My friend and I had just finished our usual “what’s up bro” banter and hurled insults at each other when the conversation turned once again to the economy and the job market.
“It’s going just fine for me!” says my friend. He is now at a successful law firm. How’d he get there? One thing: hard work.
The waitress had just brought our food as he started going on about how he can understand the “occupy” plight, but he finishes with a puzzling question “why protest?”
“How does banging on a drum outside someone’s office fix the problem?”
I told him I tended to agree, but I let him continue “I can see why they would be upset… I mean, everyone is told this is how life goes: graduate high school, go to college, and you’ll get a good job,”
“You and I know that’s a lie, but these people don’t understand it!”
“Take for instance my new job, I was promoted twice now and given an office and I started as an unpaid intern!”
I told him I found his success interesting – Even though I knew he had been successful at everything else he has done (this guy has quite the impressive track record!). So I asked him “What was your secret then?”
“Secret? Ha!” he replied. After he thought for a second he said, “I guess there were two secrets. Number one was hard work, do you see me bookmarking Facebook? No. Do you see me coming in late or leaving early? No. Just the opposite actually, I’m there early, I stay late, and I work hard!”
Not out of the ordinary for the kind of people I hang around. Then I said with a teasing tone “Wait – you worked this hard even when you weren’t being PAID!?”
The smile came across his face as he finished his waffle fries “That’s what people don’t get, they need to create opportunity, the reason I have this job is because I worked hard as an unpaid intern… want to know the best thing?”
“What’s that?”
“I have my own unpaid interns now!” as he laughed at the thought.
I was still chowing down on my own waffle fries (I do eat healthy, I promise!) as it hit me…
“Wait, what was the second secret?”
“It was a little conversation I had with my boss.” He said.
“Which was…?”
“So the boss had everyone together to say that we are moving offices and things would be a little tight financially. I was the first and only person to say that I wanted the company to succeed and if that meant that I took a pay cut, I would gladly take one for the team.”
He was laughing as he continued “You should have seen the look on my co-worker’s faces when they said ‘what?!’”
“I explained to them that if I take a temporary pay cut, the business would have no problem surviving.”
He told me that due to the “Deer-in-the-headlights” looks on their faces he would have to explain a little more.
“I told them in the simplest words I could find: If this business goes out of business I have no job. So it is in my best interest that it stays afloat. A temporary pay cut is better than having no job long-term!”
He kept chuckling as he was telling me the story because they still didn’t get it.
As we finished up the meal I told him about this idea I had been kicking around in my head and it went along well with our conversation.
He was interested in hearing it even though it was late and we were both ready to call it a night.
“So here it is,” I said “There are only a couple different things to do in business, whether it’s a business you’re working for or a business you started.”
- Buy and sell something
- Create and sell something
- Sell someone else’s stuff
I said it wasn’t quite as elegant as I’d like it to be just yet. But the idea is there.
My friend really liked the idea as we talked about how it could be applied to his story. He said he was always selling his boss’s services, or selling an appointment, or buying and selling information. Whatever it was we both agreed that this seemed to fit the bill.
We finished our meal and headed out for the night both of us had a lot to mentally chew on.
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Whether you’re selling products, services, or maybe even something as simple as an idea, you are always selling.
If you are answering the phones, chances are you are selling appointments and getting someone in front of the right person.
If you are mopping floors, you are selling an ideal and professional image. Not as important you say? Ever walked into a dirty doctor’s office? The thought alone should change your mind.
The trick is seeing your contribution to the business so someday you can create your own.
This is a different kind of personal and business philosophy. Take it to heart and you will find business success.
Finally a personal note; the site is getting busier and busier these days – I’d like to keep everyone informed about cool new stuff, giveaways, speaking engagements, new posts, and the occasional shameless bribe to try one of my programs J. So do me a favor, and sign up for the newsletter!
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