You Never Know Who Your Best Customers Might Be

I guess this goes along with the entire mindset of how you should treat everyone the same, especially when you are running a business. You just never know who might end up turning out to be your best customer. Whether someone is old, young, rich or poor, you need to treat everyone the same, as you just might end up being surprised by who has money and who doesn't.

I remember when I was 16 years old. I had just gotten my driver's license. I was completely obsessed with the stock market, but I had no money to invest. I used to tell my friends that I was going out on "secret missions", which were actually me driving around to different investment firms, looking to set up appointments with different companies to talk about the stock market.

Certain companies welcomed me in with open arms. They knew that I didn't have money, but they didn't care. Merrill Lynch set me up with an hour long appointment with one of these investment advisors, and he answered absolutely every question that I had. That stuck with me. They were smart enough to realize that even though I might not be doing a lot of business with them now, one day I might be rich and that first impression would stick with me. It sure did.

On the other hand, a few places didn't have time for me. One place in particular, Wood Gundy, basically headed me off at the front door and asked what I wanted. "We currently aren't accepting new clients" is what they told me, probably sizing me up and figuring that I wasn't worth their time. Needless to say, as the years went by and I started to have money to put into the stock market, I would never have even entertained the thought of going with them. Given the circumstances, who would you have done business with?

You just never know. That grubby looking guy who wears sweat pants might be a billionaire; that well-dressed guy might be neck-deep in debt. You never know who might end up being your best customer, which is why when it comes to business, you need to treat everyone the same. Like gold.

Filed under: Making Money Online