I had to get some awards made with engraving and, of course, I waited until the last minute to get them ordered. I ran down to the Things Remembered store here in town and the guy there helped me find what I want.  Next, the dreaded question: “How fast can you get these done because I need them for tomorrow night.” He told me they would be done by 5pm the next day BUT that I should call at noon the next day to see if they might’ve had time to do them.

I placed the order just happy to have something that I could pick up late the next night.  The deadline would be met. I also put in my calender to call the store at noon the next day just to see if they were done. No way in Hell, I thought.

So I called today at noon thinking they’d tell me to come by after five pm and before closing at 9pm.  NOPE!  She said they were ready!  WHAT?!

So I ran to the mall and checked out the great job they did. Oh, and then I realized I’d forgotten to order one more. Dumbass! 

I humbly asked if there was any way she could do one more. She said, “No problem, if you have another store you need to go checkout I’ll have it done in 15-minutes.”

NO WAY! 

Yes way.

So not only did they do a great job on the product, they also blew me away with their service.

So here are 2 reasons you should under-promise and over-deliver as an entrepreneur:

Don’t look like an ass: If you promise the moon then fail to deliver you’ll look like an idiot and you may lose that customer.  You effectively just lied to them. Instead do what Things Remembered did for me. Set a conservative deadline, then beat it. 

You’ll Look Like a Rockstar: If you do this over and over again you’ll gain the reputation of being a business rockstar.  Surprise your customers by delivering more than you promised. Don’t let them expect it. That takes all the fun out of it.

So get out there and start under-promising. Then work your tail off to over-deliver your kickass product or service. Your customers will love you for it!

Originally posted on Carlos Cooper's "A Swift Kick" Blog

Do you work all the time? Does you small business have you running circles morning, noon and night?  Guess what? You need to take a vacation.

As small business owners we’re often reluctant to take time off. Why? Because we think our business is going to crumble the minute we leave. Hopefully you’ve setup some systems to help with that, so let’s talk about 3 reasons you should get away periodically.

Take a Deep Breath: Dude, you need to catch your breath. Superman is only real in the movies. You’re not him. You have got to get away, take a deep breath (better if you take more than just one), and regain your focus. It’s amazing what a little breather will do for you energy when you get back in the game.

Regain Your Creativity: If you’ve been slugging it out on the ground for the past six months, ignoring everything else, there’s probably a pretty good chance your creativity has taken a hit. Why? Because you don’t increase creativity by staying in the same environment. Why do you think writers head for the beach, the deserted lake house or the mountaintop cabin to knock out their latest work? Because places away from home and office offer new things to see, smell and touch. Regain your creativity by going somewhere new.

Your Health: Look. Life is really too short. How fast do you want to end it? Me? I want to be around for a while. I learned a couple years ago that if I burn it from both ends around the clock and year-round my health took a hit. I was exhausted, my weight went up, I felt like crap even though I told myself I didn’t. Take care of yourself. There’s only one you. We want you to be around to see the fruits of what you’ve built.

So find some time to get away. Make it at least two days (uh, Saturday and Sunday?) and get out of town. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Take a vacation and come back ready to kill it.

Originally posted on Carlos Cooper "A Swift Kick" blog.