{"id":1617,"date":"2012-08-14T11:42:08","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T16:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/?p=1617"},"modified":"2016-10-11T14:43:34","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T19:43:34","slug":"dave-says-on-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/2012\/08\/dave-says-on-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Says&#8230;On Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1214 alignright\" title=\"Dave Ramsey\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dave.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"275\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dave.jpg 275w, https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dave-218x300.jpg 218w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/>Dear Dave,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> My husband and I are taking your classes and following your plan. We own a roofing company. We offer six months, same as cash, and we accept credit cards. What are your feelings about this? Does it make us hypocrites?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Monique<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear Monique,<\/p>\n<p>If I accepted credit cards, it would make me an absolutely huge hypocrite, but you don\u2019t do what I do for a living.<\/p>\n<p>If this bothers you, it might be a good time to search your heart and ask yourself if these practices are blessing your customers. If you conclude that they are not, and you decide to discontinue those financing deals, you\u2019d better come up with some other marketing strategies. You will lose clients over such an unusual decision!<\/p>\n<p>Of course you could still offer some of those kinds of deals while actively discouraging their use. You could tell your customers that if you were in their situation, you\u2019d just save up for a few months and pay cash rather than using a credit card or other financing options. That way the decision is theirs. But how will they react to such an uninvited suggestion? The last thing you want to do is encourage more credit, but the next-to-last is to run good business off. No, I don\u2019t think you\u2019re being hypocritical, Monique. You have some big decisions to make about the quality of your customer service, though. Ten years from now, you want to know you tried your best to do the right thing for them, and you\u2019ll always want to know you\u2019ve done the right thing for your business.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Dave<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dear Dave,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I opened my own business about six months ago, and it\u2019s not growing at all. I\u2019m a single mom, we receive no child support and my parents are helping us with all the bills. My biggest concern is the house. I bought it five years ago, and when I opened my business, I did it with money from a home equity loan. What can I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gina<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear Gina,<\/p>\n<p>The house is not the problem. You borrowed money to open a business and that was no-no number one. You also have no savings\u2014which is no-no number two\u2014and now the business isn\u2019t making a profit.<\/p>\n<p>You need to close the shop and go find some work. The money you make at another job will determine whether or not you can stay in your home. If you\u2019ve got a mortgage, home equity loan and business debts hanging over your head, the chances of this are slim. You probably need to consider moving into a small, inexpensive apartment for a while.<\/p>\n<p>If you do this, get your debts paid off and your finances back in order, you might be able to purchase a house and give your company another shot in a few years. I know the idea of giving up your home and business is hurtful, but when you get cancer, you have to cut deep enough to get it all. Gina, what you\u2019ve got right now is financial cancer.<\/p>\n<p>And it will eat you alive if you don\u2019t fix it!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Dave<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dear Dave, <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I own a small business that produces niche products. Lately, we\u2019ve been getting calls from prospective customers who want to use our products in different ways. How do you advise handling an \u201coutside the box\u201d request? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sean<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear Sean,<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself three basic questions: Can the product be produced in the needed quantity for a fair price? Will it be something you\u2019ll want to hang your reputation on? Do you really want to do this?<\/p>\n<p>If you answer \u201cyes,\u201d additional questions arise. Can the product be used the way they want to use it? Must it be modified, and at what cost? Can you supply it on time?<\/p>\n<p>I know I\u2019m giving you questions, not answers, but in the end, providing a quality, functional product in a timely manner for a fair, profitable price is the key to a small business\u2019 success.<\/p>\n<p>An unusual request just might be a great entrepreneurial opportunity. It\u2019ll probably take some work, because when great ideas show up they\u2019re usually wearing work clothes. But do some research, and make the same basic manufacturing and economic decisions you would with a new item. Remember, this could open up a whole new market for you!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Dave<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dear Dave, <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>My husband is a landscaper who works for the state. He has his technical license and wants to start a business doing private work as well. What advice would you give to someone just starting out in this field? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear Amy,<\/p>\n<p>First, I\u2019d check to see if there are any additional licenses required for doing that kind of work in your state and the cities in which you\u2019ll be operating. You want to make sure you\u2019re starting off on the right foot with any authorities or governing boards.<\/p>\n<p>The next thing I\u2019d advise is to keep it simple. There\u2019s no reason to run out and incorporate or anything like that. It\u2019s a service business, so print up some cards and start thinking about a basic one- or two-page website. Then, once you land some jobs, post tons of pictures of his work. Before and after shots are great sales tools in his industry, so you\u2019ll need to really show off his talents.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, no one will know you\u2019re out there or online unless you really talk up the business with people. And I\u2019m not just talking about homeowners and businesses. You guys need to approach anyone who may be a potential lead\u2014real estate agents, builders, bankers, architects and anyone else who touches a piece of real estate.<\/p>\n<p>When we built our house, the architect recommended the landscaper. So, try to figure out all the connectivity points you can. Then, stay in touch, and buy them lots of coffee and doughnuts!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Dave<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dear Dave,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> I\u2019m starting a photography business on the side to help generate extra income. I have friends who\u2019ve told me they\u2019d like to use my services. However, I feel weird about charging them because they\u2019re friends. How do I get past that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Daniel<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Dear Daniel,<\/p>\n<p>I understand how you might feel weird taking money from friends, yet you\u2019re providing a service, and you\u2019ve opened this business to make money. They\u2019re going to pay another photographer if you don\u2019t do the job, so why shouldn\u2019t they have the fun of working with someone they already know and like?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a psychology at work here. If you comp or discount them now, they may never see you as a true professional. But if you charge them a fair price, you\u2019ll be establishing yourself as a pro.<\/p>\n<p>Still uncomfortable? Tell them you\u2019ll do the work free of charge this time if they\u2019ll help you find six new clients. There\u2019s nothing wrong with a trade, especially when you\u2019re starting out. Just make sure you get something worthwhile in the deal!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Dave<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Dear Dave, My husband and I are taking your classes and following your plan. We own a roofing company. We offer six months, same as cash, and we accept credit cards. What are your feelings <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/2012\/08\/dave-says-on-business\/\" title=\"Dave Says&#8230;On Business\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":1214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[411],"tags":[495,497,350,496],"class_list":{"0":"post-1617","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dave-says","8":"tag-credit-cards","9":"tag-landscaping","10":"tag-photography","11":"tag-roofing"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1617"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3573,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1617\/revisions\/3573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.americanbusinessmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}