Dear Colleen,
Knowing what you want to do and having a clear idea of where
you want your business to go is the first step to
entrepreneurial success. Remember, you are the BOSS! This is
your business and you know what opportunities lie for you given
your skills, capability and resources.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I understand your
question is that you want to move on into another kind of
business which is different with what you have started earlier
and you feel bad about leaving your loyal customers, including
your family, relatives and friends. If I am correct, then let me
continue.
My suggestion is that you advise your customers, (everyone)
about your new plans for a new project and would like invite
them for the same support that they have given you in the first
venture. It is a good idea to send out a direct mail to all your
customers and announce the new focus of your business. Explain
to them why you feel that the new business will be far better
than your first one and that because of the time and effort
needed to concentrate in building up the new business, you will
temporarily suspend any orders for your existing business. This
will keep them appraised of your business, remind them of your
business if they haven't used your services for quite some time,
and generate interest for your new venture. In your letter to
them, be sure to ask them for referrals. If they supported you
before, they will be there when you need them.
The best move is to let them be aware about your next
projects. Loyal customers are hard to find. If these faithful
customers go along with your new venture, you will not have a
hard time looking for new ones. Remember the 80-20 rule: 80% of
your business comes from existing client base, while only 20%
comes from new clients. It is much harder, expensive and time
consuming to get new business.
If you want to decline a customer, be honest to him and her.
Explain to the customer that his or her needs are not within the
scope of your specialty. But it will be a very good idea if you
can refer the customer to someone in your area who may provide
The service that he or she needs.
This action can be beneficial in two fronts: the customer and
the other service provider. The customer will appreciate you for
it, and will be very likely to come to you should something
comes up that is within the realm of your business
specialization. The business where you referred the customer will
appreciate the fact that you are bringing customers their way.
In fact, you can even turn this into a beneficial strategic
alliance. Given that you may have complementary (or even
overlapping business), you can support each other's business and
even work together on projects. Your competitor may even direct
to you clients that may need your expertise or farm out projects
when they have so many ongoing projects.
Good luck to you.
About
the PowerHomeBiz.com Guide:
Nach Maravilla is
the Publisher of Power Homebiz Guides. He has over thirty years
experience in sales and marketing of various products, which
covered as he jokingly describes, "from toothpicks to
airplanes" He also had extensive experience in
International trading and he always excelled in special promotional
ideas for retail outlets.
