7 Things No One Told You About Running A Business

There are seven things you should expect to happen at some point in your business, except… no one tells you about them when you first start out.

If you have been in business for a while, you have likely had some of these things happen to you, and if you are new to business ownership, you might not even realize that they are bound to happen.

The unfortunate truth is that you will experience a variety of challenges when you run your own business, and some of them will be easier to overcome than others. Keep reading to find out what they are, and so you can be ready for when they happen.

7 Things No One Told You About Running A Business

1. Default on Payment

Some clients won’t pay for the products or services they receive. They will promise to pay, you will agree to their terms and then you will find yourself chasing them down for money. When this happens, you will learn to collect before you deliver.

2. Chargebacks

This is inevitable. At some point, someone will pay you for a product or service and right before the expiration date for credit card or PayPal chargebacks, they will file a claim to reverse the payment. When this happens you’ll be shocked, offended and required to build a case that proves you did what you said you would do, in order to get PayPal or your credit card company to give the money back to you.

3. Selective Hearing

Not everyone will listen to the advice you give them, and some won’t take action on it either. Even when it comes to selling products, this is true.

I once had a client walk across the parking lot in a torrential rainstorm while talking on his phone, and then tell me his phone had never been exposed to water when I told him that his phone was damaged, not defective. Part of our process, when selling phones, clearly explained the risks associated with damaging your phone when it comes into contact with water. But, not all clients listen.

The tough part that comes with this is, in some, but not all cases, is that the client will blame you for not being clear in what you told them and expect you to fix the situation on your dime.

4. Bad Reviews 

A client of mine once had to terminate an employee. When they woke up the next morning, there were several bad reviews written about their business on social media, including one from the employee’s mother, and several from their friends. None of these individuals had ever been customers of the business.

5. Poaching

You will at some point, experience a client who tries to steal a member of your team, or a member of your team who tries to steal a client. You will be shocked when this happens. Don’t be – it will happen.

You should, however, protect your business with strong non-solicitation and non-compete agreements whenever possible.

6. Theft

They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but when it comes to having someone steal your content, online programs or IP, there is no flattery involved.

It’s plain old theft.

I’ve had people take concepts from my book and share them in their newsletter without attribution. I have also had clients who have experienced someone buying and essentially stealing their courses to re-sell them as their own.

In a digital world, it’s easy to “model” what success looks like and it is even easier to pass off someone else’s work as your own. Don’t be shocked when this happens, instead, call your lawyer.

7. Ghosted

At some point, you will hire someone to do something for your business and they will either let you down, be unable to do what they were paid to do, or they will flat out disappear – with your money.

It will feel like a bad breakup where you got robbed. They will stop returning emails, voicemails and text messages, all while your payment is safe in their bank account. This is another reason you might want to have a lawyer to call.

These things happen, and when they do, you may think that you are the only person who has ever been faced with one of these situations. Your inclination may be to let it go.

DON’T.

When you let things like this slide, the lesson will return. Have a lawyer you can reach out to or a business advisor who can guide you. You are a business owner, not a doormat and standing up for yourself matters.

Sadly, you won’t be the first person this happens to, and you won’t be the last.

The good news is the vast majority of clients, and people will never do any of these things. But, in those rare instances where this happens, you need to be extremely clear in your communication, support your situation with documentation, and not back down.

Special thanks to fellow business owner Jamie Palmer for the fun discussion on things that go sideways that no one expects!

If you have experienced any of these unfortunate challenges in your business, tell me how you overcame them in the comments below.