Small Business – When I look at how creative large businesses are in socially making their systems the norm, it reminds me of a story I once heard. There was a tale about a hunt up in a woodland backcountry. A young man while up in a particular forest ravine came across something unexpected. Camped out high in the trees he saw the brush move. He quietly raised his musket, ready to fire, when an animal that no one knew existed in the area came cautiously out of the brush.

”Wild pigs!” He exclaimed to the townspeople. “We have wild pigs in the mountains, I saw one!”

This was incredible news. To capture and raise pigs would be an incredible opportunity for the town, bringing needed stability. The townspeople were so shocked and excited that they began setting traps all through the area the young man had said he had seen the wild pig.

The Standard and the Wise

Weeks went by and nothing happened. Not one trap sprung, not one trace of any wild pigs. Soon expert trappers came to take advantage of the opportunity to capture them, but they did no better. There was not one sighting of the pigs and not one trail or trap sprung.

One day an older gentleman we will call CC came to town asking about the pigs. The townsfolk laughed. He had no traps, no nets. They pointed the way and he headed off into the forest. Months went by and they never saw him come back to town nor had they heard anything of him. Most thought him dead.

In the seventh month, he came walking into town, passing everyone without saying a word, and headed straight to the small train depot. Was he giving up like everyone else? What was this strange man doing? He was only there for a brief moment and once he was done he walked back up into the hills.

Don’t Assume There Is Only One Way

The people asked the conductor what had the man wanted? “He asked for cars to rent,” the conductor said. All of the townsfolk were almost in tears with laughter. “No gun, no traps, no nets…what is he planning to do? March them right up to the train station while they file into the cars?”

“He just said be ready next week on Friday?” the conductor said.

The Friday came and the townspeople gathered by the train station. He didn’t show. Noon came and went…no one showed. It wasn’t until right before dusk that the man stepped from the edge of the forest that they saw it…wild pigs! Many wild pigs…no net, no traps. They just followed him through the square right up to the train depot and up into the cars as if they were a dog obeying their master. Within a short amount of time, the cars were filled, the conductor blew the whistle, and the train was departing.

Small Business Profit Loss

Everyone stood there in awed silence. As the townsfolk left asking themselves what had they just seen, some wondered how he could have done this and what he did that was so different. Others who were not there denied it ever happened.

Later on that night it dawned on them. This potential blessing of prosperity for the town was now no longer there. All the pigs were gone. Many of the townsfolk went searching the hills for more to no avail.

If you look at the history of small businesses, it was just 3 decades ago that credit cards were pretty much non-existent. Now they are pressed upon our children. They came to town for the purpose of convenience and the promise of quicker payment. When actually its purpose was to take a percentage of both sides of a transaction; merchant fees on the business and interest on the purchasers. We dangled something to nibble at until it was natural and expected, much like the old man, CC, did to the pigs. He threw corn cobs around his camp. Month after month, nothing. Until one night while sitting around the campfire, one crept from the brush, sniffed one of the cobs, brought it into its mouth, all while eyeing the old man, and then scurried back into the underbrush. That’s all it took to start the process of training them.

Now, credit cards are a necessity to survive as a small business and we can’t release the corn cob from our mouths or live without following CC.

Small Businesses Give Their Customers Away

What most small businesses don’t realize is that every time your customer pulls out a credit card, you are basically saying to them, “I am relinquishing you as my customer and I am handing you over to the credit card company. You are now their customer and not mine.”

“They will make the extended profit I created and a portion of my future sales because you will be paying them long-term. I understand this extra money could have come to me, but I have been subjected to this system for too long to keep you here. Run along with CC.”

This analogy can be looked at in several ways. The townsfolk could be considered local small businesses who lost the opportunity at a good livelihood because of not thinking outside the box. They gave up on how to capture and gave it all away to CC. The wild pigs could be considered all of us when we use credit cards locally, or they could resemble the income that continually flows out of our cities as interest and merchant fees from every transaction made. CC is the credit card companies, national lenders, collection agencies, merchant providers.

All big businesses booming from the small businesses’ byproducts are all caused by a lack of vision which sticks the small businesses to what is standard. Remember you as a small business gave up on the wild pigs. You made these multi-billion dollar business industries that feed off you, all local small businesses, and their customers. You found the money, you just did not know how easy it is to capture.

In Summary

As a small business, you can stop giving up on this large excess income you have created, in which you can alter the direction of the community and have your cities grow and prosper. Keep it all local with becoming the financier. CC was old. He was wise. He had no traps, nothing but his brain and common sense. Woje Money is your common sense. Product or service, high or low profit margin, not enough capital–these don’t matter. If you see them as an excuse as to why you can’t finance, you are looking at it as if standard traps and nets are needed for capturing interest. They are all fear-driven patterns of not thinking creatively.

You can capture as much as you desire of the money, the interest, and the merchant fees. It is very easy to do. It is common sense, it is what Woje Money is about. It’s as simple as tossing the cob yourself.

For more information call Eric at 801.822.8862 (and mention this blog). Contact the https://nsba.biz/ for more information.