The Trinituner Entrepreneurship/Self Employed/ Side Hustle Thread

[Mr Gear]

Sorry to hear that you were ill. Rest up and get back out there because when you're self employed, it you don't work, you don't eat.

[Chimera]

^^^ so true.

steups...stock came in for customers on monday, and I now opening boxes and calling people.

[NLVA200]

^ this is a very real example of what being self employed is about. If some unfortunate event comes up, all work comes to a complete halt. Even when you may not be 100% recovered, you find yourself going the extra mile, going against doctors orders, just to make sure things get running smoothly as quickly as possible, ensuring sure the customer remains happy.

[OldSkoolRule]

Hey people, I'm a mechanic, currently self-employed.....i'm studying, and working at home. I don't have a big 'Top Secret' operation or anything, jus a humble lil place and a handful of loyal customers. I get by. it's great, i'm my own boss. It's not like i'm getting rich right now or anything, but i pride myself on quality work and customer satisfaction........that's about the long and short of it really. Self-employed.

[apple]

I was not checking the forum for a while and completely missed the date for the meeting. Hopefully I can make it to the next one.

Along with screen printing, I also take care of my granny full time. Which results in me having to work from home and as someone else mentioned, I am the caddy. Even tho I have clients over and I work long hours, all other 'duties' fall on me. Its really rough to have to work at home.

[Mr Gear]

We really have to work on changing the cultural norms towards people who work at home. We have to get friends and family to respect that fact that although we work at home, we are still WORKING !!

[marcus8860]

We really have to work on changing the cultural norms towards people who work at home. We have to get friends and family to respect that fact that although we work at home, we are still WORKING !!

lol !! , thats like another brick in the wall ..... many ppl are bent in their ways and cant understand that the industrial age is slowly fading away .... you dont have to actually get up and clock into a job-site =] ..... we live what we learn and it takes real courage and time to change our lives ..... just find something that you really like and be real good at it =]

[wagonrunner]

^^^
preach that to certain offices in PoS.
On a 10Mb down / !mb up link. I am just as connected to the network, as if i was on site. Yet if they don't see persons, they don't know what's being done. Incidents are being rectified. Aren't they?
And a person who works from home, doesn't suffer from the 5 hour commute lag, and is wasting much less time as in the office (coffeee breaks / smoke breaks / length of time to obtain then consume food). They're even more productive in this manner.
Some of the time they would have wasted in traffic, is even spent as slacktime monitoring and responding to more incidents.

[NLVA200]

When my office used to be located home, I used the get the same sort of response from friends, WRT not being 'at work' or 'not working hard' just because of the mere location of my office.

Some used to think that because my bed was a few feet away, I could easily slack off and take a nap, or be too comfortable while at work. I had 'The Life' apparently.

[apple]

When my office used to be located home, I used the get the same sort of response from friends, WRT not being 'at work' or 'not working hard' just because of the mere location of my office.

Some used to think that because my bed was a few feet away, I could easily slack off and take a nap, or be too comfortable while at work. I had 'The Life' apparently.

Yep that is exactly what happens to me.
We work a lot at night if we have large orders to process.

So after an all nighter I went to bed abt 7am & had to be up and open by 9am. I was late one morning (abt 20 mins). This lady who has never dealt with us before comes just as I am opening and proceeds to have a fit. Telling me that people like me will never reach anywhere cause we too lazy to even wake up and open for business....I got SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO angry eh. It took all the strength I had not to buss some cuss and tell she UDFR. I took number and told her someone would phone her to make arrangements for her order.

Last week we 'let one go' after a year of being their printer. The man would always have a problem with how the work comes out, the print too low, the print too high, the print too big, he does not like the color...mind you the man is the one who changes his instructions every time he drops an order. So we got to the point that nobody wanted to print his stuff anymore, its like if his jobs came with a 'heaviness'.

