Maybe I just suck in business.

[Kalactose]

Concisely:

I have opened a small laundry shop and it's been going very well. So I started thinking big and decided to scale. I had in mind to be the most popular laundry shop in my state. I followed on what I said and posted up banners in a very rich neighborhood with free pickup and delivery.

Then I had my first ever customer from the rich neighborhood. I collected so much clothes I was thinking how can all these belong to someone. I was so excited and decided to give my best ever service to this customer. I failed. Our ironing was not A plus with problems and I gave a discount thinking it will convince the customer of our service but in reality lowered the perceived value. I doubt he will call me again.

Then I had another client and promised this time I will give him a service so good he will tell all his neighbours about my shop. I failed again. We had a complication where we thought I missed one of his clothes but we actually didn't but it showed unprofessionallism. I also doubt he will call me again.

Then 2 days ago, I had another client and I swore I will give him my very best. I didn't care about the money. My one objective was just to satisfy him so well he tells other people about my service. I failed once again. We had a problem in the washing and ironing of two of his clothes.

Why do I keep having such problems. With every problem I have, I come up with a system to ensure it never happens again. But it seems like their are endless problems. I ponder on what could go wrong and it looks like everything would be perfect but then i encounter a new problem. How do I forsee these problems? If I keep delivering bad work, the word will spread and I will never attain prosperity. It is so annoying.

Is running a business usually like this or is the problem actually with me. How do I make sure I have no problems or at least reduce the effect of problems or even see it before it hits me?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[machinistguy]

Concisely:

I have opened a small laundry shop and it's been going very well. So I started thinking big and decided to scale. I had in mind to be the most popular laundry shop in my state. I followed on what I said and posted up banners in a very rich neighborhood with free pickup and delivery.

Then I had my first ever customer from the rich neighborhood. I collected so much clothes I was thinking how can all these belong to someone. I was so excited and decided to give my best ever service to this customer. I failed. Our ironing was not A plus with problems and I gave a discount thinking it will convince the customer of our service but in reality lowered the perceived value. I doubt he will call me again.

Then I had another client and promised this time I will give him a service so good he will tell all his neighbours about my shop. I failed again. We had a complication where we thought I missed one of his clothes but we actually didn't but it showed unprofessionallism. I also doubt he will call me again.

Then 2 days ago, I had another client and I swore I will give him my very best. I didn't care about the money. My one objective was just to satisfy him so well he tells other people about my service. I failed once again. We had a problem in the washing and ironing of two of his clothes.

Why do I keep having such problems. With every problem I have, I come up with a system to ensure it never happens again. But it seems like their are endless problems. I ponder on what could go wrong and it looks like everything would be perfect but then i encounter a new problem. How do I forsee these problems? If I keep delivering bad work, the word will spread and I will never attain prosperity. It is so annoying.

Is running a business usually like this or is the problem actually with me. How do I make sure I have no problems or at least reduce the effect of problems or even see it before it hits me?

Starting a business in a field you have no experience in is like punching a brick wall and having the confidence and persistence that the wall will break before your hand will. Just keep chipping at it and eventually you'll get there.

A smart thing to do when trying something new is to do test runs before you do the actual run and find a way to engrave the knowledge from the test run into your institutional knowledge. Go to a thrift store and buy a bunch of "scrap" shirts or whatever to try out a new technique before you do it on a customer's piece.

 

[The-J]

Business is all about solving problems. The problems will literally never stop. Ever. You solve one problem, then another arises. That's not just business, that's life. Your job as an entrepreneur is to solve the problems that arise.

To foresee potential problems, think backwards. "How could I absolutely ruin my customer's clothes? How could I make sure my customers have a horrible experience?" Then do the opposite of what you come up with. This will help you avoid the big glaring problems. But there will still be unexpected problems.

Welcome to entrepreneurship.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Yes, that is what business is.

Do not pray for fewer problems, but for the strength to move through them.

Make it right with the customers you made mistakes with. Pay to replace their garments. Whatever it takes to show you are fully committed to their satisfaction. If you do it right, they will come back, and recommend you to their friends.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Kalactose]

Yes, that is what business is.

Do not pray for fewer problems, but for the strength to move through them.

Make it right with the customers you made mistakes with. Pay to replace their garments. Whatever it takes to show you are fully committed to their satisfaction. If you do it right, they will come back, and recommend you to their friends.

