Happy New Year to everyone! There will be countless articles and videos regarding twenty ten. Everything from predictions to resolutions of what’s up for this year in business. I’m going to walk way out on a limb and start by saying I could care less about most business models for 2010. I do business like I’m living in the 50s — the 1950s, to be exact.
If you overlook the racism and, of course, the sexism, it was a golden era for business, at least here in America. It was a time when people actually knew who sold them products and provided them services. It was a time when people knew their banker by name and the banker knew them, their families and took a geniune, personal interest in who his customers were.
For me, this is not a huge thing. In fact, this is the way I’ve done business for the past 10 years – actually, it’s the way I’ve always done business. And I’ll continue doing it that way. You can talk all day about how “Social Media” has changed the game. The reality is that anyone who says that hasn’t been in the game of business for very long. If they have, it wasn’t a business they built themselves. In the end, it’s all about the people and customer service and a quality product.
Let’s say I was flat broke and only had one client. This client was well established with a boatload of money and willing to dump it into my lap. Let’s also say this client was rude, heartless or just too much of a diva. That client would be one that I fired. I’d rather be broke then work with crappy people. And I’ll give you five good reasons why:
1. My sanity is very important to me. And no one likes to work with a headache. I would rather have no work than work that repeatedly bashes me in the face every day.
2. I’m in the business of helping others succeed. Whether its web design or business strategy, when you look good, I look good. If you’re a problem child who doesn’t listen and if we can’t work together to make things EPIC, then I fail. I’m not a fan of failure.
3. You can disagree, but I like to become friends with my clients. On a personal level, I try to befriend the people or companies that I deal with. Why not do the same in business? I tell you what, a client who is or has the potential to become a friend is powerful.
4. Passion. If you’re a Gary Vaynerchuk fan, if you remember nothing else about him, you remember his passion. He says repeatedly “do what you love and win.” So many people are out in this space trying to do what they love and are still shoveling sh*t. Not me. My business, my life, my rules. Who you surround yourself with can make or break you. Especially as a small business or a start up.
5. Social Media is word of mouth on steroids… if I had a dime for every time I heard that last year I’d be rich. But you know what — old school word of mouth is still pretty freaking awesome. I get clients from referrals, direct referrals. If you are good at what you do, people will talk about you. Yes, that’ll happen on Twitter, but the most important things that are being said about you can’t be searched.
I care most about my family and friends. Things like integrity and respect hold tremendous value to me. It’s the way I lead my life. And that’s the way I do business. I take care of the people around me to the best of my ability. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I’m far from perfect. I know that no one who works for me or with me is perfect. We’re all imperfect beings – and to expect anything more is, honestly, expecting too much. But, knowing that I will never be perfect does not stop me from trying to be better human being, as well as a better businessman.
For me, 2010 will be a year filled with creativity. A year spent building better relationships at work and at home. Each day is what you make it. This 50s mentality has served me well in the past decade. And it will continue to serve me well as we move into yet another decade. If you wonder what happened to this style of business and why it faded away, it was, quite simply, a business model that couldn’t scale. Towns grew bigger, companies opened up franchises and then it became a numbers game.
By the way, Social Media also doesn’t scale. How long before Dell aka @delloutlet has their Twitter account run by a team in India? Hate to burst your bubble, but that day is probably coming. And don’t worry, I’ll dig into scalability in the coming weeks.
2KX is here what kind of business person are you?
Written by Owen JJ Stone
I run Inquiring Mindz Media, enjoy being a dad, building brands, designing, making videos, and meeting people. For more info, check out OwenJJStone.com, @Ohdoctah or IQMZ.
Tags: brand, Business, caring, community, Friends, media, networking, People, respect, responsiblity, Social
