A Peek Into The Glamorous Life Of A Small Business Owner
Everyone knows that starting and running a small business is glamorous. In the past few weeks alone, I’ve read at least a half a dozen stories ranging from “How I made $1027.53 in a single day!” to “How you can work 4 hours a day and be rich with a small business!”.
Clearly, these guys are living the good life. What’s funny is that these business owners never mention how glamorous their lifestyle really is. They don’t mention the power, the freedom and the luxury that comes along with owning a small business. On second thought, it’s probably because they don’t want to make their readers jealous.
Photo By Ginsnob
Fortunately, I don’t care if I make you envious. I’m going to tell you about all of the “bling bling” that I experience on a day to day basis. For all of you who are new to the blog, my wife and I run an online wedding linens store. Here’s a sneak peek into our glamorous way of life.
I Answer To No One
One thing I love about owning a business is that I don’t answer to nor do I take any sort of crap from anyone. I don’t have to be nice or put up with any sort of abuse. Here’s a perfect example with a customer call I had the other day.
Customer:You sent me my order incorrectly. I ordered 20 inch napkins not 18 inch.
Me: We apologize for that. I will send you another set of 20 inch napkins ASAP
Customer: I need these napkins by tomorrow.
Me: I apologize sir, but in order to get them to you next day, we would need to ship them express mail. The cost of shipping would exceed the value of the napkins themselves.
Customer: So what don’t you understand about the situation? I need the napkins tomorrow. You screwed up, now make it right!
Me:…
Customer: Hello? In case I’m not being clear, send my napkins express mail. I don’t care how much it costs and I’m not paying another dime. Just remember, you people are the ones who messed up, not me. This is a very important dinner party.
Me: Yes sir. We’ll do that right away sir.
*click*
As you can see, I handled that situation like a rebel. If I get a call like that again, I’ll be sure to tell them off as harshly as I did with this customer. Man, I just love having the power to do and say whatever I want! I feel the power surging through my veins.
I Work Whenever I Feel Like It
There’s nothing like being able to set your own hours and being in complete control of your own schedule. I work how long I want and when I want. Here’s a great example. This customer called us at 7:30am on a Saturday morning. Normally, I wouldn’t have answered the call, but I just happened to be working that day (on my own volition of course).
Customer: Today is my sister’s wedding day. I received the wedding handkerchief that I ordered for her. It’s beautiful by the way. The only problem is that her name is misspelled. Her name is Karin and not Karen.
Me: Yikes! We’re sorry about that. Seeing as the wedding is today, I don’t think we have any time to do anything about it. We’d be happy to give you a full refund.
Customer: That’s what I wanted to ask you. The wedding is actually located 5-10 minutes away from your store. Would it be possible to get another one to us?
Me: You mean drive it over?
Customer: Or I could come and pick it up.
Me: …
Customer: We would really like to have these hankies as part of the photos.
Me: What time do you need them by?
Customer: Pictures start at 10:30.
Me: Ok I’ll be there. Send me the address and I’ll have someone drop them off.
Our embroiderist was not available so I had to sew the handkerchiefs myself and make the delivery on a Saturday morning. See what I mean? I just love dictating my schedule.
I Delegate All Of The Menial Tasks To Others
Man, my back is killing me today. Why? It’s because I spent all day partying. Yep, a big shipment of linens arrived and there was no one else around to help so I had to party with the linens all by myself. Weighing in at 1000 pounds, this wasn’t our largest shipment but I had to unwrap and categorize each individual piece and put them on the appropriate shelf.
We received a lot of new products as well. You should have seen the paparazzi (my wife and I). They were all over the place, taking product photos, editing them in photoshop and then uploading them prominently to our online store website. It was crazy! Total mayhem I tell you! There were linens sprawled all over the place and the office was trashed by the end of the day. The linens and I sure know how to have a good time. As the big boss, it’s a good thing that I can delegate all of the crappy tasks to others so I can concentrate on leisure and recreation.
I Can Sit Back And Watch The Money Roll In
Once your business reaches a certain point, you can just click on the autopilot and watch the money roll in. Now’s the time to purchase that large, comfy office chair, sit back and relax.
Me: What do you mean you can’t locate 2 tons worth of linens?????
Customs Agent: We apologize but we don’t have a record of your shipment anywhere.
