3 Things Prostitutes Can teach Budding Businesses
Definitely not something most wives and mothers want to hear and No, I am not giving people an excuse to do a case study with this. I live in the Central Business District a nice quiet place that is right in a really bad place. The few months I have lived there have taught me a few things (rather uncomfortably). I have not spent any time with the Night-shift ladies so I don’t have too many lessons, just the few that I have gotten from watching from a distance.
These are lessons I think if entrepreneurs took they would be more successful.
1. Work Hours, what are those?
The bad neighborhood I spoke about above, well in that one the girls don’t just come out at night. From as early as 6 am they are out in the street. They are there throughout the day and through most of the night. When your success is on you, time spent doing business is up to you as well.
One of the biggest myths of becoming an entrepreneur is that you become your own boss and you work your own hours. Nothing is further from the truth especially if you success is on your mind. A startup demands attention at all times and this may mean working odd hours. So learn from the prostitutes, if success is on your mind, work when work needs to be done. You can rest when the business is not in danger of folding any more.
2.Take your Business with you everywhere
Often during the early days of a startup, founders are too embarrassed to talk about their business or to try to sell their business if they are in a setting where its not the main focus. For example, you will rarely find entrepreneurs pitching the business to strangers on the commute home. Let’s change the scenario and put a prostitute in it; if you meet her on the commute home, she will come on to you and she won’t be for free! So don’t listen to anyone who says “Don’t Mix Business with Pleasure” but do listen if they say don’t mix prostitutes with business.
3. Be Tenacious!
One of the biggest things I learnt in sales is that you never know who your next customer will be, you don’t know what time they will come or how they will be dressed. People who have never been in sales will tend to judge prospects on what they see visually or even on stereotypes. Early startup stages mean a lot of pitching; to potential investors, customers and suppliers. That is not an enjoyable stage and pitching is pretty much selling and a lot of negotiation will take place at this stage. It is very easy for one to feel like giving up, rejection is not easy to take (and general selling has a conversion rate of less than 15% when you pitch).Do yourself and your business a favour and Prostitute yourself – put yourself out there, do not be afraid of hearing a No, they will come but it will be the tenacity that gets you to the destination. In the years I have lived here I have been propositioned a lot, most times by the same people! I admire the attitude. While effort is not a guarantee of success in certain fields there are places where hearts and wallets alike may melt if you keep at it.
The lesson in Startup Prostitution 101
- Working hours are for sissies!. Put away the notion of working hours and work when work needs to be done. There will be lots of time to rest later.
- Place of Business?. You are a startup, you carry your business with you everywhere. Talk to strangers in weird places, you may get an investor and ideas in the very least.
- Everyone is a Customer, they just don’t know it yet. Be tenacious, be aggressive. This is your dream, no one will chase it for you.
When you set up to start your business you had a goal. Meet that goal! if you fail to reach your goal and a prostitute was putting in more effort than you then maybe entrepreneurship isn’t for you. Life and Business lessons are all around you; continue to improve yourself. #kaizenYOU
