would you be considered a good customer for your own business?

[huggytree]

i am a plumber for the upper middle class over all....i never sell to low income customers...and your average blue collar worker rarely uses me...my customer base is people who want to spend alittle more to get more....i used to be very frugal, but the older i get i tend to buy high end products...im becoming the customer i serve...im not 100% there, but probably 75% there.

i did some work this week for a friend...he's a high end photographer...he charges alot....it shocks me a bit its so high....when i told him what i charge to repair his plumbing he immediately asked for a discount....i said no....so i go and fix the plumbing and he's going all over the house trying to find more and more to fix...to get his full 1 hour min. worth...he kept on talking about my prices....i gave him $20 off since he's sort of a friend and since it was only 35 minutes....i probably lost money on the job...drove 45 minutes to work 35...then he still made comments about how much tradesman make as i walked out the door....i figure he makes more than me...yet he's got to complain and complain about someone making the same....i probably wont help him next time...let him pay full price from someone else....

he also asked to trade hours..i said no...i told him id pay him full price when its time and he should pay me full price...

he's a high end photographer who would not be a good customer for his own business...he wants to charge the most and then pay the least to everyone else...

he paid me $140 and told me to hold the check for 2 days...he didnt even have $140 in his checking...

are you a good customer?

[Steve B]

I wouldn't be a customer of mine. But, that's how I got into the business. It's something I chose to do for myself because I'm handy. So, I'm targeting people who are NOT like me and want/need to hire someone else who is handy.

[Patrysha]

Yes, I would be...

It's because I learned everything I know from starting with free resources and then moving up to paid resources when the free advice started paying off that I have so many free things that my target audience can use.

If they apply the things I give away for free - they'd be able to afford me soon even if they couldn't when they first land on my site.

And if they don't...they likely weren't going to be good clients for me. If they aren't going to apply the free stuff, they aren't going to value it when they have to pay for it. At least that has been my experience.

I'm picky. I'm loyal, but not blindly so. I balance the pros and cons carefully when choosing between price and value. I don't expect miracles from marketing, but I do expect progress and growth.

I have always been and continue to be frugal as much as I am able with a husband who has the opposite spending & saving style. But I always say I have champagne tastes on his beer budget...I want to buy quality but often settle for less because the finances dictate it, but I know that's temporary and we'll be able to make different choices soon.

As soon as I find the sweet spot and figure out how to deliver exactly what my target market wants...which is tricky because it is a demanding market.

[Harold Mansfield]

I wouldn't be good customer for my exact services, because I'm too stubborn and have to do it myself, but I am a good customer to others.

I think it's because I spent so many years in the service industry.

And also since I spent that year on the phone fielding calls for a timeshare company...I really try hard not to give anyone a hard time on the phone because I know how horrible (brave) people can be to customer service reps over when there's a few hundred miles in between them...and it's a sucky job anyway.

I don't /won't do work for friends. I will help, discuss, suggest, even teach, but I will not work for them for the exact reason you just described.

I don't even like doing friends of friends.

[greenoak]

yes, i would be a great customer....i love stuff and can always use more and love to buy...
and like the unusual and goood quality....not middle of the road crapola....
ann

[Spider]

I would be a good customer to myself if I was in the same situation as my clients, but I'm not. I am retired, so I don't need to grow my business - my clients want to grow their businesses and that's why they come to me.

When I was running my own business and wanted to grow it, I would have been a good client. And was a good client - I hired three coaches simultaneously and grew my business from nothing to multi-million dollar in 5 years.

[nealrm]

That depends on what you call a good client. I will pay more for better quality, but only within reason. I pay promptly after the work is complete and I looked it over. If something extra needs to be done, I expect to be charged for it. But don't surprise me at the end of the project. However for any major project there are some things I expect. I expect references and will I will give them a call. I expect that the quote is within 10% of the original project. If something unexpected crops up, I expect to be told about it before the end of the project. I expect that you will answer any question I have about the quote. I also expect a lien release at the time of payment.

[vangogh]

I wouldn't be a good customer for myself, though it would have nothing to do with price. It's more like what Harold said. I know how to do what I do and as a result would have a hard time letting someone else do it for me. I'd probably want to be too involved in the project and want to offer more input than I should.

If on the other hand we're pretending I don't know about my business and this is about me as a customer in general, then I think I'd make a good customer for my business. I'll generally let people I hire do their jobs and I don't complain about their prices. If I'm happy with the service I'll stay loyal and also recommend the person or company wherever I can.

