TOMI Magazine November 2012

Too Late

In the early stages of business, a lot of your ‘ pay’ will be from what is called the Bartering System. This is an old but still relevant and necessary form of doing business. It falls in the line of ‘One hand washes the other’. When a company can’t pay cash or use credit to make a purchase, they may offer their prod- uct or service in exchange for your product or service. In doing this type of business, your next business deal is only as good as your last. What does this mean? Well, instead of establishing credit like a bank account or a major credit card, you now have to build up your credibility: the quality of being believable or worthy of trust. Having credibility is im- portant because at the stage when you can’t buy your way out of bad publicity or business with cash, it’s your credibility that becomes invaluable. Otherwise it may be too late. No credibility stems from a poor histo- ry with your vendors, associates and other corporate affiliates. Word of mouth spreads quickly. Especially if it’s posted on social sites like Facebook or Twitter. In business, you will find that an unhappy alliance can turn cold

quick. Unhappy clients are all too happy to tell everyone about you. Condition yourself to approach every relationship with good intensions because what goes around comes around. And it doesn’t come back the way you dished it out. It’s funny, because in entertainment, retaliation can be in the form of a song or a diss track. You can read about it in a public, in - depth interview. Turn on the television and watch your life unfold across the news screen. Or you just may never get a call again. There are many ways to annihilate a career. Productive, viable relationships are es- sential to any thriving business. Return calls. Follow through. Follow up. Otherwise, it will be too late.

Tonisha L. Johnson

PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF

Twitter@anidemedia

8 NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.TOMIMAGAZINE.COM