Yeah. But I haven't had ONE successfully satisfied customer. 0/3 is a really bad score. And I'm afraid it might be worse than that since I can't tell the problems I might have. I developed systems for the first three clients so it will be a very smooth process with zero problems. It didn't work. To be honest I'm no longer confident that I can deliver a perfect service since even though I develop systems, it's almost pointless as there is a new alien problem.

 

[DougieFresh]

It seems like you might be falling victim to your belief system. I tried and I failed therefore I will continue to fail in the future. Fix the problem and then keep going. It’s an ongoing process which needs constant watering.

 

[Jrjohnny]

Yeah. But I haven't had ONE successfully satisfied customer. 0/3 is a really bad score. And I'm afraid it might be worse than that since I can't tell the problems I might have. I developed systems for the first three clients so it will be a very smooth process with zero problems. It didn't work. To be honest I'm no longer confident that I can deliver a perfect service since even though I develop systems, it's almost pointless as there is a new alien problem.

act asses adjust. How can you change the system you made so these problems don’t happen?

If your irons broken, get a new one.
Have trouble getting to your customers?
Find a new form of transportation

Have trouble doing jobs quick enough?
Find something that can do the job faster or get someone to help you?

Have customers unhappy often?
Offer a money back no questions asked policy

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[The-J]

To be honest I'm no longer confident that I can deliver a perfect service since even though I develop systems, it's almost pointless as there is a new alien problem.

Here's how it works:

You start out. You think you're good. But you suck. You feel bad because you suck. Most people quit here. The winners don't quit here, they ask "Why do I suck, and how can I get better?" They're willing to listen to the hurtful advice, from customers, from colleagues, from mentors.

You make some changes, you suck less but there are other problems. You solve those problems. You compare this month with last month and notice "OK, last month I had 0/3 satisfied clients, this month I have 1/4 satisfied clients, I still suck but I'm not that bad anymore"

You make some more changes. You suck less. More clients are satisfied. At least one of them is REALLY satisfied and starts sending you more work. OK, things are starting to rev up.

You keep getting better. More and more people are liking your service. Some are raving about it. You start to learn more about your business, about your customers, and about yourself.

Problems pop up all the time. Some small and easy to solve, others big and scary. The big and scary problems take up most of your emotional energy. But those big and scary problems reveal opportunities that could completely change your business.

Fall in love with this process and by the end of the year you won't suck anymore. By the end of next year you'll be pretty good. By the end of year 5 you'll be the top in your state, maybe.

But if you quit now, you'll jump to something else you think you could be good at & you'll just run into the same wall. You'll never get anywhere and you'll always suck.

 

[Saad Khan]

Just because you suck at fulfillment now doesn't mean you'll suck forever. We all have been there. We all have delivered bad experiences. We all sucked. Once in our life, our greatest achievement was to walk on two feet.

Don't let this small failure demotivate you. Sure, it's gonna take a toll on your business, but its your job to fix it. If you jump onto another business, you're going to start from zero. Customers are humans. Humans can be persuaded. Give enough value to them to change their minds and how they "feel " about working with you.

 

[Kung Fu Steve]

Here's how it works:

You start out. You think you're good. But you suck. You feel bad because you suck. Most people quit here. The winners don't quit here, they ask "Why do I suck, and how can I get better?" They're willing to listen to the hurtful advice, from customers, from colleagues, from mentors.

You make some changes, you suck less but there are other problems. You solve those problems. You compare this month with last month and notice "OK, last month I had 0/3 satisfied clients, this month I have 1/4 satisfied clients, I still suck but I'm not that bad anymore"

You make some more changes. You suck less. More clients are satisfied. At least one of them is REALLY satisfied and starts sending you more work. OK, things are starting to rev up.

You keep getting better. More and more people are liking your service. Some are raving about it. You start to learn more about your business, about your customers, and about yourself.

Problems pop up all the time. Some small and easy to solve, others big and scary. The big and scary problems take up most of your emotional energy. But those big and scary problems reveal opportunities that could completely change your business.

Fall in love with this process and by the end of the year you won't suck anymore. By the end of next year you'll be pretty good. By the end of year 5 you'll be the top in your state, maybe.

But if you quit now, you'll jump to something else you think you could be good at & you'll just run into the same wall. You'll never get anywhere and you'll always suck.

I second. Great advice ^

@Kalactose I'm happy you're here on the forum. Your transparency, hunger, and honesty is refreshing.

