Home business Startup

I was thinking about business the other night, which is not a
surprise, since I think about business all the time! However, I was remembering my Dad
telling me about starting his business. He decided to go into the automotive
parts business right after the war. He decided on this particular type of
business because it was right after the Depression. No one could afford to
buy new cars then and they needed parts to fix the ones they had. Seeing a
need and the fact that there was no parts store in his town, he thought this
would be the perfect time to try it.

He worked many, many hours every day. It was hard to get the parts, too, so
he had to make friends with the companies’ parts salesmen and work his way on
their supply lists.

He also had to go to mechanics and let them know he was in the automotive
parts business and tell them he would give them good service and good deals
if they would buy parts from him. They would call him at 4 in the morning to
get 2 spark plugs and he would get up and go down to the store just to sell
them the spark plugs, hoping they would appreciate the extra service and come
back the next time they wanted something. He did this for years. I remember
many nights when the phone would ring and I would hear my Dad leaving to go
to the store.

Did he make it into a successful business? You bet he did! His business grew
so much that he outgrew the building he was renting and bought property and
built his own store. He also added a service shop and hired 4 excellent
mechanics to service cars and trucks. And he added an automotive paint center
where he mixed and sold paint for cars and trucks.

And through it all, he kept his integrity and honesty. He one time drove 50
miles to give a man $10, because he overpaid for a part. People knew to go to
him if they wanted a fair deal. They also knew that if they bought a part
from him and it didn’t perform like it was supposed to, he’d take it back and
refund their money even if the factory wouldn’t let him send it back. The
customer was number ONE.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s what YOU need to do to be successful. You
need to be able to make YOUR customers number ONE. You need to treat them the
way you would want them to treat you if you were the customer. You need to
answer their emails. You need to be available to them. They need to know that
they are dealing with an honest person who will be there for them to answer
their questions and help them. If you aren’t willing to do this, you
shouldn’t be in business.

By the way, in case you are wondering, it took my Dad a good 2 years to build
his business into a profit-making one. Because of the size of the Internet, I
built LotsaPerks into a profit-making business in 9 months. But all the
truths that made my Dad’s business work still hold true on the Internet. It’s
all about repeat customers. Repeat customers are satisfied customers. They
will recommend your business to their friends and business acquaintances. I
have many repeat customers, because they know I will stand with them and help
them as much as is possible. They know I will give them at least as much as
they order. They also know they can depend on me to follow through for them.

It IS possible to make a honest living on the Internet. Now that you know
that, you can do it too!

Pamela Geiss is the owner of the successful LotsaPerks
Advertising Agency.
Her specialty is targeted traffic. She also writes a free and a paid ezine.
Visit her today at http://www.lotsaperks.com/visitors.htm