Flynt
Member
I have been baffled by small business owners' behaviour for decades. They often act in ways that are contrary to their own self interest. I'm not just talking about LGSs -- I've had a lot more weird encounters with mom & pope deli owners, dry cleaners, etc. Many are so set in their ways that they run off customers.
I'll never forget a Kosher deli owner in a strip mall in suburban D.C. in the 70's. He obsessed over the 3-4 parking spaces in front of his shope. He had huge signs with, "parking for deli customers only!" pylons, etc. -- everything but mines. I had noticed the deli and thought it might be pretty good, so one day I pulled into one of his spaces, but before I could get out he was on the sidewalk, screaming at me to get out of his parking space. Obviously I abandoned my plan to shop there.
The deli owner is an extreme example, and probably a little unhinged. But many small business owners and entrepreneurs I've known have proudly told me that the wanted to be their own boss. After you get to know them, you begin to suspect that the other side to this is the fact that they could never get along with anybody. I hate to say it, but some small business owners are misfits. On the other side of the coin, some are also geniuses and go on to build large empires. (But I'm told Bill Gates wasn't the best boss.)
Anyway, I suspect that a lot of LGS owners are people who place a higher value on "doing it my way," etc., than material success. Many probably wouldn't survive under a boss who held them accountable. The independent streak can be seen as a sign of someone who's true to himself and has integrity, or it can be seen as a sign of somebody who's rigid and self-focused to the detriment of himself and those around him. You choose.
I'll never forget a Kosher deli owner in a strip mall in suburban D.C. in the 70's. He obsessed over the 3-4 parking spaces in front of his shope. He had huge signs with, "parking for deli customers only!" pylons, etc. -- everything but mines. I had noticed the deli and thought it might be pretty good, so one day I pulled into one of his spaces, but before I could get out he was on the sidewalk, screaming at me to get out of his parking space. Obviously I abandoned my plan to shop there.
The deli owner is an extreme example, and probably a little unhinged. But many small business owners and entrepreneurs I've known have proudly told me that the wanted to be their own boss. After you get to know them, you begin to suspect that the other side to this is the fact that they could never get along with anybody. I hate to say it, but some small business owners are misfits. On the other side of the coin, some are also geniuses and go on to build large empires. (But I'm told Bill Gates wasn't the best boss.)
Anyway, I suspect that a lot of LGS owners are people who place a higher value on "doing it my way," etc., than material success. Many probably wouldn't survive under a boss who held them accountable. The independent streak can be seen as a sign of someone who's true to himself and has integrity, or it can be seen as a sign of somebody who's rigid and self-focused to the detriment of himself and those around him. You choose.