How Not To Kill Your Small Business

We have all heard about business best practices. But what about things that you should not do if you want your business to thrive? Remember that having good business practices and not bad ones, will help prevent you from losing customers and from getting bad online reviews and negative comments. As we mentioned in another blog posting called “The Professional Image Of Your Small Business Begins With You”, we mentioned that a small business can only look as professional as the people who are running it. You can be perfectly dressed for the job at hand, but if you have a “pottie” mouth, or make racist or sexist remarks, you’re going to lose a lot of business trust and respect.

Not answering your phone or allowing your business phone to be answered by a child, can kill your business reputation. There is never a good excuse for not answering your phone – especially when your clients know that you are primarily using a cellphone that never leaves your side. When your phone rings, it should only be answered by you or by a professional representative. Allowing a child to answer your business phone, for example, sends a clear message to clients that you are not operating a professional business. If you cannot answer your phone all the time, consider using a virtual office service that answers your every call in a professional manner, forwards the calls when you can take them, and sends your callers to voicemail when you are unavailable. If your calls are sent to voicemail, be punctual in getting back to them as soon as possible. This shows your clients that you value them.

Avoid using a customer’s tools or equipment. Come prepared. By having to ask a customer if they have this tool or that technology to get your job done, you might look the fool – and that is not how your want your customers to think. Your customer likely assumes that people with real businesses and real expertise have their own tools.

Another great way to lose a customer is by not listening to them. They might not have all the answers, but they may have a valuable idea to help you solve their problem. When you are trying to solve a client’s unique problems, you can have years of experience and certifications, and enough awards to paper an entire wall of your office. So what? This will not help him or her. However, not hearing a customer’s experience will just make your job harder and likely lose the respect of that customer.

Leaving a job unfinished or leaving a mess behind when you are done are also great ways to ruin your reputation and guarantee that clients will not be calling you back. How do you expect a customer to be pleased with your work when the job isn’t done or if you have created a mess? Even pressure to get to the next job done should not prevent you from getting this one completed properly – and having a satisfied client who will recommend you and your services to others.

When you ignore or attempt to solve a client problem with a quick, easy fix, you could be demonstrating that you are lazy. When you fail to step up and solve other problems, you are telling the client that you really do not care about him or her. For example, if you are installing software to help a client and you notice a virus or malware, tell them about it – and if you can fix it, then do so. Pretending you do not notice an error or obvious problem is telling them you only want to get in and out quickly, and do not care about them or value them.

Bringing a child or pet to a client’s site is never a good idea, especially when you do not know their policies or potential allergies. You are there to do a job and not to run a daycare or have your pet cause problems. The first two or three minutes of having a child or pet with you on the job might seem “cute” and entertaining – but it does not show your client your professionalism and/or dedication to fixing his or her problems.

Bringing other surprises to a project, such as underestimating the price or the amount of time it will take to complete it, is another great way to lose a customer. You would look much better if you under-promise and over-deliver, both on cost and on the time it will take you to deliver the particular product or service.

Finally, sending an under-experienced apprentice or assistant to do the job the client hired you to do, tells your customers that they are not high on your list of important clients. There is no problem with leaving an assistant to finish the details of a job that does not require your expertise. But having them show up without you, tells the client they really did not need to pay for your expertise. Assistants and apprentices are there to help or learn, but not to do the job you were hired to do. Bottom line: It is your business, not theirs.

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Hotels

1. Jennifer Smith
General Manager
The Omni King Edward Hotel
37 King Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1E9
Tel: 416-863-9700
Website: www.omnihotels.com/hotels/toronto-king-edward

2. Mark Perry
General Manager
Executive Hotels and Resorts (Boutique)
8 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E1
Tel: 416-350-2419
Website: www.spazen.ca or www.cosmotoronto.com

3. Emeline Boul
General Manager
Hotel Victoria (Boutique)
56 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1G5
Tel: 416-363-1666
Mobile: 647-574-5832
Website: www.hotelvictoriatoronto.com

4. Omkar Sawant
Reservations Manager
One King West Hotel
1 King Street West
Toronto, ON
M5H 1A1
Main: 416-548-8100
Reservations: 1-866-470-5464
Website: www.onekingwest.com

5. Van Nguyen
General Manager
Cambridge Suites Toronto
15 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1N2
Direct: 416-601-3757
Hotel: 416-368-1990
Website: www.cambridgesuitestoronto.com

Restaurants

1. Michael Pagliaro
Carisma (Italian)
15 Toronto Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2E3
Tel: 416-864-7373
Website: www.carismarestaurant.com

2. Patti Shaw
Terroni (Italian)
57 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-203-3093
Website: www.terroni.com

3. Declan
Restaurant 20 Victoria – Michelin guide approved
20 Victoria Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-804-6066
Instagram for reservations: https://www.instagram.com/twentyvictoria/

4. Mana
Nami (Japanese)
55 Adelaide Street East
Toronto, ON
M5C 1K6
Tel: 416-362-7373
Website: www.namirestaurant.ca

5. Restaurant Lucie
100 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2W1
Tel: 416-788-9054
Website: www.restaurantlucie.com

6. Niam H
Cantina Mercatto
20 Wellington Street East
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C5
Tel: 416-304-0781
Website: www.cantinamercatto.ca

7. Siva Sathasivam
Uncle Tony’s
38 Wellington St E
Toronto, ON
M5E 1C7
Tel: 416-455-6650
Website: https://uncletonys.ca/

8. Pizzaiolo
104 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON
M5C 2Y6
Tel: 416-860-0700
Website: www.pizzaiolo.ca

9. Robin Singh
Woods Restaurant and Bar
45 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-214-9918
Website: www.woodsrestaurant.ca

Health and Wellness

1. Thom Tullo
Morpheus8 by Inmode
47 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-863-6564
Website: www.amanspa.ca

2. Altitude Athletic Training
56 Colborne Street
Toronto, ON
M5E 1E3
Tel: 416-366-3838
Website: www.altitudeathletictraining.com

3. Physioheath Studios
33 Victoria Street, #130
Toronto, ON
M5C 2A1
Tel: 416-368-2525
Website: www.physiohealth.com

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    • Building is located in Toronto's vibrant financial district
    • Plenty of parking available in the area including street parking and reserved parking in the 18 King building 
    • Adjacent to the building huge outdoor food courtyard - Beer Bistro www.beerbistro.com and Craft Beer Market www.craftbeermamrket.ca restaurants and bars with onsite catering services
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    • Nearby amenities:  underground PATH network, numerous restaurants, banking, Starbucks plus a wide array of nearby shops and services 
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    • Indoor Reserved Parking at the current building rental rate
    • Bicycle parking
    • Rent a space to accommodate your team for meetings, training sessions, corporate events or coworking space or flexible office space for one day, one week, one month or one year, or whatever term suits your business
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    • King Edward Hotel is located across the street - recently completed a $40 million renovation and boutique hotels close by within walking distance
  • Dining and entertainment at high quality restaurants only minutes away – Carisma, Terroni, Woods Restaurant & Bar and Michelin Rated - Restaurant 20 Victoria. Plus numerous lunch and takeout eateries nearby

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