Stop Acting Like A Customer and Run Your Damn Business!

But I thank y'all for being on this journey with me and I am super grateful as always. But today's T with P would be, Things that has been driving me crazy lately of things that I hear, and part of it is as being an entrepreneur and a businesswoman, it's borderline. She embarrassment to say that I'm an entrepreneur right now at times. Because you have so many people out here wanting to be entrepreneurs, and I love it. I love the spirit of ownership.

But the reality of it is, is that we have a lot of entrepreneurs out here with a consumer mindset, so they start a business, but you still think like a customer and you function like a customer. And that shit is embarrassing because then we have the conversation of customer service. How do we run a business? What does that look like? And do you hear the complaints and you hear, and this is across the board now I'm a hairstylist. I have the salon. That's what it is. Right?

But this conversation, as with anything, goes from if you have a boutique to a restaurant to. Any business that you start up where you are selling a product or providing a service to people and you have the mindset that you are gonna function in your business as you would as a customer of a business. Cuz remember the last time we chatted that the customer isn't always right. Exactly. Some people don't really know how to be customers.

And so imagine if you base your entrepreneurship or your business, whatever that might be, off what you feel from your perspective a customer would want out here messed up. Like when you hear things like, I was on my way to an appointment and she just canceled my appointment. No word, no conversation. You just get a notification that your appointment is canceled.

It's not that you're late because you're trying to abide by the rules which the business has set, but you don't even get the courtesy of a call. It's a lot of businesses out here that feel like, Hey, I like the hands out. I approach of, I don't really wanna talk to people too much. I wanna provide a service. I wanna provide the product. That's why I'm online, but I don't really wanna deal with the people.

And that's easier said than done when your, your livelihood is based on those people's purchase visit, buying your food, whatever that might be. And when we open up these businesses, whether you are solopreneur, you have a business where you are providing, jobs for other people, it requires for you to deal with the people. Entrepreneur Cause you eat because of the people. The people who buy the product, purchase it, wear it, eat it, it doesn't matter. We gotta deal with the damn people.

But if you have a, a consumer mindset that I like to shop online, I don't like to deal with the damn people and you don't know how to deal with the damn people, we got problem. I don't know if y'all hear the level of frustration and how crazy that sounds, but that's how it goes sometimes. And it's like, things that I'm hearing are like absurd. it's like what the, hell you, you had those moments. I know. I'm not the only one that be like, what the hell is that?

It makes you question your whole being at times. Right. So another example of. This is a story, and this is not of my own, but it was something that I heard that I was like, this is embarrassing, y'all gonna have to make me take a little sip on this one because This was like, what in the world? And maybe it's an old school way of thinking, but this is the story you come in and this is the way it was given, right? So, hey, I, I need your professional opinion, and.

It was like my lash check when I go to her. she has her rules, like if you're late, you have your late fees, things like that. Got it. I believe in boundaries. I believe in rules. People need guidelines. She said you, you'll be charged if you're late, but more often than not, she is late. But there's nothing given to the customer if she's late. Maybe not even a notification. Well, the update to that, like that was the, the beginning part of it.

But then it was the situation of this one appointment. She was really late, and then she comes in and this is the start of the day late, and she's having a conversation with her customers. Mind you, she was already late for the appointment herself to say that. Yes, I was out drinking with my friends and I had to get myself together cuz I had a hangover and my friend wasn't doing that great. So she's vomiting, she's not doing well today.

And if I was like her, I would've just had to cancel y'all appointment. For one, if that even happened, keep it to yourself. That is not something that you would share with the customer. Now, girl, I would've just canceled you. Cause you know what? I'm running a business, but I don't. I, yeah, I would've just canceled you. And I'm like, who the hell says that? Who says that to someone? As if it is okay, you run a business. That does not belong in your business.

That was the day she should have sucked it up cuz she made a choice in her life to have fun. And I'm not saying girl, go live your best life. But when it comes down to making the money and running the business, that behavior right there is, is of a consumer mindset that is okay because you know what? You either gonna gimme your money or you not. And then the question is, is that, do you still wanna give someone like that your money? Because this is the behavior and this is what you're getting.

Have you ever gone to a business, Typically it happens in smaller businesses, not necessarily in maybe sometimes your, your larger companies or corporations, but you have a small business and they have hours. Hours that they have on their website. They have hours that they have on Google, and you go by their hours of what you see posted and you show up and they're not there. I have gone to a business that clearly had hours.

Their sight and have gone to the door trying to get there when they opened, and literally like they're not there. And the business next door, he just happens to be coming out to get something out is called the business, person next door, I guess he owned the place. He was like, yeah, they don't normally come in at this time. They'll, they'll come in about an hour, hour and a half. What? What's the point of telling me you even gonna be here? That makes no sense. Change the hours.

