Oranges or money?

 

Is is character, luck or mastery what makes for a good businessman or businesswoman?  It is possible that those who are not ethical and have bad character can still make businesses. So much of what we want to weigh this judgement on floats on the definition of good.  Business is business in the end. Leaders can have great or horrible moral. Boy oh boy do I have a jewel to talk about this week in the business world. As small as my own business is, I am still fully capable of learning form mistakes. When dealing with friends inside of your business, make sure to give the right prices up front to you don’t get oranges as payment. Let’s begin with the phrase often used in Spanish language in the business-transaction field. It goes as follow;

One friend says to another, “How did it go with the deal? What did they pay you?”

The other responds, “Oranges.”

Oranges meaning that the people did not pay well at all. Well exactly this happened to me this week on a consultation I had with a friend who was inquiring about a very costly investment visa for the United States. This visa would require a knowledgeable investment adviser to assist the family in the plans and even then, it is not guarantee that they will be granted what they desire to do no matter how much savings they have. Two hours of talking and time, when a usual consultation with myself is 30 minutes, my basic fee is on the webpage so I had assumed they would pay me since she knew it was my business, and I also assumed that because they had a lot of money, that they would pay me. At the door I turned around to say goodbye and they handed me a bag of oranges. Not only had I wasted 2 hours away from family, I also lacked the guts to tell them right then in there how much a consultation costs. The error came when I assumed, instead of being direct about consultation prices. In the business world, even with friends, we must not assume they will understand we are expecting payment. Do not assume that all who have money will want to pay you upfront. This is sound advice for those who do not want oranges.  I came home with a bag of oranges, and my husband laughed and told me about the Spanish saying that really happened to me.