Business Lessons Series #1: If you're running a business, it's not about you

Hey all - so I decided to sprinkle in a new little series I call "Business Lessons." I'm an entrepreneur, and so I thought it important to share the information I gleaned and then ask the community for their constructive help in making that info even better for everyone.

Had a great conversation last night (mostly listened, though - remember, there is a reason you have two ears and one mouth - keep the ratio the same for listening to speaking) and it really hit home to me.

Early on, we made some choices based on what we liked - and running a business, that's okay sometimes and part of your freedom - but some of the choices affected customers and clients, providing them with an experience they didn't like and created a barrier for sales (namely, our location being in downtown Detroit).

In a nutshell, we found through surveys and experience that our target clientele didn't like downtown Detroit very much at all - and it was a serious negative in the purchasing process of our clientele from this region. They found it inconvenient... which we didn't see because we lived and worked there. Our mistake was that in this region, people want to park right next to the place of business and it needs to be free or almost free - as well as in a familiar area where there are other people in your industry.

So Lesson #1 - It's not about you, it's about your clients and what they want.