I am an unabashed entrepreneur.  Since graduating from college – I have never worked for anyone else for any significant amount of time.  In retrospect, this was probably a mistake, as I suspect the right mentor could have smoothed the road for me a bit, but it all turned out, and I have had a ball starting and running companies that have ranged from failures to fairly significant and beyond.

And as a classic entrepreneur, I am constantly analyzing businesses to determine how I would do it differently.  This undoubtedly makes me one of the worst patrons in the world – arrogant and confident that "I could do it better" without knowing any of the intricacies that leads a business to make certain decisions.  But the fact is – most of the time I could do it better.  Most businesses seem to suffer from a lack of customer focus – an intrinsic laziness about providing the best possible service and product for the price.  So when I find a really great business run by a terrific entrepreneur, I am overjoyed.  I love to buy from someone that sells well, delivers a quality product, and makes you feel good about the transaction.

A few weeks ago I had an incredible experience in the most unexpected of circumstances.  My wife and I were visiting New York, walking to one of our favorite restaurants on the Upper East Side.  After a great dinner, my wife noticed the little nail salon across from the cafe was still open, which was unusual given the late hour.  Since I am secure in my occasional metro sexual tendencies and like to have clean nails, we both entered with the intention of getting the advertised $15 manicures.  Half way through our procedures the owner of the shop emerged from the back.  It was as if a friendly whirlwind entered the room.  She was chatty and aggressive and full of confidence.  We complimented her on the fact she was open so late – and she replied that her customers wanted to come late – so she stayed open.

She had the classic customer-centered Warrior mentality – and it was obviously working for her.  In addition to owning the shop, she also ran a small cosmetology school.  After getting to know us she began the "up sell process" – and before I knew what had happened our $15 manicures turned into custom manicure / pedicures, seated massages, and a process that included shooting hot wax up my nostrils.  The tab also increased to a couple hundred dollars.  But we were happy to pay it.  A great entrepreneur makes their customer feel good about the process and the price, and anxious to come back.

Buy Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Weasels at Amazon.