Small Business Needs to Stand Up for the Golden Rule

I remember the worst client experience I've ever had as a small business owner.

I had this one prospect who wanted an interactive website to market her software. I was fully up to the task of building up what she wanted. So I pitched her a quote. She said she was interested and that she wanted to get a stronger plan put together after attending StartUp Weekend 2011 in Boulder.

More than six months later, I heard from her again - wanting to take me up on my offer to build out her site design. I explained to her that my prices had increased in the time since (to keep up with demand). I filled her in on the new bid and threw in a discount to get her closer to the original price.

She said, "No problem. Let's meet and get specifics down. I'll bring my checkbook to the meeting."

After an hour-long productive and friendly meeting, no check was forthcoming. She asked for me to send the contract along and that she'd sign it and get it paid that evening.

Living with Accountability

A week went by. I pinged her again, no response. I sent my standard two-week check-in, and this time, she responded. "I'm going to follow up with some of the contacts I made in Boulder who can do this work for less."

The thing I should probably tell you about my business is that I cater specifically to small businesses who are just getting started or have not yet received funding. As a result, my rates are about 10-20 percent of the average industry rate.

So in addition to showcasing herself as incredibly cheap, my prospect also demonstrated that she was untrustworthy - having lied twice already. The thing that really stuck with me is when she told me she was bringing her checkbook to the meeting - in front of her business partner, no less. A business partner who was at the second meeting.

Venting aside, what's my point? It's a slippery slope from one lie to the next to the next, to making a bone-stupid (and possibly industry-destroying) decision to charge $5 per month for folks to use your most basic product that had previously been free.

Small business owners must hold each other accountable for bad business behavior. It's not optional. Otherwise we end up making the same stupid mistakes that our larger corporate brothers make. They can make them because it's really hard to hold a corporation accountable unless you're the government or a large enough crowd.

It's really easy to hold a solopreneur accountable for every mistake (and if friends do it, it turns out a lot better than when customers do it or the community at large does it).

Working with the Golden Rule

I can guarantee you that the reputation my prospect has earned is going to hold her back. Ours is a very small community - and it only takes a few people incensed enough to keep your bank account empty. Turns out, I'm not the only person she's snubbed. In the era of social media, it takes literally two seconds for your misdeeds to gain a global audience.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The biggest rule that small business owners should concern themselves with is the Golden Rule. And they should dedicate at least an hour a week to reviewing interactions - if possible, in a group with other small business owners. I'm convinced that if CEOs of Fortune 500 companies did this, they'd have far fewer angry customers to deal with.

It all comes down to sharing knowledge. How much knowledge are you willing to share, how much knowledge are you seeking - to keep yourself in good graces?

If the answer isn't "as much as it takes", you're heading down the short path to bankruptcy through torches and pitchforks.