Keep at it, man. It doesn't get easier... but you do get better.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Masterklm]

Concisely:

I have opened a small laundry shop and it's been going very well. So I started thinking big and decided to scale. I had in mind to be the most popular laundry shop in my state. I followed on what I said and posted up banners in a very rich neighborhood with free pickup and delivery.

Then I had my first ever customer from the rich neighborhood. I collected so much clothes I was thinking how can all these belong to someone. I was so excited and decided to give my best ever service to this customer. I failed. Our ironing was not A plus with problems and I gave a discount thinking it will convince the customer of our service but in reality lowered the perceived value. I doubt he will call me again.

Then I had another client and promised this time I will give him a service so good he will tell all his neighbours about my shop. I failed again. We had a complication where we thought I missed one of his clothes but we actually didn't but it showed unprofessionallism. I also doubt he will call me again.

Then 2 days ago, I had another client and I swore I will give him my very best. I didn't care about the money. My one objective was just to satisfy him so well he tells other people about my service. I failed once again. We had a problem in the washing and ironing of two of his clothes.

Why do I keep having such problems. With every problem I have, I come up with a system to ensure it never happens again. But it seems like their are endless problems. I ponder on what could go wrong and it looks like everything would be perfect but then i encounter a new problem. How do I forsee these problems? If I keep delivering bad work, the word will spread and I will never attain prosperity. It is so annoying.

Is running a business usually like this or is the problem actually with me. How do I make sure I have no problems or at least reduce the effect of problems or even see it before it hits me?

Keep trying I'm sure you'll eventually get better at it

 

[Deleted8v369]

Yeah. But I haven't had ONE successfully satisfied customer. 0/3 is a really bad score. And I'm afraid it might be worse than that since I can't tell the problems I might have. I developed systems for the first three clients so it will be a very smooth process with zero problems. It didn't work. To be honest I'm no longer confident that I can deliver a perfect service since even though I develop systems, it's almost pointless as there is a new alien problem.

Yeah, but three is nothing. I expect you'll have much more than that every day once you get rolling. Can you find someone who is knowledgeable about the laundry business to help/mentor you? You could go to some commercial laundries and hotels and ask if there is someone you can talk to.

 

[Andy Black]

MINDSET - What's Your Problem?

What's Your Problem? Do you know what your biggest problem is? If you can’t decide then these short videos might help. Andy Black’s Video (2 mins) Apologies for the hushed voice. All the kids were in bed by the time I did the audio. I’ll only ever record audio during the day going forward...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Deleted8v369]

MINDSET - What's Your Problem?

What's Your Problem? Do you know what your biggest problem is? If you can’t decide then these short videos might help. Andy Black’s Video (2 mins) Apologies for the hushed voice. All the kids were in bed by the time I did the audio. I’ll only ever record audio during the day going forward...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

I liked your son's explanation best

 

[Panos Daras]

Amazing story! What I would do to fix the problem would be to use the 5 whys methods. For example in your case:

1. Why did your first customer have a bad experience? The ironing didn't meet their expectations.
2. Why was the ironing not up to scratch? Your team might lack the necessary training or equipment.
3. Why is there a gap in training or equipment? There was an assumption that what you had was sufficient. Perhaps it was a budgeting decision.
4. Why did that assumption exist? There was a misunderstanding about what your customers expect. Sometimes you don't know what you don't know.
5. Why was there a misunderstanding? There wasn't enough research done into the customer base when you decided to scale up.

Hope that helps. We all suck but we learn along the way.

 

[Kalactose]

MINDSET - What's Your Problem?

What's Your Problem? Do you know what your biggest problem is? If you can’t decide then these short videos might help. Andy Black’s Video (2 mins) Apologies for the hushed voice. All the kids were in bed by the time I did the audio. I’ll only ever record audio during the day going forward...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

What an awesome video. So short but completely changed my view. Thank you Andy. Now I know since I've crossed those early problems, I know I'm not last on the leaderboard, I will need the problems to solve to get higher on the leaderboard. The more problems I solve, the higher my position.
What a great video.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MRiabov]

Go read "nothing that I do in Business is profitable and i'm broke". I believe this thread is one of the most important on this forum at all

 

[Consolation]

You suck at business? All of us here suck at business. That's why we are here in the forum.

 

[Andy Black]

What an awesome video. So short but completely changed my view. Thank you Andy. Now I know since I've crossed those early problems, I know I'm not last on the leaderboard, I will need the problems to solve to get higher on the leaderboard. The more problems I solve, the higher my position.
What a great video.

Hmm. I just rewatched it. I might do more of those, with a less hushed voice.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.