Made…or earned?

Unless you work in a Mint or run an illegal operation you’ve probably never made any money (or counterfeit thereof!). However, if you pay your mortgage, rent, auto payment, cut grass in the summer, sold lemonade in the front yard, worked in a factory or even behind a computer (like tends to be my life) you’ve probably earned money. And there is a very big difference. Especially in the mind.

Understanding that money doesn’t just appear because you decide to go into business is very fundamental to your success. Buying a franchise or opening up a brick and mortar store of your own creation is a great and exciting time! But too many new entrepreneurs fail to remember how money is earned, expecting that because they invested in a building or in a product line people will line up at the door to get in and give you their hard-earned dollars.

We see the craziness that surrounds the opening of a new WalMart or Target. But those lines today came at a cost before. People line up because they know what to expect and they want to be a part of it.

You can generate that much buzz about your business too! But you have to be willing to earn it, because rarely will it come easy!

I’ve seen restaurants that looked like they had it all together be run of out business in 6 months while a location just down the road that had nothing flashy to compare couldn’t be open late enough or early enough. If they were open, they were packed.

Why? What had they done to make…I mean, earn so much business? I guarantee you it wasn’t that way their first month.

Ask them. Business owners are proud of their work and they love to talk about it (most of them anyway!). Ask them! I bet you get one common theme…”we just treat people how we want to be treated”.

Really? That simple? Probably. Because people do business with people they trust and people they like. If you enjoy being around someone you find reasons to be around them.

Now, you still have to have a good product and you have to be competitive with your pricing. What you sell must be worth what you are selling it for. But earning the right to sell your product is as important as the product and price is. The customers will let you know when you have the right to take their money in exchange for what you offer.

That’s the Seashell Methods of Doing Business. It’s relationship based. It’s doing unto others, and it produces two things: 1) recurring business   2) talk among patrons to others about your business and there is no greater, more solid way to build a business.

Happy thanksgiving!

~Seth