mySMBcommunity Blog

Ben* is a very enthusiastic entrepreneur. Ten over years in the business and still counting. However, Ben will attest that his chosen path has had its up’s and downs. Ben has a positive mindset and has been able to overcome his setbacks and turn them into his personal learning experiences.

Here is Ben’s experience:

Years ago when Ben was still relatively young in the business world, he was very keen to please his clients. There was nothing wrong with that except that Ben was a little too eager to please his clients and often went out of his way to help them.

Some clients loved what he did for them. Unfortunately, Ben also had clients who just simply loved to waste his time. One particular client had requested for a proposal from Ben’s IT solutions company. The client was based in another state, which was more than three hours away from Ben’s office. The client agreed to Ben’s quote for services and asked Ben to drive up to his office to sign and seal the deal.

In his excitement at clinching a seemingly big project, Ben agreed immediately without much thought and set off the next day. He met with the client and they had a long discussion. The client however, delayed signing the agreement, promising to start the project the following week and sign off then. Ben trusted him implicitly. As the day became dark quickly in the middle of winter, Ben didn’t feel like driving all that way back in the dark. He opted to stay overnight at a motel.

The overnight stay, the petrol and the time Ben spent at the meeting came to nothing. The next week came and went and the client never signed the deal nor did he start the project as promised. Months went by and again, there was no word from the said client. It was just a wasted trip.

Ben was quite upset at the lengths he had gone through to close a deal and even more so with the money that he had wasted. As he was a young entrepreneur, every cent was important and he felt that he had just wasted his money without much thought.

Ben learnt from that experience. Today, while Ben still aims to please his clients, he puts a lot of thought into his decisions. He prefers to close deals using the ample technology of today with Skype, emails and various other communication tools. Of course nothing beats the face to face meetings with clients and although Ben is ready to meets clients within his state, he is more careful when dealing with the ones out of the way.

He went out of the way and made a loss back then, but Ben is certainly wiser now.

What we can take away from this story is how to be very careful when dealing with clients. We also have to be discerning about how much we do for the client before he or she signs the deal and pays for the required goods or services. Some clients are capable of getting all the information out of one vendor before taking all that information given and passing it on to another vendor. It sounds unscrupulous but it’s true. Such things do happen.

Don’t compromise on good customer service. However it is wise to take note and protect ourselves. Be aware. Be discerning. There is really no point in going out of the way, only to incur a loss.

* Names have been changed to protect identities.

Have you ever sat down to think about your plans for your business but then found yourself thinking a lot about what your competitors have been doing instead?

Knowing what your competitors are doing is fine. Obsessing about what they are doing is not. Well you should be aware about what they are doing so as not to be totally clueless. Just don’t make them or their business be your focus.

Your focus should be on YOUR business and making it better all the time. If you keep thinking of or watching your competitors closely, you are more likely to feel very threatened and disillusioned if you notice that they are doing better than you are. Or at least seemingly so.

Why waste your precious time and energy over them? Why not turn all that time and energy into your business? Ask yourself if what you have been doing has been bringing in desired results.

Evaluate what you have done so far and think of how you can improve on your business processes or your customer service for example. Focus, focus, focus.Your business needs you.

Imagine your closest competitor sitting at a meeting table, discussing marketing strategies and dynamic improvements to be made to the business. He is focused and driven in getting things done and making sure customers are satisfied. He doesn’t even bother with what you are doing. There is no mention of you. Your business is, well, none of his business.

He is getting ahead by not thinking about you but you are NOT getting ahead by thinking about him!

So instead of mulling over what those in your industry are doing, just be aware of what they are doing and move on to your own business. There are often many things awaiting your attention in your business and that is usually enough to keep you busy.

Here’s a quote to take away:

The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time. – Henry Ford

Now that is awesome competiton!

Be focused. It is time to mind your own business. Really.

This article is exactly what we need to know and understand. When we are customers to other businesses, we expect a lot. Not that there is something wrong with that but we really want to get our money’s worth.

When thing go wrong, that’s when the trouble starts. We tend to flare up and we start demanding that the wrong things be made right. Instantly. Sometimes, we lose control over our emotions and we start yelling or cursing at the company we are upset with. When that happens, not only does the problem not get solved, but we end up looking uncouth and unreasonable. That is certainly not what we aim to achieve.

