Getting on my soapbox this morning, blowing a little fire. Sometimes, just sometimes, we as business owners have to share our angst with some questions we get from time to time. These questions overstep and are definitely presumptuous ones. They are also questions we sometimes don’t feel deserves a response or at least merits a dodgy reply.
Here are the top 5 questions business owners hate getting asked:
How much is your rent?
Maybe others are fine with answering this question, but for me, it’s part of my operating cost and bundled business expenses. To me, it’s not like asking how much you pay rent to live in an apartment. It’s part of the make-up of my business and is private.
How much do you pay your computer repair technicians?
Really? Again, this is part of our business operating costs and is confidential. The price is $125/hr for onsite computer service in NYC and we provide free computer repair diagnostics when coming into our NYC computer repair shop. That’s all the pricing you need to know!
So, how’s business? Is it busy?
It’s fan-flipping-tastic! When a first-time customer comes in, this is kind of off-putting. I don’t mind this question from fellow business owner or even regular customers, but a first-time customer is a tad presumptuous for asking. Being superstitious, I always knock on wood and cross fingers when getting this question.
Where do you buy your parts and equipment?
Another “Really ?” question. Why don’t I just give you all my tips and 20+ years of experience finding the best vendors.
How do you attain your customers?
And yet another “Really ?” question in return. Let me just give you my rolodex and customer list so you can piggyback on them.
So, know you know the top questions business owners, namely me, hate getting asked. Of course, the person’s tone of voice, conversational situation, and my mood will dictate how agitating these questions may be. Overall, though, these are still the most hated questions every business owner gets.