DO YOU work for your business, or does your business work for you?

That question was asked by Forbes contributor, Richard Fertig in an article titled “How To Build A Business That Can Run Without You.”

Fertig said if you aren’t sure how to answer that question, you should ask yourself this: “If I decided to step away from my business for a day…or a week…or even a month, with little to no involvement, what would happen?”

Would the business still thrive, would it merely survive, or would it suffer a catastrophic failure?

I believe many entrepreneurs, especially those in the service industry are stepping away from their business, leaving untrained, disengaged employees with nothing to lose to ruin the reputation of their business and retard its future growth.

Maybe you wonder why I often write about my experiences. I hope that the good ones will be repeated, and the bad ones will change into good ones.

Over the weekend I visited a friend who was staying at a local hotel I recommended. We ordered tea as we hung in the dining area. We expected a teapot, teabags, and teacups. Instead, we were served two tiny cups of tea. A little later we requested some hot water and were served a tiny teacup of hot water to be shared between the two of us.

My friend, the hotel guest thought that they were very stingy. He recalled the evening prior that there was a kettle in his room but no teabags. He went to the receptionist and requested teabags and was sent to the bartender. The bartender went to the receptionist to ascertain why she sent the guest to him for teabags. He subsequently went to the pantry and returned with one single teabag for the guest. The guest enquired where the nearest shop was and went to buy himself teabags.

Second to power outlets, an espresso machine or tea, an electric kettle and some tea bags are essentials in a hotel room. I chalk it up to the hotel not anticipating guests and therefore was unprepared for the business.

I pondered whether the owner was aware of the mediocre service being rendered on her behalf. I pondered how she would feel if she knew. I pondered if the hotel could afford

the bad publicity. I pondered how much experience and training the employees that were left to run the business had. I pondered how many people my friend would tell about his experience and it would affect his future business.

I pondered whether the owner’s disinvolvement was because business was slow. I wondered if the state of business wasn’t more reason for customers to be impressed by the service and in so doing facilitate word of mouth marketing and return business.

When the cat steps away, the mice will play – at a cost.

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