I have loads of stories like these but I will stop

How do you all deal with difficult and over demanding clients? Those who feel that they own you because they are paying you for whatever goods/service you provide?

[marcus8860]

and you know quality control is a big part of my business .... i have to make sure that each product is up to the .iso standard =]

[apple]

and you know quality control is a big part of my business .... i have to make sure that each product is up to the .iso standard =]

[Chimera]

How do you all deal with difficult and over demanding clients? Those who feel that they own you because they are paying you for whatever goods/service you provide?

Tell them UDFR.

[apple]

How do you all deal with difficult and over demanding clients? Those who feel that they own you because they are paying you for whatever goods/service you provide?

Tell them UDFR.

I dunno how to tell people to 'haul' nicely.

[Chimera]

How do you all deal with difficult and over demanding clients? Those who feel that they own you because they are paying you for whatever goods/service you provide?

Tell them UDFR.

I dunno how to tell people to 'haul' nicely.

"Sorry Sir but we just cant deal with you due to your obnoxious attitude"

or

"Sorry Sir, we have taken on a lot of jobs this quarter and we don't think we can attend to your needs as quickly as you need us to"

[Mr Gear]

The customer is always right. Try to find an excuse that makes them right each and every time.

[apple]

ok, I'll try to tell them we busy or something.

there are some that we just don't want to work for.

[Mr Gear]

No that is not what I mean. Find a workable solution. You don't always have to lose for the customer to be right you know.

For example, "Sir I am very sorry that the T-Shirt was printed too high, next time would you prefer we do a proof for you so that we can meet your exacting standards ?"

or

"Sir I know that you are a man of exacting standards and we would only like to provide you with the very best which is why i would like to assign one person to deal with all of your jobs. As your Account Executive, he/she will take care of all of your detailed needs. There is a small charge for a dedicated Account Executive but all of your many details will be taken care of right the first time. Would you like for me to sign you up for an Account Executive to be assigned to your jobs, the cost is only 10% surcharge on each job.

[apple]

Mr. Gear, I will take your suggestions into consideration and discuss them with my partner.
Thanks

[marcus8860]

the thing is you cant please all the ppl all the time ..... everyone has different ideas on how human beings should be treated ..... for example, a customer may either look up or look down at you and it shows in the way they speak to you ...... the ones with mutual respect appreciate what you're doing and understand that we all give our best =] ..... then there are the ones who feel (as apple said), that they own you and enjoy making you feel small and worthless ...... ah mean i didnt make the movie son , i just pir , ah mean i just sell backups of them ... if you dont like it call the studio and complain ..... in all businesses its not just about makin big bucks and being self supportive , its knowing that you cant please everyone and you have to make more than you loose ..... you cant have all things good without any thing bad , it is a balance =] .. we all know that windows has problems but i dont hear bill gates complaining =]

[Mr Gear]

I'm not saying that you can be all things to all people because you can't.

In business one has to look at his business along the STP. Segment, Target, Positioning. What business segment are your in, what target market within that segment are you going after and how are you going to position your company, high end or low cost, excellent value or put up or shut up.

When you decide you serve those customers and although you can't be all things to all people, you can be what you promise to be to those people.

Even when other customers cross the boundary and comes into your arena, treat them the same way that you treat the customers that you target. The customer will decide whether you are a good fit or not and either stay or move on. Do not attempt to be something different just to try to meet the needs of that customer.

Find a nice way to let customers know that you will not be able to meet their needs when you can't and recommend another business provider that may be a better fit for them. That way you end on a high note and remain professional and keep things comfortable for everyone.

[apple]

I'm not saying that you can be all things to all people because you can't.

In business one has to look at his business along the STP. Segment, Target, Positioning. What business segment are your in, what target market within that segment are you going after and how are you going to position your company, high end or low cost, excellent value or put up or shut up.

When you decide you serve those customers and although you can't be all things to all people, you can be what you promise to be to those people.

