There shouldn’t be such a thing as “too nice”. Wouldn’t that be like “too rich” or “too healthy”?
Like so many things, there are fine lines between too much and too little but being too nice can often be a bad trait when you’re trying to run a business.
How can being too nice hurt you in business?
Most common one I see is not charging enough. The “too nice” person actually feels guilty and wants to help, so much so that they work harder at getting their client a deal than they do on profit and success of their own business.
The “too nice” owner always has plenty of time to just hang out and visit with clients, chat with vendors, take a few extra minutes chatting with the staff at lunch time and taking calls from friends and family throughout the day. All that being nice might look and feel good but it’s costly.
Accompanying “too nice” is “too trusting”. This person will most likely buy from someone whom they have a great relationship with without questioning their advice or price only to be taken advantage of.
I have said it before but if you are in business your number one responsibility in the business is that it is profitable. Without profit your business is dying.
We have all encountered the opposite, right? The person who just doesn’t care and is okay with charging his own family outrageous prices, hiring their best friends and barely paying them anything and beating up anyone and everyone they have to spend any money with. It’s like they have no care at all for people, no loyalty to anyone, etc. but their business is doing fantastic.
So now, if you don’t want to be too nice and you don’t want to be this other person, how do you make it work?
I don’t know 🙂
This is the kind of stuff I think and work on and try to help others with. There is no single or simple answer. Every situation, every person and every business are going to be similar and totally opposite at the same time so it’s more about constantly looking in the mirror, tracking, reviewing, studying and planning.
So in conclusion, my tip of the week, don’t be too nice and don’t be an asshole 🙂 lol and contact me if you need help figuring it out.