Me: Those linens are worth 25,000 dollars. I’m absolutely positive they arrived today. I received a phone call from Mrs. Wu indicating that they were at the dock.
Customs Agent: We’ll look again, but we’ve haven’t seen any shipment that large.
**Click**
I took this call at my day job and I was stressed out as hell because we absolutely needed that shipment in order to fulfill a large order for one of our biggest customers. 25k might not sound like a lot to some businesses, but for us, it was a good chunk of change. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything about it. All I could do was sit back and wait for the call.
**3 hours pass**
Customs Agent: Sir, we finally located your shipment.
Me: Thank God!!! Thank you so much for looking for them!!! Now if you don’t mind, I need to go home and change my underwear.
Customs Agent: Haha, you’re very welcome. We apologize for the confusion.
Don’t let other business owners deceive you. Running a small business is all about sitting back on your throne and watching your bank account grow.
Too Much Glam?
So can you cope with all of the glam? The late nights of partying and mental and physical abuse can be a bit much for anyone to handle. Next time you hear glorified tales or outrageous stories about someone making ridiculous amounts of cash in a short period of time with a small business, be sure to take these things with a grain of salt. Making money and running a small business takes a lot of energy and requires a tremendous amount of time. There are many perks but there are disadvantages as well.
Despite the downsides, I wouldn’t give up our small business for anything. The glam can be tiresome at times, but my wife and I get to spend more time with each other and with our little daughter. Running a small business might be too much for some people, but it’s definitely the right fit for us.
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Hey, don’t let the truth out. People only want to hear that things are always perfect.
Hi Rich,
Just like being a part of the magician’s guild. You can’t reveal your secrets. Consider me a rogue magician.
Hi Steve.
I like your post. You are honest, and people need that! Very insightful.
Thank You,
Giovanna Garcia
Having your own business is definitely a leverage.
Seeing people I know owning their own business and being successful, it definitely inspires me too!
Very funny and well written post!
Your post makes me feel so much better about a very discouraging comment I received not too long ago (not on my primary blog). She meant well, but she bit me pretty hard at the same time. Though it wasn’t a customer issue, your post still helped me remember that business owners do have to take a fair amount of crap – justified or not. I can’t wait until I get customers and have to deal with what you mentioned on this and previous posts!
@Giovanna – Thanks for the comment! I was kind of getting tired of reading all of the “make money online” and “get rich quick” articles I’ve been seeing lately.
@Trevor – Thanks Trevor. I’m going to hit up your blog as soon as I’m done responding to replies.
@Carla – I’m glad this post made you feel better. You never really hear about the crap and the menial tasks that business owners have to go through. Most people just post about the numbers and the amount of money earned. I went and took a look at your store. It looks very nice!
@Steve – Thank you!
The menial tasks stat LONG before you see your first check/sale/commission, etc. I think that’s what people don’t understand either.
Thankfully, I am still having fun.
Yeah, I’ve heard running your own business lets you set your own schedule… as in 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you like that schedule then your all set!
Shoot… the only thing I run is a blog and I feel like it takes up half my free time.
Hi Ashley,
Indeed it does sometimes feel like 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. But realistically, it’s not too bad once things are up and running smoothly. It’s always the emergency situations that you remember the most.
18 inch napkins? How dare you! Surely the event would have been ruined and your customer would be the laughing stock of the community!
Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Do people really love their napkins that much? Thanks for sharing this dose of reality with us.
Hey Hunter,
The unfortunate fact is that when you are a small business, word of mouth is crucial. In this case, we were clearly at fault so I felt that it was the right thing to do. If you want to read some more crazy stories, check out our customer stories
Heh heh – nicely done…. For a split second at the start of this post I actually thought you were serious! I love the tone that this is written in, helps dispell the “get rich and live a perfect lifestyle!” claims…
Interesting to hear your insider view on all of this, congratulations for sticking with it and being successful!
Yup, that sounds about right, haha. The “get rich without putting time in” is definitely a joke. Many don’t realize that brand building and business building are more than just a little bit time consuming
As in 18 hour days….
As in working weekends….
As in major sacrifices…
As in the coffee economy being very happy because you need 1923934 cups day….
But the bottom line is if your business is scalable, you can remove yourself from the annoying things years down the line (did I say years?!?!).
Sigh….one more reason that you better be passionate!
You “gotcha” me! I love this creative post!
