A good business woman= A TRUE BITCH

SO yesterday was one of those, um (finding the right timing and tact) challenging days. Lucky for me, I have been in business for a whopping 2 minutes and don't know shit because of it. (apparently I did just fall off the bunny truck yesterday) Lets realign here and back up to the point. YES THERE'S A POINT!!

My day started out fairly normal. But at noon I had to leave the office for an appointment. When I returned at noon, I had two men on a ladder in the rafters fixing a broken air conditioner,(that for a third time flooded the pink bathroom) a malfunctioning phone system, no internet, and a credit card machine that couldn't do transactions with no phone lines. F.U.N.!! So good to be BOSS LADY! As luck would have it, I walked in the door at that very moment. To top off my frustrations we have been working on two very large client projects with reps that are thickheaded blockheads that make life difficult rather than making things easier. You do make commission on this sale....no??

We placed an order through a vendor of ours that carries lamps. We placed this order two weeks ago. We have called, emailed, and faxed this order to them. To no avail we have not been able to get an acknowledgment that the order was in fact placed. Finally, today we discover the order was never acknowledged because it was never placed. Never mind the fact that we have been calling them about the order. So-I-was-pissed! I am trying to place an order for a product of which this company sells. Easy peesy right? Well apparently when you have been in business for a whopping 2 minutes it takes a wee bit longer to get things processed.

I contacted my rep immediately. (NO SURPRISE he didn't answer his phone!) I explained that this is unacceptable. I refuse to run in circles to order a product that I can get elsewhere. I also refuse to PAY my staff to run around re-faxing, re-emailing and calling six times over with no answer. I advised my rep to provide a SOLUTION to my woes immediately, or I would place my order through another vendor. Apparently, the union was instructed to strike because he called me back immediately. Not to FIX the problem, but rather to tell me that he did not appreciate my CONDESCENDING tone, and that his lines are of utmost QUALITY and they do not operate a leaky vessel. He also informed me that I should learn a thing or two about business because I seemingly know nothing other than being a BITCH.

Again, may I remind you I called asking for a SOLUTION. Somehow that question resulted in a discussion about, CONDESCENDING behavior, QUALITY, and A LEAKING VESSEL. Gosh, that really solves my problems with getting my order placed. I find it funny that Im the one that needs business manners 101 when he himself doesn't know how to understand and interpret a message. So here is my business tip for today!

I have been running my own business for 5 years. I have been in the business of design for 12 years. When a man is outwardly demanding, aggressive, assertive, and to all intents and purposes superior in behavior, they are considered the impeccable business man. Good at what they do. When a woman is demanding, aggressive, and assertive she is to all intents and purposes considered a BITCH. I am very good at what I do. I am surrounded by an impeccable, sharp-witted, shrewd and supportive staff, OF WOMEN. Every week, and I mean EVERY week we run up against some good ol' boy, conservative, yahoo hick that tells us otherwise.

When I first started in this business it scared the hell out of me. THEY scared the hell out of me. But when you open your own business you have to remember that you wouldn't be doing it if you were not GOOD at what you do. Remember to have thick skin, be clever, perceptive and most of all be shrewd. It takes great strength and courage to open up your own business. It also takes a lot of savvy minded individuals to make it successful. I have been called every damn thing in the book. Unfortunately, the good adjectives generally come from other WOMEN! I don't care if you sling mud at me. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I am good at what I do. I KNOW that my staff is good at what they do. And if that amounts or equals to being a BITCH, then I will say it loud and wear it proud!! Because that is being GOOD at what you do!