When I was young, people always told me 'work hard, be honest, under-promise & over-deliver' and, 'if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right'. I applied those principles when I started my own business. Customers trusted me, were please with my work, and recommended me to others. My business grew.
Now I'm retired, and looking back, I'm proud of almost everything I've done in business. I used to attribute my success to the wisdom given to me by others when I was younger. But now I realize that my efforts to grow the business (and indeed it did grow) had only a minimal effect.
I say this because my work ethic, although influential, was limited to those I was in direct contact with, and still not a guarantee of success. Businesses get into trouble all the time through no fault of their own. Many seemingly uncontrollable factors can change the business climate in a town or industry very quickly, sometimes to disastrous results. Sometimes to very fortunate results.
Looking back to my 2 biggest and most profitable accounts, one came to me right before a family medical emergency and me needing to purchase a house. And if that's not fortuitous enough, the account was landed with no negotiation needed after I was recommended by a competitor that was too small to do the work themselves. Then, with no binding contract, I continued to service this profitable account for a year and a half until the project was over. 2 of my larger competitors who could have underbid me easily and taken the account away never made an attempt to do that, and I never asked why.
The 2nd of the 2 largest accounts came 22 years later, at the time of another family medical emergency, which meant I would need to retire. This account was from a steady customer that brought me almost 5% of my annual income. Then seemingly out of nowhere they offered me a contract worth 5 times their annual receipts. This allowed me to pay off the house early, pay off all business equipment loans, and basically have no bills.
Now I could go on and on about how I went the extra mile for a good customer, and how I dealt honestly when nobody was watching, and it's hard to deny that didn't have good results. It's impossible to deny, however, that the most important factors were completely out of my control. If I'm honest with myself I will be humbled, and will be able to recognize a gift from God.
Now I'm retired, and looking back, I'm proud of almost everything I've done in business. I used to attribute my success to the wisdom given to me by others when I was younger. But now I realize that my efforts to grow the business (and indeed it did grow) had only a minimal effect.
I say this because my work ethic, although influential, was limited to those I was in direct contact with, and still not a guarantee of success. Businesses get into trouble all the time through no fault of their own. Many seemingly uncontrollable factors can change the business climate in a town or industry very quickly, sometimes to disastrous results. Sometimes to very fortunate results.
Looking back to my 2 biggest and most profitable accounts, one came to me right before a family medical emergency and me needing to purchase a house. And if that's not fortuitous enough, the account was landed with no negotiation needed after I was recommended by a competitor that was too small to do the work themselves. Then, with no binding contract, I continued to service this profitable account for a year and a half until the project was over. 2 of my larger competitors who could have underbid me easily and taken the account away never made an attempt to do that, and I never asked why.
The 2nd of the 2 largest accounts came 22 years later, at the time of another family medical emergency, which meant I would need to retire. This account was from a steady customer that brought me almost 5% of my annual income. Then seemingly out of nowhere they offered me a contract worth 5 times their annual receipts. This allowed me to pay off the house early, pay off all business equipment loans, and basically have no bills.
Now I could go on and on about how I went the extra mile for a good customer, and how I dealt honestly when nobody was watching, and it's hard to deny that didn't have good results. It's impossible to deny, however, that the most important factors were completely out of my control. If I'm honest with myself I will be humbled, and will be able to recognize a gift from God.
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