I was watching Ace of Cakes on the Food Network, and Duff, the owner of Charm City Cakes got a call from the banker that gave him money when he started his bakery. He wanted a cake for the following weekend, and Duff needed to say no, because he already had forty cakes scheduled. Then, the banker pulled the almighty “c’mon dude, it’s me.”
Duff then realized that there are too many me’s in the world, and I think he is right. Your friends are your friends, but when trying to run your business, if there are people already in place to get your products, you must fulfill their needs first. Sure, you might have lost some business, but if Duff had said yes, and raised the bar to forty-one cakes, then it could be possible that he wouldn’t have completed another customers cake on time.
I take the same approach with my business and in life. If I need to bake energy bars, I need to bake. There are people out there going crazy for my energy bars, and I need to answer the call. However, when I am all stocked up, I know there is time for my friends, and I can put them first.
It’s kind of a funny order. Do you 50/50 with life and work, or do you put one of them ahead of the other all the time?
Michael Adams, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars
