5 Business Mindset Hacks From My 70 Years Old Ex-Boss That Every Entrepreneur Should Know
Lessons from a stubborn elder lady running an online flower shop from home
My 70 years old ex-boss has her business for three decades now. Since 1986 they make flower and gift baskets deliveries all around Mexico. They pushed the family business by making partnerships with international worldwide companies. Making possible to also deliver flower in several countries like EUA, Canada, Spain, Germany, and France.
That is what I was told in my job interview which took place at my ex-bosses home in her living room. — Yes, just beside the kitchen where she makes dinner every night.
Her flower shop was connected by one door to her house. She was basically working from home.
Let me tell you about my path while I tell you these 6 business mindset hacks I learned from a +30 years business owner.
Who is my ex-boss?
She is a stubborn ambitious lady. I am not going deep into her, but in her business mindset, which is quite interesting.
MINDSET HACK #1: The way you describe and talk about your business is the image you are projecting on other people’s minds
The inspiring and professional way she talked about her business made everybody think that this was a super big corporation based in the fanciest neighbour of the city.
The truth is that the flower shop was located in a low profile and standard neighbourhood in the city of Puebla, Mexico.
The enterprise didn’t even have an ID scanner. And a few months after I started in 2017 an old laptop from 2005 was replaced by a recent model.
It didn’t matter to my boss all these factors to be proud and talk like a peacock about her business.
Frequently on my social media, I see my entrepreneurs friends promoting their businesses in this way:
I have a small brand
And I have corrected them saying:
You don’t have a small brand. You have a brand. — Believe it or not.
You don’t have to lie, you just have to select the proper words to describe your business. You are just going to exalt your pride. That’s all.
- Be confident about yourself and your business
- Be proud of your goals (I will not say: either if they are big or small)
Don’t sabotage your effort. Talk about your business as a peacock. This is what my ex-boss did and it had worked for having her business for more than 30 years.
MINDSET HACK #2: You don’t need to have a physical location or the best equipment for having a successful business. The Internet is the most powerful resource you could have to create your empire. Use it wisely!
Aspiring entrepreneurs are often waiting to launch their business until having money to pay rent or buying the most powerful PC.
Do you want to know a secret?
While you are waiting to have the best electronic devices, other people like my 70 years old ex-boss is taking advantage of the Internet to succeed in their business with a laptop from 2005. Hence, three computers and one working woman on every screen made possible the +100 per day gift basket orders on Christmas season.
Having an Internet connection is the most powerful tool for making money. Not having a location or the best quality gadgets are not an excuse for launching your online business right away!
That office could easily be transported to my living room. You can already imagine the size of the office. Which also didn’t meet Pinterest standards, tho. You can appreciate the office in this picture on my last day of work.
If you were looking for a signal to launch your business without excuses, this is it. Go for it!
Technology + the Internet + your creativity are the keys to having a successful business.
MINDSET HACK #3: Trust your employees, they want the best for your business. If you succeed, they succeed as well.
Definitely, most of the success of my ex-bosses flower shop was thanks to the employees.
Wanted or not, my 70 years old ex-boss had to trust her team: ladies between 20 and 30 years old. Some decisions were made by us according to our criteria.
I know that a business is often treated like a delicate newborn. But still, you have to let your kiddo grow towards the hand of other professionals.
Your team members want to be part of a successful project, you better trust in their comments to improve your products and services.
Remember that her house is just one door away from her flower shop. Some of the one-to-one meetings took place in her kitchen. You can tell how much she trusted her team. She had to, otherwise, she’d lose her mind.
MINDSET HACK #4: Do not let a sale opportunity go through
I remember this was like my ex-boss quote:
Don’t let a sale to go through.
It was a sin giving an excuse for not completing a sale, for example: “Sorry we can’t add an apple in the middle of your bouquet.” (This was a real request) or “Sorry, we don’t have a PayPal account for you to pay”.
My ex-boss always encouraged us to do whatever is possible to offer the service to everybody.
This was a flowers and gifts shop, right? Gifts were considered as chocolates, teddy bears, and gift baskets.
One day we had a customer that wanted to include a serenade in his flower + teddy bear surprise delivery.
Did we offer this service? — No.
Did we end up offering the service? — HEEEEEEEELL YES!!!
Your client has a need, you know you can satisfy it, go for it. Be flexible and take their money.
Don't tell anyone but:
Custom services usually make more money because everybody denies offering a special request as it could be complicated to manage an unknown scenario. Take the risk or let your sale fall through.
The PayPal case:
A colleague was selling hats on Facebook. I wanted to buy one but I could only pay through PayPal. She denied selling it to me because she didn’t have a PayPal account.
My ex-boss would have become nuts! She would have liked us to say: “Sure, no worries. You can pay through PayPal, I will send you the PayPal invoice in a few minutes”.
Even if we didn’t have a PayPal account, we had to seem confident and open an account as soon as possible to make the purchasing experience the most pleasant and easy for the customer.
You also have to learn to say NO. Sometimes it is better to deny a request if you know you will not be able to accomplish your client’s standards due to short time notice, or knowledge. I also learned this from my ex-boss.
But if your client request relies on opening a PayPal account, you can easily do that and increase your sales.
Mindset Hack #5: You better modernize your ways, otherwise, your business will die. Technology is an opportunity to reinvent your service and products.
Surprise breakfast became so popular. Someone in the team thought it would be a great idea to add this product/service into the gift section. It could also be sold and delivered by Uber Eats. — Right?
Who would have thought that a flower shop could also make deliveries on Uber Eats?
Technology didn’t kill Blockbuster, their inflexibility and lack of modernization did.
You better take action to modernize your business and flow with the technology wave.
Final Thoughts:
My 70 years old ex-boss has her business for three decades now. When she started the flower shop, the Internet wasn’t even alive, but her business mindset has evolved.
This is exactly what entrepreneurs like you should do with your mindset business too.
Remember: Technology + Internet + Your Creativity, are the formula of a successful business.
