{"id":1173,"date":"2016-11-22T15:25:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-22T23:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.checkworks.com\/blog\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2017-01-24T14:48:14","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T22:48:14","slug":"insane-business-advice-that-sounds-interesting-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/insane-business-advice-that-sounds-interesting-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Insane Business Advice That Sounds Interesting\u2014Part Two"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Business<\/a><\/p>\n

By MJ Plaster<\/p>\n

In Part One, we looked at age-old business and why it doesn\u2019t always (if ever) apply. Be sure to read it before you feast your eyes on the \u201cGawker version\u201d of what passes for today\u2019s business advice.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWisdom\u201d from the Current Age<\/span><\/p>\n

And now, let\u2019s pick up where we left off.<\/p>\n

11. It\u2019s OK to Cheat Your Customers\u2014Just Don\u2019t Get Caught<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheating takes many forms. One of the things I\u2019ve seen repeatedly is website designers charging for custom websites when they have purchased a cheap template and claimed the work as their own. If you create the template, you can charge whatever you like as long as you\u2019re not selling it as exclusive (one-of-a-kind). The same could be said for those who design custom courses by modifying a few lines from an existing, generic course. People who cheat their customers are no better than common thieves.<\/p>\n

Cheating takes place in retail as well. Grocery store olive oil is rarely pure olive oil, yet it is sold as the real thing. Anyone remember the pink slime (fast-food beef) scandal?<\/p>\n

12. You\u2019re Too Young \/ Too Old<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s world is full of entrepreneurs, so many so that the business world has coined a term for them\u2014kidpreneurs. Further, many people in their 50s and 60s start successful businesses. One of these entrepreneurs remained as CEO until he died at 107 years old. Don\u2019t let others tell you that you\u2019re not the right age\u2014whatever that is. The right age is when you\u2019re ready and willing.<\/p>\n

13. Never Turn Down a Paying Client<\/strong>
\nAlways turn down a paying customer when something doesn\u2019t feel right. If you take the client, you may regret it. You\u2019ll find that there\u2019s more work involved than you thought, the pay is slow, or any number of reasons you should have gone with your initial impression.<\/p>\n

14. When You\u2019re Not Selling Enough, Lower Your Prices<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sane people don\u2019t play this insane game. When the tech bubble hit the fan, most technical writers\/help authors were dropping their prices by two-thirds. Four friendly competitors held a conference call, and we decided there was no way we were in a race to the bottom, so we raised our prices by one-third. We worked less and made more money than before because we sold our value, not our service. Always sell your value, but make sure you offer value.<\/p>\n

15. Do What You Love\u2014NOT!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s traditional wisdom says to go into something with a secure future\u2014not something you love. Is there any secure future other than the death industry? Imagine an embalmer springing out of bed in the morning because he\u2019s \u201cdying\u201d to get to work. I know, \u201cThey\u2019re helping people in their time of need, and they make good money.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much wrong with, \u201cDon\u2019t do what you love,\u201d that I don\u2019t know where to begin. Certainly, if basket weaving is your love and you have no market for your products, or you can\u2019t produce them fast enough to make a living, you should look elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The average person has more than one interest, and one or more of those interests could turn into a viable business\u2014one she would love once it begins to make money. Find something you love, or you could grow to hate your business even if it makes money. Then, you\u2019re stuck in a trap\u2014just like you used to be when you had a job.<\/p>\n

When you do what you love, work is play. Figure out a way to play your way to success, or set yourself up for health issues later.<\/p>\n

16. Always Be Selling<\/strong>
\nThis is annoying when you\u2019re on the receiving end of the sales pitch. If I know you, and I\u2019m interesting in learning more about your product or service, I\u2019ll ask. If not, please allow me to enjoy the social event or the seminar or whatever. Always be selling only if you don\u2019t mind alienating people.<\/p>\n

A related sales tactic is the upsell. When I call my cable company with a tech support problem, particularly if they don\u2019t solve it the first time, I\u2019m not in the mood to buy additional services. Try to upsell me repeatedly, and I\u2019ll think about changing my service. I might even unplug and rely on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu to bring me the programming I want.<\/p>\n

17. The Worst Business Advice I Have Ever Received<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t get too close to your clients\u2014they are not your friends. I have always endeavored to remain friendly with my clients, but I don\u2019t confuse them with friends. However, they are more than clients; they are people, and they should be treated accordingly\u2014not kept at some artificial distance. When you know your clients, you have a better chance of anticipating their needs.<\/p>\n

18. All-Time Favorite Insane Advice<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you run an online business and you\u2019re a woman, try to disguise that fact online. Use an androgynous name and never refer to yourself with a gender-based pronoun. Seriously? Who thought this up? Someone from the 19th century? A social justice warrior?<\/p>\n

19. Get an Office<\/strong>
\nI can\u2019t begin to count the times I was told to get an office. \u201cIt would lend credibility to your businesses, not to mention instill respectability,\u201d I was told. I don\u2019t need either. I was already credible and my businesses were always respectable. Two decades later, I still have a perfectly wonderful office with a 30-second commute. There\u2019s no reason my business needs an office. Some of the people who dropped this pearl of wisdom required an office for self-esteem purposes. The worst thing you can do is create unnecessary overhead.<\/p>\n

20. Hire, Hire, HIRE<\/strong><\/p>\n

More sage advice from someone who has probably failed at business! You don\u2019t build a growing concern overnight. Hire based on company growth and projections. If the position conforms to IRS regulations for contractors, consider going that route. When I first considered hiring a few employees, one of my trusted colleagues gave me a very good piece of advice, \u201cEmployees equal lawsuits.\u201d I took the advice and have never hired my first employee because everything I need done can be done on a contract basis.<\/p>\n

21. Don\u2019t Go Into Business for Yourself<\/strong>
\nIf you believe this prehistoric advice that just won\u2019t die, then you shouldn\u2019t go into business for yourself. Otherwise, ignore this advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By MJ Plaster In Part One, we looked at age-old business and why it doesn\u2019t always (if ever) apply. Be sure to read it before you feast your eyes on the \u201cGawker version\u201d of what passes for today\u2019s business advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1173"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1210,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1173\/revisions\/1210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.checkworks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}