What happens when you build a slow business?
Those of us who haven’t built a slow business, when we are first starting, wonder how people can do this. How do you create a business and then not tend to it constantly, every day? At first, I found that very hard. I’ve run businesses of my own before, and yes, I hustled to bring in clients and secure contracts, ensuring a steady income was always coming in. But now, I don’t. This morning is once again Sunday morning, or rather afternoon, and what have I done so far today? Weighed a few packages for shipping, put a few things on eBay, and I think I’m running a total of about 100+ items now listed, and on auto-relist. Things have been sold, and been shipped, and I have received money for them, so there’s an income already.
What will I be doing this afternoon for a few hours? Perusing Pinterest, picking up ideas for some things I want to put in my Etsy store. Or, things I want to create or sew.
Why am I not hustling to make sure everything I have weighed, packaged, and taken pictures of is on and set to make me money, because that’s what slow business does-it doesn’t. It doesn’t rush to make that sale. Instead, it builds its merits on being honest and a business you are comfortable dealing with.
Yes, it may be that you lose a bit of money at the start, until you begin to get a better handle on things, but eventually, as you fine-tune your skills, the issues seem to melt away into the ether. You will find your clients love you. They wait for new sales, new products, and new items. And when those things hit your store, they begin to get snatched up very quickly. It works the same whether you are running an online store or a brick-and-mortar business. Why? Because it’s not all about the money, sometimes it’s about the feeling you get when you work with, or purchase from, a particular person or entity.
What happens when you run a slow business is time. Time to be polite to your customers and clients, time to step away if you want to or need to. time to do the right thing.