The New Way of Having your Own Business

I used to be a representative of a major scuba gear manufacturer. My job was to drive around to about 40 dive shops a month and try to push my product. Over the years, I have been around some great people who run their business. They are very positive, do tons of advertising, are very proactive, and love what they do. They are always trying new angles to promote their business. These typically are the dive shops that you will see tons of scuba gear, scuba accessories, and so on within their store. Their scuba shops are almost perfectly clean and organized with tons of scubapro, aqualung, sunnto, mares, dacor, zeagle, oms stock and more. Then on the flipside, I have also met the dive shops that are in their living rooms. These are the guys who sit and wait in their living rooms for someone to walk in the door. They are very bitter against the scuba industry and will spend an entire day telling you how horrible the industry is and why the hate it. These same people normally haven't done an ounce of advertising, haven't promoted their business, and aren't normally very courteous to the customers. The scuba industry is a different beast. Normally it is filled with doctors, lawyers, and business owners who are normally ready to spend money. These people are looking for a good service and to be taken care of. I can't express how important first impressions are. Be dymanic, respond to their needs even if you have to go out of the way. It will come back to you in the end and it'll be worth it!