[KristineS]

I'm not sure I'd be a good customer for the things I do precisely for the reasons Vangogh laid out. I know how to do what I do, and so I'd want to be involved.

I'm a great customer when it's not my area of expertise. I'm willing to pay for experience, and I tend to trust those who I hire to do a job for me. I stay out of the way and let the experts do what they do best. Particularly in areas like home repair, where I know I have no skills, I'm willing to step back and let people who know what they're doing take charge. In some respects I might be too trusting.

[Dan Furman]

I'm an excellent client.

I don't balk at price, I pay right away, I stay out of the way, I will try and take an interest and do little repairs/maintinence myself, etc. I also respect other's time, and I realize that even though I am paying $$, I do not own this person, nor am I their only client.

[KristineS]

I think people who own or run businesses tend to go one of two ways. Either they're absolutely unbearable when they're customers, or they remember what unbearable customers are like and go out of their way to be easy to work with. I know that's a huge generalization, but I've seen it again and again.

[Harold Mansfield]

I think people who own or run businesses tend to go one of two ways. Either they're absolutely unbearable when they're customers, or they remember what unbearable customers are like and go out of their way to be easy to work with. I know that's a huge generalization, but I've seen it again and again.

Nope, you are absolutely correct.

There is nothing worse than working for someone who tells you how big their business is, how much money it makes, how many employees they have and how successful the are ( or used to be) , so they know everything...before you even get to discussing the job that needs to be done.

Even worse, are the ones that USED TO BE in your business and claim how successful they were.

I only take those kinds of people if they call me back (and act right), I never hunt them down because they are definitely the type to take any gesture on your part as weakness and try to take advantage of you, and they will run the project and not allow you to do what you do best.

Hate to say it, but you have to make that kind come to you or they won't respect you.

[greenoak]

thats impressive spider!!!
i have a hard time believing in coachng..and self help in general......but i have a buddy who got a coach from notre dame , some free program, and went on to build a national gift company....and definitely credits the coach....
i do believe you and he each had a pretty darn good idea to start with!!! it cant be all the coaches ideas can it?
ann

[Patrysha]

What a coach does is not so much about giving you ideas but helping you bring the ideas you have to the surface and develop the strategies to make them happen and provide you with a certain level of accountability.

At least that is what I found when working with my life coach...

It's about having someone who doesn't have the level of emotional attachment that you do to help you clarify and focus - so you can see the forest for the trees.

[Spider]

thats impressive spider!!!
i have a hard time believing in coachng..and self help in general......but i have a buddy who got a coach from notre dame , some free program, and went on to build a national gift company....and definitely credits the coach....
i do believe you and he each had a pretty darn good idea to start with!!! it cant be all the coaches ideas can it?
ann


What a coach does is not so much about giving you ideas but helping you bring the ideas you have to the surface and develop the strategies to make them happen and provide you with a certain level of accountability.
At least that is what I found when working with my life coach...
It's about having someone who doesn't have the level of emotional attachment that you do to help you clarify and focus - so you can see the forest for the trees.Patrysha summed it up very nicely, Ann. If you rely on your coach for ideas or instructions, you are not using your coach as a coach. You must remember that you know your business better than anyone from outside it can. And, especially, you know yourself better than anyone.

There is a tendency to think of a coach as being a teacher. In first grade football he may be, but a coach in the major leagues doesn't teach his players how to play the game - they know that. But those major league players need a coach more than anyone, because they aren't just playing a game of football where a few yards can win a game, they are playing several whole seasons of games where an inch per game can give you the season, adding many millions of dollars to the team's income. Competition gets pretty tough at the top!

In the business world, a good coach challenges you, questions you, has you explaining things to yourself - why that? Why that? ...why THAT? To get the most from your coach, you have to dig deep and answer honestly. And especially, you must put aside your own experience that prompts your internal voice that keeps saying, "That won't work!" and instead force yourself to ask, "How can I make that happen?"

That's what my three guys did to me, and that's what I try to do to my clients. It sometimes means the relationship can be quite confrontational - do you find that, Patrysha? I find myself saying (in so many words), "Stop telling me it can't happen, let's explore what it will take to make it happen. Then you can decide whether you want to pursue it or not, but don't cut yourself off from the prize before you've seriously thought about the possibilities."

[Patrysha]

I wouldn't say so much confrontational as direct and boundaried. She doesn't let me get away with making excuses...

[Spider]

Yes... well, that's a ladylike way of putting it! That's what I meant!

[Patrysha]

Something wrong with ladylike? I mean I am no Grace Kelly or Sophia Loren, but I do try to exhibit some class :-)

[Spider]

....... :)