It is hard but the best way to solve the problem is to stay cool and calm. Reflect on the issue and ask ourselves what is causing the unhappiness. Then think of what we want to solve, how we want it settled then finally get on to making the call to the company. Be firm but nice. Shouting and raining abusive language will just backfire as the company we are unhappy with will tend to shut us off and be less interested in working to retain our business. Nothing will be solved in this manner.

For those who manage their own businesses, they understand how difficult it can be to handle extremely unreasonable customers. Some have even turned away business from unreasonable customers for the simple reason that “the stress the client gives us is not worth it”.

Lesson learned: So what if we are customers with lots of money to spend. Yelling, screaming and cussing at the company we are unhappy with will not guarantee that the problem will be solved the way we desire it to be. In fact, we might find ourselves tossed aside, unhappy and never getting what we want.

But being nice, opens up many doors for negotiation and when everyone is calm, problems get discussed and resolved more quickly.

Boo to bad behaviour! Being nice is the way to go.

Entrepreneurs:

Possess great attitude.

Are bold enough to stand by what they believe in.

Are candid people.

Are very determined to make their ideas work.

Are enterprising.

Stay focused on what is important and needs to be done.

Are always innovative.

Are usually full of inspiration.

Can handle many things effectively.

Make great mentors to others with their experiences.

Never give up after a failure.

Are optimistic people.

Are realistic about solving problems and tackling important issues.

Are often bursting with ideas and strategies.

Seize good opportunities along the way.

Are passionate about what they do.

Are you one of them? Then embrace entrepreneurship with a passion. Don’t give up easily and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Let’s be honest. There’s not a business anywhere that is without problems. Business is complicated and imperfect. Every business everywhere is staffed with imperfect human beings and exists by providing a product or service to other imperfect human beings. – Bob Parsons

Forget the thought that starting a business is easy. Those with the notion that a business is without problems, well sorry to burst your bubble but dealing with problems is part and parcel of running a business.

What has been labeled as difficult by business owners primarily is dealing with people. Some of the common grouses involving people include:

1) Dealing with clients. Some of whom can be difficult.

2) Managing relationships with partners & suppliers.

3) Managing employees.

4) Managing customer accounts and customers who delay or avoid payment altogether.

5) Difficulty in selling and marketing of products and services to customers.

This is only one side of the problems. Not to mention there are salaries to pay, accounts to manage and so on and so forth. But those are other issues.

Those who have walked the path of entrepreneurship will attest that it is more difficult than it is easy to run a business because many of the problems arise due to imperfect human beings.

These problems are inevitable. We have to face them as they come and find ways to effectively manage them.

There is no business without problems, no matter how successful they may seem. Face it and overcome it – Remember, you will emerge stronger from these experiences.

The only way around is through. – Robert Frost

What Robert Frost says above is true. Our greatest source of learning often comes from us going through something.

Whether in life or in business, we get around by going through good times and bad times. It is these experiences which shape us, build our character and we gain more wisdom from them.

Through our experiences as entrepreneurs, we learn:

How to manage our resources.

How to treat our employees and customers.

How to deal with difficult people.

How to promote and market our products and services.

What works for the business and what does not.

And the list of  experiences  goes on and on……..

How do we learn so much and how do we get over adversity? By going through it. Painful as it may be at times, it is the only way and the best way to learn.

Truly, the only way around it all is through!

Some of these actions may offend our colleagues in the workplace.

ð       Being late for work or meetings

ð       Talking loudly in the office or on the phone

ð       Not tidying up after using the office pantry

ð       No use of basic manners in the office

ð       Talking about others behind their backs

ð       Blaming others for something that was your fault

ð       Claiming the credit for another’s work or ideas

ð       Sending useless and unwanted emails

ð       Having a bad attitude towards work, your boss and colleagues

ð       Pilfering company resources for your own personal use (eg. stationery and etc)

ð       Telling offensive or racist jokes

ð       Smoking

ð       Complaining about your job and just about anyone or anything else

Take note. Don’t be the pet peeve of everyone else!

It may sound clichéd, but the goal to creating a more civilised workplace begins with us. Let’s do our part for a more harmonious workplace.

