It happened so long ago that I almost forgot about it: how I bought a surfboard from a shop in Muizenberg when I first started surfing and the board was so brittle that it cracked even with the slightest pressure or bump.
In those days, not unlike what still happens in all sorts of products and services, the owner of the surf shop didn’t say a word about the poor quality of manufacture of his product. I can remember how many times I’d have to buy resin, catalyst and fibreglass strips to fix the many “dings” in my surfboard.The same thing happened when I later bought a house only to find out that part of the garage roof leaked so badly that the whole area had to be resurfaced. The seller never once raised this issue.
I bought a car only to find out that the windscreen was cracked in an area that I had not spotted. Strange that the car dealer had not pointed out this damage when I was in the showroom or taking the car for a test drive.
How often have you been taken for a ride by sellers who hide their product flaws in the hope that you won’t pick them up once you leave their business premises?
It’s amazing how they can tell you with a straight face that they never knew about the product flaw you found. They’ll tell you incredible stories. You must have left your surfboard in the sun to make it cracked like that (when you know they used a hot mix for the resin and that’s the real problem). Or, the garage roof never leaked when the seller owned the house. And the car dealer who swears the windscreen cracked while you were driving the car.
As a start-up or small business owner it pays to be dead honest with your customers. Telling them about product flaws upfront can actually gain the trust. At least they are fully aware of the product shortcomings before they make any decision to buy.
With that said, the biggest weakness of www.ideaaccelerator.co.za is that you won’t find everything there is to know about idea-generation and small business formation on the site. But I’m trying hard to give you information, tips and advice that will help produce better results.
Another thing: these ideas, tips and techniques won’t always work. Life and business are more dynamic than to expect that you can work from a success recipe.
If you are fully aware of the short-comings of what I offer here in information, tips and advice and acknowledge that there’s never an “easy” way to come up with new ideas for products and services, then let your fingers take a flying leap onto your keyboard and pop your email address into the subscription form alongside.
Stay inspired
Chesney Bradshaw
