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The no-pants guide to spending, saving, and thriving in the real world.

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The Library vs Amazon

Finance, Life

A few weeks ago, I discovered the queue at my public library’s website.  The process is simple: Select your books, wait a few days, then pick them up. They are available from any library in the county, delivered to my local library. That’s awesome. Much more convenient-and cheaper-than Amazon.

So I moved a couple of pages of my Amazon wish-list into the library’s queue.

I must not have been thinking, because two days later, I got an email telling me that 19 books were ready to be picked up and 10 more were in transit.facepalm

In this county, each checkout is good for 21 days. For items that don’t have a waiting list, you can reserve 3 times. That’s 12 weeks for 29 books. Hopefully, I’m up to the challenge.   Please keep in mind, I’m a father of three, two of whom are in diapers, and I’m married, and I have a full time job.

I have frugally blown every second of spare time for months.

Update: This was another post written in advance. When all of the books came in, I suspended my request list. Little did I realize, the suspension cancels itself after 30 days. That was 30 more books. Whee!

Hypocrisy

Finance, Life

a "low profile" sole provides a grea...
Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes people make choices for a variety of reasons entirely outside of my knowledge and understanding.  Yet somehow, I still manage to be dismissive and occasionally derogatory.

What I have come to realize is that there are numerous reasons for making apparent bad decisions.   It is easy, though often not correct, to dismiss these supposed mistakes as character flaws, without taking the time to fully understand the decision-making process.

For example, I am usually quick to point out the folly of gadgets.  Odd, that, for a gadget geek.  So many gadgets are merely ego purchases, bought because the are “cool”.  Obviously a waste of money.   A smartphone serves no practical purpose for an average person, right? What if that person’s life is so difficult to manage that a calendar sync including both spouses and multiple calendars will allow a family to make sure every kid gets to every activity on time?  Or he has a side business that is easier to manage with ubiquitous email?  Or even a strong urge to limit the number of items carried every day?  A phone/mp3 player is fewer gadgets than separate appliances.

Another example is a close friend who started running several months ago, to be met with questions of why somebody would run without being chased.  It’s easier to play on the internet or ride a bike, right?  And the special running shoes?  Silly.  Except running is cheaper than biking and running shoes beat knee surgery any day.   Running on the street is more effective than a treadmill, since you can’t step off after running two miles away from your house.

So here I sit, a runner with a crackberry and plate full of crow.

“Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.”  Indeed.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-01

Misc

  • RT @Dave_Champion Obama asks DOJ to look at whether AZ immigration law is constitutional. Odd that he never did that with #Healthcare #tcot #
  • RT @wilw: You know, kids, when I was your age, the internet was 80 columns wide and built entirely out of text. #
  • RT @BudgetsAreSexy: RT @FinanciallyPoor "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money." ~ Unknown #
  • Official review of the double-down: Unimpressive. Not enough bacon and soggy breading on the chicken. #
  • @FARNOOSH Try Ubertwitter. I haven't found a reason to complain. in reply to FARNOOSH #
  • Personal inbox zero! #
  • Work email inbox zero! #
  • StepUp3D: Lame dancing flick using VomitCam instead or choreography. #
  • I approve of the Nightmare remake. #Krueger #

Reputation Isn’t Everything

Finance

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I’m a code monkey by trade.   Software development pays my mortgage.

I’m also–and separately–a small business owner and have been for years.   I’ve actually got several side-hustles going, but only one of them is formal, organized, and incorporated as an LLC.   A few years ago, a friend and I decided to go into business together, got certified by the state and start making some extra money.

I have recently discovered that two of the government agencies related to our business have been referring students to us.  When our customers call the certifying organization, they are–at least some of the time–recommending us over nearly 200 of our competitors.    You can’t buy that kind of marketing. At least, I hope you can’t.

How did that happen?   How did two faceless bureaucracies decide that we were the company to recommend?

People talk. Over the last few years, we have worked to make sure people want to say nice things about us.  What did we do?

1.  We never lie. Our business is training.   If one of our students asks a question I can’t answer, I admit it and promise to find the answer.  Then, after class, I find the answer and email it to everyone.

2.  We are reliable. If we schedule a class and just one person shows up, we hold the class.   We have had classes with two instructors and one student.   Our hourly rate sucked those days, but the students loved the attention and sent us business afterward.   I’d never cancel if even one person is planning to be there.

3.  We give it away. We give a lot away.   If our customers have questions before or after class, we answer them.  I spend time on related forums answering questions.    Veterans take our class at cost.  I try to give away at least as much value as I get paid for.

Now, this sounds like a sales page, but it’s not.    I’m not mentioning the name of my company or even the industry, just so nobody thinks I’m trying to drum up business.

We have dropped a crazy amount of time and effort into building our reputation.  With a firm foundation of knowledge and the 3 items I mentioned above, a good reputation is easy to build.   A bad reputation is even easier.   It’s been said that a happy customer will tell 1 person about his experience, while an unhappy customer will tell 100.   Repairing the damage from the unhappy customer is much more expensive than just doing it right the first time.

Building a good reputation is absolutely critical for a successful business.   Be ethical, honest, and helpful.  Always be there when you say you will be, and try to give away as much as possible without actually hurting yourself.   People will talk, so don’t give them a chance to say bad things without being liars themselves.

Reputation isn’t everything.  You also need knowledge, marketing, and a product.   Without a good reputation, however, the rest doesn’t matter.