Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog » Blog Archive » Sorry But You’re Not Cut Out For Running Your Own Business

Jan
28

Sorry But You’re Not Cut Out For Running Your Own Business

Filed under: Home Business, Internet Marketing, Make Money Online; Tagged as: home base business, home based business tips, home business articles, starting a home business

I’ve had to do a lot of soul searching before writing this article. What I have to say isn’t going to be easy for a lot of people to hear, but it has to be said. I’m going to relate a true story without mentioning any names. But it will clearly show you why some people are not cut out for running their own business.

A customer of mine wrote me a very frantic email. To make a long story short, they were very upset with the product they bought from me. They were under the impression that it was one thing and then when they opened it, they didn’t find what they expected to find. Now that in itself isn’t too uncommon. The product is massive and it’s easy to get confused. But that’s not where the problem lies.

See, the customer then went on a rant the size of Texas that I won’t get into here. That in itself is fine. We all get upset. I get upset. But here is where the problem lies and why I realized that this person was not cut out to run their own business.

The rant itself was all over the place. There was no coherent thought to it. I honestly had a very difficult time trying to follow what the person was actually upset about. There were conflicting comments in the email that didn’t make sense. But more importantly, the entire email was written in one long paragraph with little, if any punctuation, that made it almost impossible to read.

Finally, I realized that this person probably didn’t have a strong grasp of the English language, which I later verified in later communications when I tried to understand exactly what the problem was. Oh, by the way, I refunded the purchase immediately and yet still tried to help the person through their problem. That is something you might want to take note of if you want to build up a reputation for good customer service. Most people would just refund and be done with it. Five emails later, we finally resolved the issue. How was it resolved?

After I fully explained to the person the skills that were needed to run a home business successfully (I didn’t sugar coat it) this person realized that this was something that was going to be extremely hard for them to do. The truth is, whether you want to admit it or not, not everybody is cut out for this. I have a friend who, God bless him, has a child who is mentally handicapped and will never reach beyond the age of 12 intellectually. The chances of this person ever running a successful home business are slim to none.

I know we all want to believe that anybody can succeed at this if they really want to. But I am a realist about this, and I know that, while a lot of people will disagree with me, there are some folks out there who are better off just working at a McDonald’s or pushing a broom. It is not a crime to admit that being a home business owner is not the thing for you.

I don’t know where you fit in all this. Only YOU can answer that. Only YOU know how hard or easy it’s been for you to try to earn a living at home. But I can tell you this. If you don’t have solid communication skills, you need to learn them. Because whatever you do, some form of communication, whether it be in salescopy, ads, emails, articles, or just plain customer support, is going to be CRITICAL to running a successful business.

Think about it. If somebody emails you and asks you to explain your product to them and you can’t do this in a way that gives the prospect a sense of security in their purchase because you weren’t clear in your explanations, how successful are you going to be?

Bottom line is cruel but a reality people need to face.

Some folks just aren’t going to be cut out for this stuff.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Sick and tired of all the home business schemes? Want one that will really deliver on its promises? Read my totally unbiased review of Carbon Copy PRO at http://stevewagenheim.com/blog/internet-marketing/review-of-carbon-copy-pro.html and get yourself a home business that is all substance.

6 Comments

6 Responses to “Sorry But You’re Not Cut Out For Running Your Own Business”

Better PLR January 31st, 2010 at 7:17 pm

I agree. Some people just aren’t cut out to do some things, no matter how great the passion. Just look at American Idol, for example

It’s funny how customers ignore the “don’t buy this unless you’re serious warnings” – I agree, an honest and direct dialogue is always best.

Chris
DaveHughes January 31st, 2010 at 7:36 pm

Great article! (And I saw you say you were going to write it in the thread that prompted it.)

And the reason it’s being passed around is that (as usual) you’re saying something that needs to be said, but in a culture of “always be positive,” no one ever wants to be the one to say “Sometimes, you just suck. You can’t succeed at everything.”

Good job.

Dave
Stephen Hall January 31st, 2010 at 7:42 pm

Hi Steve! Steve Hall here. I have been somewhat successful in internet marketing. Right now I am doing SEO for various businesses my partner and I have built websites for. Believe me when I tell you how little people know about any of this stuff. They think that once they have a website that they are going to make money hand over fist!

It just doesn’t happen that way. You need SEO in order to drive traffic to your site.

I wish it was as easy as most people think it is.

But it isn’t, not by a long shot.

Steve Hall
Hot Trends Articles February 1st, 2010 at 2:15 am

The truth is always hard, Steven. Sometimes it hurts more than a bullet. I ask myself why couldn’t I just conform with the minimum wage, some holidays and a bonus at the end of every year, like the 99% of the people I talk to every day.

I read about you and people like you. I make some bucks here and there and currently, I am working at home 100%. Still humbly but growing up steady. Yet, I feel like having your own business, and this kind of intangible business, is something like a fairy tale. Even more when I receive checks or watch some paypal payment. People have a hard time trying just to figure out how can anyone make money online, and I get’em now. All they know about Internet is related to Facebook games, youtube, myspace, and so on. Thanks for your great post as always.

Cheers,

Paul
Joe Fuller February 1st, 2010 at 6:10 am

Hi Steve

Crisply said!:)

I had to reply to this.

I think you raise 2 important points.

1 Communication (which in a sense is content) is vital. However, there may be a grey area. Recently, I watched a webinar by a quite well known marketer (not a “guru” as such). Yes, basically, they communicated. But the delivery was dull, monotonous, slow – at times excruciating. What was worse, often their explanation of basic skills, techniques, processes was muddled and unclear. So, it may be that just enough competence in just the right way is enough.

2 This is to do with intent – I don’t think the “Secret” etc is correct. I think it’s more a matter of getting the whole brain working, making the other-than-conscious active in what a person wants. Creativity in finding solutions, which inevitably involves self-knowledge (the whole key, really), can be energised and brought into play. So, it may be possible for people to get round the most unpromising circumstances.

Thanks for letting me comment.

All the best.

Joe
Jo de Jong February 1st, 2010 at 5:09 pm

Almost daily, in one way or another I encounter people online who obviously aren’t native English speakers. We all do. I always try to be tolerant and kind, but there are more and more people entering IM whose English skills are absolutely inadequate. It is particularly troubling when they are trying to sell a product that they can’t adequately describe and for which ‘how to use’ will never become reality.

You know these people have invested their time and money, and it’s heartbreaking to see that they will never succeed. You admire them for trying and hate discouraging them, yet you know it would be a kindness if they were made to understand that they can’t succeed.

I have no idea how to help. It would be great if the comments about this article should evolve into a discussion about how to do something positive to offer support or advice, just as Mr. Wagenheim has done by writing this article.