Facebook has made some changes – to the fan page that is. Now you don’t have to commit to becoming a “fan“ of something.

All you have to do is to “like” the product, service, celebrity, personality or whatever and you get updates on that. Isn’t that cool?

So what has Facebook got to say about this:

“Introducing the Like button

Starting today people will be able to connect with your Page by clicking “Like” rather than “Become a Fan.” We hope this action will feel much more lightweight, and that it will increase the number of connections made across the site.”

Great! Now we won’t have to be forced to “become a fan” of something but we just have to “like” it.

In fact, to “like” something is a lot easier than to “become a fan” of it. It makes sense too. Seriously, how many of us would “become a fan” of business pages? The idea of being a fan works for celebrities and personalities but for products, services and business pages, it is a tad odd.

Perhaps the word “like” is set to become the word of the year. Hopefully this spells better news for our social media marketing efforts and makes for more interactive business pages.

Now you don’t have to “become a fan” of MySMBcommunity. If you chance on our page and like it, click on the “like” button and join us. It’s as simple as that!

We really dig that “like” button!

We all know how important email is. In fact, we use it all the time to the point where we can’t imagine life without it. However, we need to remember to use this great tool wisely especially in the workplace.

Here is the story of Anne* who experienced first hand, the effects of email when used unwisely.

Anne was the Administration Manager of a software development company.

The CEO instructed Anne to follow up with certain employees on the reports they had to submit to him. He told her that they have not been punctual with handing in the said reports and urged her to email all of them with a warning to hand in the reports by the deadline he gave failing which they would have to see him personally with a good explanation or face the consequences.

Anne drafted an email to her colleagues informing them of the CEO’s instructions but cushioned his harsh words with a gentle plea of “please submit the report by..….(date).”

Unfortunately, Anne and the Accounts Manager, SH* couldn’t quite get along because SH was quite opinionated. SH, one of the recipients of the email did not take the instructions very well. She clicked the “reply to all” button (note this included all the employees involved and the CEO but SH did not notice it) and shot back the following:

“Why should I listen to you? Who are you to speak for the CEO, when he hasn’t told us to hand in the report himself? This is nonsense!”

Of course, the CEO received a copy of that. Anne too received it, which upset and embarrassed her greatly. The email got their shocked colleagues talking.

To cut the long story short, let’s just say SH paid a great deal for her moment of folly. She had let her dislike for Anne get the better of her and worst of all, she put it into writing for all to see.

So what are the things we can learn from this experience? Firstly, don’t put your personal feelings on email. Secondly, never click on the” reply to all” button, unless you really mean for everyone to see its contents. In this case SH wanted to humiliate Anne by insulting her in front of their colleagues but what she probably didn’t realize that amongst the names in the list, there was the CEO’s in between.

These are but just some of the points of email etiquette. Don’t forget how easy it is to forward emails, so don’t get personal at your workplace whether you are the boss or the employee. Use this useful tool wisely and with caution.

* Names have been changed to protect identities.

“It might be said that it is the ideal of the employer to have production without employees and the ideal of the employee is to have income without work”- EF Schumacher

How true this quote is. As employees, a lot of us would gripe about our hours of work. Staying behind to clear work with no over time pay – does that sound familiar? That’s not all. Our gripes are often longer than our shopping lifts. It can range from being dissatisfied about working hours, the pay, our career path, our bosses and fellow colleagues and so on and so forth.

How nice it would be if we can be paid for doing just a little bit or even better, nothing at all? The best is to become THE BOSS!

Dear, oh dear. Isn’t working life quite complicated?

Of course, when you start your own business, it becomes another story. Everything is about COSTS and keeping it down as much as possible. We try to trim everything and if we could do away with something to save costs, we probably would. Sometimes we become guilty of putting the interests of our employees at the back of our minds in a bid to keep costs down.

Then we find that being the boss is not easy. While it sounds good, it also means that the whole business is depending on us. If it makes money, that’s fantastic. If it does not, then we have the biggest headache too. I can almost hear the words “cashflow” and “cost cutting measures” being repeated in my head as I write this.

So, you see, the grass is not always greener on the other side. Both sides have their good times and bad times.

Well, that’s life right?