If there is a problem with you getting there, it has been like, whoa. But I love that you have people who have skill sets and talents and it's amazing. And I do believe like whole, Holly, go live your dreams of ownership and do your thing, but take a damn class on business. Take a customer service class because they are out there of how to be the best in you while you are providing your art, your craft, your passion.

Because there are some people who are super creative and they have the talent, but they do not know how to run a business or even manage people. And they think because, oh, I didn't know how to be a customer. Cuz remember we learned that some people don't know how to be customers. Every customer is not nasty. Some poor customer actions come even with a smile because they think that it's okay. And that just irritates the hell outta me to be thinking like, why?

Why do we have these businesses functioning like this? Like when you open it up and you hire family, your family still needs to be trained. What standard would you like to have in your business? And you abide by that. Set a standard for your business, not just to make the money, not just to. Sell your product, but how do you deal with the people to sell your product, to eat your food, to wear the hairstyles that you provide, to have them as repeat customers?

So if someone tells someone else about you because you do great work and you're professional. It's surprising out, out to me about so many conversations about poor entrepreneurship from the business, like just how they function and very inconsistent. And so when they do encounter someone of professionalism with standards and time standards, the customer is so damn confused and feel like, why You gotta have all these rules and regulations and why are you on time? Why are you not?

Because they're so accustomed to the shit that's being put out. Because if we open a business, we have to know customer service, take a class. We have to have a class on this. How do you keep the people, how do you stay sane yourself with your boundaries? what is the standard of your business of practice, of excellence for you? What would you like to put out there? And this is how you abide by. So even if you hire somebody that works for you, they work within the parameters of excellence.

But if you have the owner of the business, The salon, the restaurant who clearly has poor time management, poor money management, everything. What do you think is gonna happen? And it trickle down to your employees, down to your customers. Because even if you own a business where you have employees, they're your first customers of your product. They are the first customers and then the people coming by are the ones after that. So you have to start with the people that work with you.

Hey, this is how I would like it to function. These are the timelines. This is your script. This is what we do. There is a standard of practice. We have a system in place. If you are the one who loves to cook, you got the recipes down. You know how long it takes to do something somebody else might need to be your manager. If that's not your strong suit, someone you know that could probably start it on time and allow you to do the craft.

I have worked in establishments where you have the person of power, the person of ownership, They have the talent to do the skill of the business, be it, Hey, I know how to move these packages. I know how to deal with these pets. I know how to cook the food. I know how to do hair, but I don't know how to talk to people cuz you never took a class on it.

Because you do have some people who are entrepreneurs, but they have never managed anybody and barely worked in other places where they had to be responsible for something. They were a worker. some people think that, you know, being a business owner, that's gotta be easy. Shit ain't easy. I dunno who thinks it's as you're always on, you're always having to be considerate of your workers, of the customers coming in.

This job is not easy and don't let it be where you're having to perform the service, perform your craft, be it. A chef or a hairstylist, a barber, you are the designer of the clothing and you're actually crafting, designing, putting it together. Like that's a lot when you're trying to pull the information out of a client of what they want, a customer. But you also have to be within the timeframes and the parameters to provide a service. I mean, why the world do we think Chick-fil-A does so well?

they have a whole script. That everybody must abide by. So they have consistency. The employees are actually happy. But you go into a business where you are like, damn, my boss is crappy because she don't even, he or she, right? Cuz it's also males and females them, they, right. they don't even know how to talk to people cuz they don't even know how to manage people. the idea sounds great, but the execution is poor because you don't know the details, because the details matter.

And it may sound like I'm rambling, but these are all the things that behind the scenes as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, as everything that we have to consider, and that's the details, to provide the best customer service and be the best business that you put out. And when we think about like having a consumer mindset, I think about the example of like an influencer, right? An influencer is a person who consumes products, talks about it, reviews, like, Hey, this is where you should go.

This is what you should do. So the actual craft of it is an influencer, is a consumer, period. They make money off of being a consumer. When we think about the entrepreneurship side of an influencer, you have the fact that hey, business contracts, reading over them, getting them back in a timely manner. How do you respond to phone calls? Are you responding to emails? Things like that. Like what's your response time? Did you stick within the parameters of your contract?

And that is more of the entrepreneur side of an influencer. But those who just like, Hey, let me tell you about this product. Girl, this lipstick is nice. Oh, you should definitely check out this spa. You're a consumer. They had no clue of what it would take to run a business. You're just purchasing and giving your opinion. That's what consumers do. They purchase, they receive a service, and then they review or have an opinion of why that business functions.

Now, from the entrepreneur side, you have to think about what hours will I serve the customer. How will I serve the customer? How long will I take doing that? Should I add four cups of flour to make this stretch? how does the taste look? I have to cook for the masses. When does this have to be done by to be able to get it to the customer? And that's a different mindset, but if the customer feels like I can show up when I want to, how I want to, that business primes wonky.

If you think that that's the way to run the business is that the people who come to you should be privileged to have experienced you, but what experience are you providing? You have situations where people where they're taking deposits, but you don't even have an appointment. Because they don't even have a system in place or even an understanding of how you are booking and what's going on.

So you gotta go to Cash App to pay the deposit to then secure your appointment to find out if you secured the appointment. But she don't even get back to you in time. He or she, what in the world? What kind of shit is that? to each it own, that's what I'm gonna say. It's to each its own. But still, when I have people who come into me and they like, It's intimidating cuz I ask questions and I as an entrepreneur providing a service.

Like I, I have to tell clients all the time, like, ma'am, I don't know you. I have to get to know you. I know what I do. But for me to provide my best service to you, I gotta ask you questions. I love when people come in and be like, yeah, I'm here because you're the professional. Like girl, I'm not gonna read your mind. I'm not, but it's those who branch out from being customers and wanting to be entrepreneurs. Get help, take a class.

If you are the one doing it yourself, and it can be a lot, it can be overwhelming, but it can be a lot easier if you got the right education to possibly help you. If it's the time management, how to make the money in the right amount of time, what is the image that you want to put out there? There are people who could help you, and it may be a class is sometimes a small investment. But take those classes, learn it, because it is a whole different mindset.

It is a whole different functioning process To be the best business it really, it is forever learning. Being a business owner is forever learning. Just when you think you got it right, you gotta go back and try it again. You have to adjust, you gotta revamp, you gotta look at your products, you gotta look at your prices. Like it is a forever learning journey. Forever learning journey. But for anyone who thinks entrepreneurship is something that you can just jump into and be great, sir. Ma'am.

It ain't that easy. It can be very rewarding and it can be an amazing experience, but there's so much more to it. There's so much more to it, and I love the drive. I love what I see because you have such, so many talented people. Taking control of their life and being trailblazers and what they do, but they are trying to run a business with a consumer mindset, and that is sad. Take a class and. On that note. that's my thought on that.

And I know this has been this whole customer service entrepreneurship business series, however you wanna put it. But this is what's been on my mind, and when I hear this foolishness, it does make me like, what the hell? what in the world is going on here? and this comes from me always having the space of wanting to be better and seeing better. And I have been in some situations in terms of businesses where I have worked and been like, what the.

I have literally worked for people who have never even managed anybody at McDonald's and decided to open a business and they, ran their business based on their emotions. You have a business owner who literally only has four employees. That's five of y'all total, and you are the owner and your energy is so poor that you don't even come in and speak to your employees. You don't say Hi, goodbye. How you doing today? If you are having a bad day?

They came in with that day and they carried it throughout the day where it was blaring that your employees would go to the break room if you were on the floor and on the floor if you were in the break room, cuz they would avoid your energy and would not talk to people for days as if that is okay. And that's how you led your business. That is a owner with a consumer mindset of it's okay.

And that energy of being at the top and being in this space and not knowing how to govern your emotions and separate business and personal says a class needed to be had a management, managing people managing business. Because you can't show up to work every day thinking like a consumer. Like it's okay. You got too many people to deal with and too many people to serve. Cuz entrepreneurship is service to others while we make money doing what we love.

And so if anyone who is listening needs help with this, this is something that I am truly, truly passionate about. If you have a friend that could use some help in business, and it doesn't have to be salon related, right? But things that I do offer is, is how to. Train the people, find the systems, make it work, providing the best customer service.

And this is, this is something that I am passionate about and I love and I, I help many people with this to increase numbers to grow in business this way and my. Thought on this is like I would, I want my people to be great, but I want it to be easy. It can be easier, and sometimes it's just a conversation, but classes are available for this one-on-one. I can come in help to see where you are and things that we can do to adjust to make it easy, to make it fit for your business.

And so with that said, thank you guys for being on this rant of, you know, foolishness and we guys to do better as a people and what we choose and how we treat others and how we are functioning. But don't out here being an entrepreneur with a consumer mindset, please and thank you. Take a class, learn something new. You can always reach out to me on Instagram, Patrice Starr, and go into the dm, hit me up on a website, www dot the design studio md, like doctor maryland.com. send me a message.

You need some help, and this is no judgment. I know I was judging before, but you know now if you need some help, I would love. Love, love, love to help you provide an experience for your customers. Why not? You can DM me. I'm on Facebook as well. You can hand me up at the design studio. I see the messages, I get them. Refer a friend. You know someone who needs help. You got a couple people that wanna get together and devise a plan, sir. Oh ma'am, let's do this.

Let's provide excellent service as entrepreneurs. And so with that said, I just want you guys to know that one of my favorite people in business and, and it was just how he thought and the way he had overcome things, said, success unshared is failure. Thank you, John Paul DeRio. And I'll leave it at that. Let me know and I will talk to you guys next time on tacos, tequila therapy, and the tea with your girl Patrice B.