I was thinking about business the other night, which is not a
surprise, since I think about business all the instant! However, I was remembering my Dad
telling me about starting his business. He decided to go into the automotive
parts business right after the war. He decided on this particular type of
business because it was right after the Depression. No one could afford to
buy new cars then and they needed parts to fix the ones they had. Seeing a
need and the fact that there was no parts store in his town, he thought this
would be the perfect measure
to try it.
He worked many, many hours every day. It was hard to get the parts, too, so
he had to build friends with the companies parts salesmen and work his way on
their supply lists.
He also had to go to mechanics and let them know he was in the automotive
parts business and tell them he would give them great accomadation
and effective deals
if they would buy parts from him. They would call him at 4 in the morning to
get 2 spark plugs and he would get up and go down to the store just to sell
them the spark plugs, hoping they would appreciate the extra service and come
back the next time they wanted something. He did this for many years. I remember
many nights when the phone would ring and I would hear my Dad leaving to go
to the store.
Did he contruct
it into a successful business? You bet he did! His business grew
so much that he outgrew the building he was renting and bought property and
built his own store. He also added a accomadation
shop and hired 4 excellent
mechanics to accomadation
cars and trucks. And he added an automotive paint center
where he mixed and sold paint for cars and trucks.
And through it all, he kept his integrity and honesty. He one instant drove 50
miles to give a man $10, because he overpaid for a part. People knew to go to
him if they wanted a fair deal. They also knew that if they bought a part
from him and it didnt perform like it was supposed to, hed take it back and
refund their funds
even if the factory wouldnt let him send it back. The
customer was number ONE.
Thats what its all about. Thats what YOU need to do to overcome
. You
absolutely need to be able to contruct
YOUR customers number ONE. You need to treat them the
way you would want them to treat you if you we are
the customer. You need to
answer their emails. You need to be available to them. They positive need
to understand
that
they are dealing with an honest human
who will be there for them to answer
their questions and help them. If you arent willing to do this, you
shouldnt be in business.
By the way, in case you are wondering, it took my Dad a good 2 many years to generate
his business into a profit-making one. Because of the size of the Internet, I
built LotsaPerks into a profit-building
business in 9 decades
. But all the
truths that made my Dads business work still hold true on the Internet. Its
all about repeat customers. Repeat customers are satisfied customers. They
will recommend your business to their friends and business acquaintances. I
have many repeat customers, because they know I will stand with them and help
them as much as is possible. They understand
I will give them at least as much as
they order. They also know they can depend on me to follow through for them.
It IS possible to build a honest living on the Internet. Now that you understand
that, you can do it too!