Last week I spent a good portion of two days thinking about what types of policies we need to have in place. When you are starting your own business the last thought you like to have about your new customers is how they are going to screw you. I always like to have my focus on the glass is half full but in reality there are always those customers who fail to live up to your expectations by not showing up for appointments or writing you a check which just happens to clear the day before their paycheck is available to them.
After reading and reviewing I'm not sure how many different organization's policies; I finished writing what I feel are the four main policies to have in place in any sized business. These policies are not to turn off customers but to communicate your level of seriousness and what they in turn can expect if or when they might consciously or subconsciously consider writing a bad check or canceling appointments.
The four policies which I wrote and we've agreed to implement are of course the Non-Sufficient Funds policy - this tells the customer/client that if they do write a bad check what they can expect to be charged by me to cover my costs and what would be the consequences (no more checks accepted); the second one was our Privacy Policy - this one reassures our clients that their identity and personal information will not be shared with anyone outside of our own organization; the third was our Cancellation Policy - this policy states what we expect regarding timing of canceling appointments or rescheduling them. We know life happens and therefore schedules needs to be adjusted accordingly but this policy also allows for equal respect to be given between both us and our clients regarding in the value of both our times; and the fourth policy was Payments, Tips, and Refunds Policy. We know you can not please everyone and to communicate a touchy subject such as tipping in a non-objectionable way is certainly appreciated.
Now that I have these primary policies written and basically implemented I will be sending out a formal introduction to our current clients with this information. Getting ready to launch a new company has certain prerequisites which can not be over looked. The policies is one, creating a recognizable identity is another, and the third which is on my plate for this week is creating the actual work/session space in which to meet clients. This step is again a critical one to consider all possibilities available or not available to you. My situation is I am establishing the company to be ran out of our home - which means I need to balance the privacy of my clients and the privacy of my family members equally. We have the space but now it is actually figuring out how to best install doors/curtains etc to offer the available space the best for both needing privacy. Good thing my parents are here - building and reconstructing spaces is one of their favorite pass times.
Well I guess I better get back to staring at the entry way to figure out what types of doors and furnishings I need to bargain hunt for. Just a few weeks and my clients will be pouring in.
Embrace your inner wisdom!
Until next time, I'm in gratitude for all you do.
Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment