"Day in and out, I'm trying to make ends meet. It is worse than two big belly people trying to be intimate." The comment shocked me especially the last part of it which painted a very graphic picture in one's mind. I asked what happened to cause such a tirade of emotion. It was just at this point I remembered, "be careful what you ask for..."
"Do you know all that stuff that they taught us in business school? Well I'm about to give it an exit program!" It was after all this that the venting truly took place. I hope that I caught the gist of it since as I listened, I couldn't help wondering; how many others are affected by these circumstances.
Let's narrow the problems down as they were described.
- Clients / Customers
- Suppliers / Vendors
- Financial Institutions
- Government
That seems to be just about everyone, I quipped when he ran the list out. "Yes it is, and they all make it difficult to do business!" "Creating employment opportunities is hard and thankless.",,,,and they making it hard as...ahhh mmmm.....ever!
I asked for him to tell me more so that I can better understand. Here are the responses:
- Nowadays, clients / customers are asset rich and cash poor. They want to get discounts and pay late / never. When you call them to find out about when they'll pay, they act all offended and everything. Thing is they don't do it to the bigger businesses. Oh no, they just hide and let the phones ring.
- Suppliers / vendors, make promises that they'll deliver at certain times; then no show after you gave the assurance to the third party that you'll be there to deliver. Thing is, many of these suppliers / vendors want to collaborate with you cause things are slow. When they get action, they disappear faster than quail meals in the desert with Moses.
- The financial institutions are always working you over. Lots of adverts telling you to come on in for financial solutions and services, then they make you wait so long that the plan becomes extinct and you're ready for pension already.
- Don't get me started on Government! Not an incentive to get into business. They're lots of rules though, and it seems like our business too small to get a 1 - 35 year exemptions. We're not fit enough as entrepreneurs to carry / wear the sandals of some of the overseas competition. We get taxed to oblivion for everything. There's something about attorneys becoming Ministers of Government with portfolios for big dollars when they ran to study law and politics to get away from the numbers in mathematics, accounting, and economics in the first instance.
Don't get too discouraged. I'm sure that you'll get some things in place to get more business. With a further chat, he agreed that though it is possible, is certainly isn't easy. Attitudinal checks are necessary and should be frequent, if not instead of getting better one can get bitter.
The outcome of our chat, in a nutshell, is as follows. Life will happen. Frustrations will be ever present. However be careful what you feed your mind. Keep a positive mind set and always put God first. Remember He has more experience in all aspects of our lives than we do. Though the faces and scenarios change, the stories remain the same. Draw on His experience and guidance. Surround yourselves with like minded progressive people, and you too will be a success.
This article though fictional, may bear some resemblances to actual situations in your lives. Remember the stories are the same. You can take what's workable for you from this article. Share it with others and experience the great results. That way you won't become - The Frustrated Business Man.
Richie B. lives in the Caribbean. Hailing from Barbados. He's been advising businesses and those who seek to advance their careers for a while now. More frequent updates are on Twitter just follow @richieb93. Give some feedback and if you like an article we'd love to hear from you. Have an awesome week and make it yours.
