ChApter 2 | DO YOU REALLY WANT TO OWN A BUSINESS? | 13success.” Unless you, as the prospective
business founder, learn to get the most
mileage out of every dollar, you may go
broke and will surely spend more than
you need to. But that doesn’t mean that
you should try to save money by selling
cheap merchandise or providing marginal
services. In today’s competitive economy,
your customers want the best you can give
them at the best price. They will remember
the quality of what they get from you long
after they have forgotten how much they
paid.
In practical terms, that means you
must buy only the best goods for your
customers. Anything that affects the image
your business has in your customer’s mind
should be first-rate. It also means that you
shouldn’t spend money on things that don’t
affect the customer. For example, unless
you’re a real estate broker your customers
probably won’t care if you drive an old,
beat-up car to an office in a converted
broom closet, as long as you provide them
an honest product or service for an honest
price. Save the nice car and fancy office,
until after your business is a success.
Self-Evaluation Exercises .................................................................................................................
Here’s a question to ponder: Are you the
right person for your business? Because
running a business is a very demanding
endeavor that can take most of your time
and energy, your business probably will
suffer if you’re unhappy. Your business can
become an albatross around your neck if
you don’t have the skills and temperament
to run it. Simply put, I’ve learned that
no business, whether or not it has sound
financial backing, is likely to succeed
unless you, as the prospective owner,
make two decisions correctly:
• You must honestly evaluate yourself to
decide whether you possess the skills
and personality needed to succeed in a
small business.
• You must choose the right business.
(How to select the right business is
covered extensively in Chapter 3.)
A small business is a very personal
endeavor. It will honestly reflect your
opinions and attitudes, whether or not you
design it that way. Think of it this way: The
shadow your business casts will be your
shadow. If you are sloppy, rude, or naively
trusting, your business will mirror these
attributes. If your personal characteristics
are more positive than those, your business
will be more positive, too. To put this
concretely, suppose you go out for the
Sunday paper and are met by a store
clerk who is groggy from a hangover and
badmouths his girlfriend in front of you.
Chances are that next Sunday will find you
at a different newsstand.
I’m not saying you need to be psycho-
logically perfect to run a small business.
But to succeed, you must ask people
for their money every day and convince
a substantial number of them to give it
to you. While providing your goods or
services, you will create intimate personal
relationships with a number of people. It