in business.
There is a lot to being in business and few people understand. Many think they know everything because they took a high school bookkeeping class. I have an MBA, worked for IBM for three years and still didn’t know what I needed to know to be an entrepreneur. I learned the hard way - on the job.
Some people will go out and make it look easy. Most will struggle and fail. Can I give you some short cuts to success?
So much of what happens to us is due to our choices. Many of our choices are subconscious. Some are conscious beliefs. Some of our beliefs are limiting our ability to make money.
Many people are looking for freebies. They are watching YouTube videos trying to do work themselves. It can make us feel that we must lower our price to attract business. My barber was a great example.
A barber opened in Blaine. She is about a five-minute walk from my house. I had her cut my hair last week. I told her that if it wasn’t short enough, I would just come back. No worries. If it was too short, it wouldn’t take long to grow out. No worries.
Over the weekend, I decided that the hair on top was too long. She was closed yesterday, so I went today. Today was $11 dollar Tuesday. I paid $30 last week. She told me that since I only had the top cut, she would only charge me $5. I handed her $20. I told her that I was paying $20 and started a conversation about offering discounts. I advised her to track whether people were coming in because they wanted the discount. I did not come in for the discount but took advantage of it when offered. If she gives a $10 discount to 10 people that would have paid $30, she just lost $100. That is equivalent to five more haircuts at $20. She seemed to appreciate the discussion. We’ll see if she makes any changes based on my thoughts.
How about your services? I’m reminded of the following poem by Jessie B. Rittenhouse.
I bargained with Life for a penny,
And Life would pay no more,
However, I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store;
For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
Sometimes we give a sample of our work with hope of customers valuing it enough to pay for it. My courses at Udemy are a good example. Udemy requires a few minutes at no charge to give students a sample of the courses.
Most of my articles are free. Some articles and books are for my paying subscribers. I also give paying subscribers a discount on my Udemy courses.
Remember to pay people. It changes your thinking. My grandma used to say, “Birds of a feather flock together.” If you are constantly looking for freebies, you attract that mentality. That doesn’t mean you spend foolishly. I took advantage of my barber’s discount. I didn’t pay $30. But I did pay even more than she asked. I tried to elevate her thinking to mine.
I read that an economist is calling our economy the G economy. Boomers are helping their children and grandchildren. Boomers are traveling more and going out to eat more. If you are retired and can afford to - tip a little more. These days we are sometimes being asked to tip when somebody just hands us our groceries. I’m not doing that. I do look at the difference between 15%, 20%, and 25% and think will I really feel the extra couple of dollars that would mean a lot to my server?
Let’s help each other think about prosperity. Lift the consciousness of everyone you meet. Look for a fair deal. I appreciate it when I’m not overcharged. I don’t expect something for nothing. When I find good work at a fair price, I tell others.
I took some of my barber’s cards and will be handing them out.
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