In business it’s different, the nice guys finish first.
In my few years of doing business research, I have interacted with hundreds of small business owners in Kenya. A common thing that I noticed is that most of these guys are really nice.
In this article, I summarize a few tips that will help you run a successful small business in Kenya.
Key Takeaways
- Be good so you can keep your expectations in check
- Build meaningful and lasting relationships with stakeholders
- Remember the customer is always right
- Make your customers and partners realize that your success is their success
- Be nice without being a pushover
You have probably heard the popular quote ‘nice guys finish last’, especially in relationships. It is true in that context of a relationship but in business, you have to be nice to make it.
Building meaningful and lasting relationships with stakeholders is undeniably the backbone of running a successful business.
The opposite is of course stepping on everyone’s toes for some quick money.
This is the same reason for the adage that ‘the customer is always right’ because when you are nice to customers they come back again and again.
People hate it when you’re nice to just get a favor in return
Nice guys are consistently good to everyone regardless of the need to ask favors.
This gives them access to help when they need it without jeopardizing the relationships around them.
If for example, you have been on good terms with your supplier all along, the day you need a credit extension they will most likely grant it to you.
This is as opposed to calling to check on them (out of nowhere) just a week before you ask for a credit extension.
Being good just before you ask for a favor makes you a bad guy pretending to be a good guy.
And the worst part is that people see through such tricks.
Being good helps manage expectations
The nature of being a bad guy is that every act of kindness becomes transactional.
It strains your business relationships because no one wants to feel like they owe you every time they ask for your help.
Also, you get into the problem of thinking as long as you do something good for other stakeholders then they are obligated to reciprocate.
However, the good guy approach is to be good and kind without any expectations.
This helps you have healthier and more genuine relationships with everyone around you without concern about what it is that they can do for you.
Also worth mentioning is that when you are kind and people take advantage of your kindness, you will not bear the burden of feeling bad as that will be on them.
Good business is a long-term strategy
The bad guy approach to business is a demented one because it is meant to win in the short term.
If for example, you use people the wrong way just to get ahead of competitors then this will only last for a short time as there only so many people over whom you can take advantage.
Unscrupulous business practices do not last long and this has been historically proven in Kenya and beyond.
The alternative, a good guy approach, is to create a wholesome business that takes care of all stakeholders (suppliers, workers, partners, etc).
When all these stakeholders realize that your success is their success too, then you organically become part of the market and eventually win against your competition.
You will not be a pushover
A common misconception of good guys in business is that they are pushed around and taken advantage of.
This is far from the truth in business because kindness does not substitute the rationality of decisions in business.
You can be kind to your team and still be firm on the rules about work. You can be nice to your customers but remain rigid on how much they can demand from you.
You can end a business relationship with an underperforming supplier but remain on good terms. The list is endless,
Being the good guy just means that in addition to business negotiations, sales, and hard work, you are kind to the people that you deal with.
It is a sort of business strategy that elevates how you interact with everyone else with a long-term view in mind.
Notably also, in the current digital world where information spreads like wildfire, the incentives of being the bad guy are diminishing.
It is thus more justifiable than ever that nice guys in business do not finish last.