From the outside, the small business lifestyle does appear to be easier. I know that you all struggle and work extra hard to get started, but then I tend to believe that it’s smooth sailing once you are established. However, this post testifies to the entrepreneurial spirit of persistence and self-motivation.
You mention about the freedom you get to spend time with your family. What about the quantity and quality of the small biz’s social life with other friends, etc.? – Others who also comment on this post and have their own business – Carla? Trevor?
I work in the corporate setting and used to believe that my few hours a week for socializing after work is great freedom. I can leave the office and not care about the state of the company, so to speak. However, compared to the 10+ hours / day I can spend at work, I’d have to question that trade-off. It appears to me that although your hours working on the business may be long, you are spending that time much more purposefully. It’s like while I am renting time from my life, you are investing time into yours.
Great post, thanks for the insight!
Steve, you made me laugh out loud while staring at my miserable laptop (and my mom looked at me and shook her head – that’s not good I think). I absolutely love your wit and the wisdom of this post! You and your wife are serious business people! If I have friends who are getting hitched, I’d send them your way for some cool napkins and a dash of outstanding customer service.
I really enjoyed this post. I enjoyed it so much I subscribed twice.
Hey Ross,
Thanks for the kind comments. Lately I’ve just been kind of fed up with all of the get rich quick schemes. Honestly, I’d like to review them for myself and write a few articles about them but I’m too cheap:)
Hi Bleu,
Once again, a very thought provoking comment. I think I’m going to write a post about it. Stay tuned.
Hi Irene,
I’m so glad that I could make you laugh! Sometimes I get into these sarcastic moods and this article is what results.
Hi Shea,
Thanks for the comment! If you have a website, I’d love to take a look at your paintings. I’m fairly sure that Ebay is not the way to go if you want to sell them.
Hey Dave,
So very true. It’s definitely a tradeoff and a roller coaster ride, but it’s all worth it. So how did you manage to get your own show? I’m very impressed. Can’t wait to check it out next week.
So true! Life gets crazy when you are a one- (or in your case two-) person show.
Great article. Love your writing style. You might enjoy my blog when you have a spare moment — I know those are hard to find and I’m sure I just set myself back by reading and responding. lol!
Worth it though. I needed a pick me up.
Ah, the joys of self-employment. Wouldn’t change it for the world though.
Cheers! =) B
Hi Brandi,
Thanks for the comment. Actually we do have some hired help that comes by. It just so happens that they are never around in emergencies! I’ll definitely check out your blog as soon as I’m done responding to comments.
Grin, love the conversation examples. I couldn’t handle the customer service aspect of running a real business (blogging for profit is as close as I get), but am inspired by your success. Enjoyed reading your about story. Congratulations!
Hi Steve
As you know, I just quit my job to go full-time with our home business. Your post is a timely reminder to those people who think having a website is a big get rich quick scheme.
It’s not. It’s a business.
I can’t count the amount of pretenders who’ve tried to do the same thing, only to run away screaming when they realise that building an audience is hard and the revenues won’t fund the champagne lifestyle they’re dreaming of.
I’ve had a business meeting this morning to talk about our plans. We know where we want to be in the next year or so, and how we’re planning to get there. Now we’re going to roll up our sleeves and make it happen. The market is completely oversaturated with people telling you how easy it is to make money online. It isn’t – it’s a cheap market to enter, but that’s it.
Hi Gerard,
I wish you the best of luck on your business plans. If you ever need any advice or support, feel free to drop me a line!
Hi Lindsay,
I took a look at your blog as well and you are an amazing writer. I will definitely be stopping by often.
[...] misconceptions about what it’s like to run your own business. I’ve already given you a sneak peek into my glamorous life as a small business owner. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m absolutely 100% pro-entrepreneurship and pro-small [...]
[...] linen store with his wife. Six figure salary aside, he is open and honest about their day-to-day challenges and rewards. There is also a great deal of tips on how to start your own (specifically, online) [...]
Well, this is a really funny post! Anyway, I think some of the customer service can be outsourced for you to free up more time to manage on things that really matter in your business, such as ensuring the orders are correctly produced according to the customer’s requirements. From what I notice, most of the problems stem from spelling errors and measurement errors.
Maybe a more elaborate purchase form that helps to capture more details from the customer and having them confirm to it before the order actually is produced will help minimize errors like these.