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Recently,
I ran across this quote about business I had saved on my computer and I want to
share it with you. "It
is unwise to pay too much but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much,
you lose a little money, that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose
everything, because the thing you bought is incapable of doing the thing it was
bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and
getting a lot - it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough
to pay for something better." It
makes sense, doesn't it? It
got me thinking about the principle the author is teaching. I
was given an L.L. Bean goose down vest for Christmas one year. It lived a long
and useful life and I retired it after twenty-five years of warm and faithful
service. Granted, after that many years it was looking well worn and it had been
retired for a few years to "barnwear". Fashion is not important when
mucking out horse stalls and the vest kept me as warm as it did the first day
I wore it. Although
Wal*Mart and its competitors offered vests priced fifty percent less, I replaced
it with another LL Bean goose down vest. The
Emerson family of eight can produce a heap of dirty laundry in a record amount
of time. The overworked top loading washing machine had simply given up its will
to live with us any longer and literally threw out the towel late last summer.
I suspected a more expensive front-loading washer would work better for us. After
researching the options, we chose the most expensive front-loading washing machine
model costing hundreds of dollars more than the average. Every day is laundry
day in our household and we think our almost one-year-old washing machine still
runs like a racecar. Our
family passion for riding horses requires an investment in the right saddle for
the horse and rider. A poor fitting saddle can rapidly make sport turn into torture.
Saddles of the best leather and made by the top craftsmen feel more comfortable
and last longer than any of the economy priced models available. We can feel the
difference every time we ride and so can the horses. As
a businessperson, keep in mind that competing for lowest price for your product
or service will always cheapen what your customer is delivered and cheapen his
opinion of you. Consider that quality still has a chance in the market place.
As
a consumer, keep in mind, especially on garbage day, that quality is less expensive
in the long run. Who
is the new age business guru whose wisdom I shared with you in the beginning of
this article? A very wise man named John Ruskin - in the year 1890. I
help small business owners develop their vision about the products and services
they offer. Creating a three year vision is one of the eight key strategies for
more profit in less time in small business. Would you like to know more? Click
here. | 
