I was joking with a good friend the other day. Both of us made our money in the corporate world.
On the other hand, each of our fathers was a small business entrepreneur. So my friend shared this funny story with me about why he’s not an entrepreneur.
Getting Started In Business
This is what my friend related to me… When I was 5 years of age, I opened my first business – a lemonade stand.
My investment was small for the dividends I hoped this business would pay. My mom loaned me a folding table. My mom loaned me a pitcher, the water, the lemons, and the sugar. Come to think of it, I did not invest a dime.
My first customer was an older kid on his bike. He may have been from the neighborhood but his face was not familiar.
He asked for the price. Five cents a cup, I responded. He starting drinking on credit and then rode off quickly without paying.
All of my product was now depleted. So, I folded up the table and went back inside to play with my Lincoln Logs. I then knew that running my own business was not for me!
Business Lesson #1
Are you thinking about starting a business? Or perhaps want to make your existing business better?
Then I recommend that just like your friends, choose your customers wisely.
All customers are not created equal. This is just not true.
On the surface, it would seem the more customers the better. More customers, more income from the business investment. But this is frequently not the case.
Conclusion
Just like you should not be fearful of firing a bad employee, don’t be afraid to fire a customer. It can be a good financial decision that you should not fear in your route to making your millions!
Do it gracefully. Do your best to make your former customer feel good about it. And, help them transition to a new supplier. Ease their pain, whatever it might be.
And just maybe, your lemonade business will go from sour to sweet.