Inspirational Words from Ted Waitt

Theodore W. “Ted” Waitt (born January 18, 1963) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. On September 5, 1985, Waitt, his Inspirational Words from Ted Waittbrother Norm Jr., and Mike Hammond started Gateway 2000. Labeled a maverick by national business and technology publications, he has gone on to form four enterprises that are his chief interests: Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly-owned, billion-dollar private investment company with diverse interests in technology, health care, energy, finance, and real estate; and the Waitt Foundation, Waitt Institute and Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, nonprofit organizations dedicated to the improvement of mankind’s knowledge through historical and scientific exploration.

“You can get business with price, but you have to have service to keep it.”

Over the years, I have talked to many creative entrepreneurs who were challenged by pricing.  Should they charge more or less than their competitors?  And how about pricing at big box stores like Walmart?

Face it:  We can’t all be Walmart — nor should we try!

But I agree with Ted Waitt:  Pricing may entice customers to buy the first time (or not), but it will not, necessarily, get them to buy a second time.

Most of the time, first-time purchases are made by the packaging.  Is your packaging appealing?  If not, you have probably already lost business.  Next, how is the quality of your product?  If you want retail store buyers to reorder your products, products need to be of good quality.

And, of course, good service is a must in all cases — whether you are selling to retail buyers or to end consumers.  This is one area where smaller businesses can outperform the big box stores.

I would like to share one final quote from Ted Waitt — which you may be able to relate to in your business:

“I came from an entrepreneurial family. My father and five generations of people in my family do not make good employees.”

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