Even when other customers cross the boundary and comes into your arena, treat them the same way that you treat the customers that you target. The customer will decide whether you are a good fit or not and either stay or move on. Do not attempt to be something different just to try to meet the needs of that customer.

Find a nice way to let customers know that you will not be able to meet their needs when you can't and recommend another business provider that may be a better fit for them. That way you end on a high note and remain professional and keep things comfortable for everyone.

thanks

[crazybalhead]

ok, I'll try to tell them we busy or something.

there are some that we just don't want to work for.

No, do not tell them you are busy or something.

If they paid you for a service and you delivered that service, then that's the end of it. Indicate that additional work will be charged at a so and so much rate.

Over demanding customer? Welcome to the real world. The customer who gives 80% of the trouble usually provides less than 20% of your revenue, but unfortunately, they are still your customer and you have to treat them just the same even though they are a pain in the ass.

No I don't have my own business, but I'm left to run the Trinidad operation as if it is my own.

[Chimera]

The customer who gives 80% of the trouble usually provides less than 20% of your revenue,

So true.

[Cooper]

There is a book I came across while back, it's called "How to win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

It could give you guys some useful tips especially when dealing with difficult people.

check out the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People

[Mr Gear]

There is a book I came across while back, it's called "How to win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

It could give you guys some useful tips especially when dealing with difficult people.

check out the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People

This is an excellent book for the self employed especially. This is recommended reading. I have read it several times and if I could just remember to use some of the principles I would be much better off. Just with those that I use, I am significantly better at dealing with people than before and trust me, I needed (and still need) lots of help.

[outsiderzkrew]

Can anybody tell me how's the best way to invest around $10,000?
any positive feedback will be appreciated...
I was thinking about leasing a Bar...

[NLVA200]

Can anybody tell me how's the best way to invest around $10,000?
any positive feedback will be appreciated...
I was thinking about leasing a Bar...

If you do, be sure to check me for all your supplies

On a serious note though, do you have any experience in running a bar?

Before getting into my line of business, my father owned and ran a bar for 14 years and believe me it wasn't easy. That's the reason we got into the supply business for Bars and Clubs instead.

Bars have a very high cash turnover which is a very attractive but most of the time you need to be there. Bars tend to have much longer hours and demands a lot from you. Their opening and closing hours are usually say... 10 am to 2 am. If you have family, they probably won't be seeing you very often (talking from personal experience).

Even if you hire reliable staff members, problems always come up at some odd 2 a.m. when a fight breaks out and one of your employees is cut and bleeding or a quite simply, a group walks out on a bill. You can't reason with drunk people nor expect any sort of reasonable behavior and thinking.

Also, it's fairly easy for employees (be it family or outsiders) to give away free drinks, over pour, stash away cash in their pockets, etc. No matter how much computer systems, cameras, security you implement. The ONLY way to reduce this is for you to be there cashing and serving all the time! And even if you are the sole person there, you are still going to be faced with friends that will come by to support you and some of them will expect maybe a free drink or 2 or some sort of discount. Plus they will all be ole talking for hours which takes your attention away from other things going on around you.

On the plus side, bars are quite easy to setup for sales in terms of stock because you don't need to worry about costs like setting up displays, deliveries, warehousing or shelf life of goods. All you need is a reliable supplier (wholesale liquor marts sometimes have better prices than the official company!), staff to pack out the bottles and serve and most importantly, A GOOD WORKING FREEZER! It is of utmost importance to spend the extra $ and invest in high quality freezers because these are the things that tend the breakdown on a Friday night when the place is packed! And believe me, nobody wants hot beers!

One last thing, who's going to clean the toilets at the end of the night?

I hope this information helps you out in making your decision.

If of course you or your family have previous bar experience, then you already know about everything i mentioned

[Chimera]

$10,000 is enough to lease a bar? eh

[Rooki3]

$10,000 is enough to lease a bar? eh

hmmh, dibs on the first one that pops up........................esp for that $$$