bv02 on Good Business, Bad Business
When you have a small services company like bv02 there is a tendency to try and sign any and all business that you can. Money is good. More money is better. Right? As a sales guy I’ve been trained to hunt, kill and move on. But as a small business manager there can be serious ramifications if you take the same approach. At bv02 we aren’t looking for ‘business’, we are looking for ‘good business’.
Andrew and I have a rule that helps guide us when things get hectic and we need to make a quick decision about a client or a potential client. We look for three things: good people, good work, good money. If two of the three are present, we are normally good to go. Note that ‘good money’ is third in line. It’s important, but the people and the nature of the work are more important. If you’re a pain the butt, frustrate my staff and circumvent our production process I don’t care how much money you have. You’re gone. Because you may cause someone on my team to quit, stress levels in the office will rise and we’ll spend less time on the ‘good’ clients who deserve our attention.
So that’s one lesson I’ve learned over 15 years of working in and managing small businesses. Sometimes you have to turn down the contract, walk away from the money. It’s never easy, but I’m getting better at it.
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