Do you ever walk into the office and feel like the Cheshire Cat has been running your business?

My brother owns his own business. He is a roofer and is very good at it — but he is not especially tech savvy. He’s a little old-fashioned. Quality work for a fair price … the kind of thing you hope for in a business owner. His best advertising is satisfied customers and word of mouth.

I was picking up Chinese takeout. Behind the counter a handwritten sign read, “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” While I was paying I asked the hostess if they ever actually did that. I mean, how can you run a business if you refuse clients, right? She said that sometimes, when someone is exceptionally rude, the management will ask them to leave. That surprised me. I would have thought that $50 from a rude person would deposit in the bank just as easily as $50 from a more polite patron. I guess that sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle.

Lessons learned:

#1 Don’t wire money to people you don’t know.
#2 People will take advantage of you when they can.
#3 Take every opportunity to build your good reputation.