by: Gerry Rose
How many times have you heard, "I couldn't make the meeting. My customer needed me." On the other hand, one of my favorites is, "I jump through hoops for my clients."-and then after four months of jumping, the client doesn't call back. I often hear "The client will not return my calls" from vendors. What is the answer? It may come from the question "Who is running your business?" Would the vendor have better maintained the customer if he were a little less available?
This article is special, as it addresses the entrepreneur: those of us in business who have chosen to leave Corporate America behind for the good life. What is the good life? Many describe the good life as having more flexibility, being able to come and go as we please. Most entrepreneurs I interview go out on their own because the values they acquire during a lifetime of experience (15 to 20 years) are different from when they started their corporate jobs. We are taught that the customer is always right. Often we're so eager to please that we compromise the very reasons we start our own business. We attempt to satisfy our customers by compromising our values. Who is running your business?
We say, "I'll slow down as soon as I make it." We continue to work at a harried pace, never really learning how to enjoy the life we attempt to produce. We drive ourselves crazy in an attempt to satisfy our clients. Often we end our business careers never satisfying the client or ourselves.
Many entrepreneurs make the decision to become self-employed to gain quality time with family. Others want more time to spend in the community, giving back to the systems that support their lifestyles. I often chuckle to myself by the idea of the deathbed question, "What would you have done differently?" None will ever answer, "I wish I had worked harder." However, because we're taught that the customer is king, we now decide to jump through the proverbial hoop to satisfy. We lose sight of the fact that now our customers are running our business.
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