Is your business built on a house of cards?

Yesterday I shared part one of a story about visiting the worst new restaurant in town and what happens when we don't take feedback. If you missed part one of this story, you can read that here.

While the drinks were a miss at this new and trendy restaurant, that wasn't what we actually came for - the food was supposed to be phenomenal.

We didn't want to take any chances with the menu - we asked the staff what they were known for.

Two dishes were mentioned: the potato leek soup and celeriac salad.

Perfect.

"Before I put the order in, I just want to inform you that the salad is salt forward," the waiter said.

I'm sorry, "salt forward"?

I don't believe I've ever heard that term used.

I grew up in a family where we were "salt backward", so I wasn't up for the thrill of anything salt forward. But Anne Marie is less salt sensitive than I am, and she decided to go with it.

I ordered the soup.

The food arrived and Anne Marie took one bite and said, "this is pure salt. I think my mouth is getting cut up."

Imagine a million little daggers of salt crystals each mobilized with a little salt dagger tearing your mouth apart.

She pushed it to the side and I thought to myself, well maybe we can get her the soup instead. I mean how can you mess up potato leek soup?

Famous last words, because as the soup slid down my throat, I could feel my throat closing at the onslaught of vinegar I had just poured down it.

One arm went to my throat as I began gagging and the other to Anne Marie's arm as I did my best to squeak out, "My throat. It's... closing."

I lunged for the nearest glass of water and started chugging. Sweat pouring down my face, I was coughing, turning red and try to clear my airway.

Have you ever drank a large amount of vinegar? I don't recommend it.

I don't want to suggest that the chef should be arrested for attempted murder, but in the court of public opinion, they definitely have a license to kill with vinegar and salt.

We looked around the restaurant at the other diners.

Everyone seemed to be fine and having a good time. Had we leaped into some alternate universe where only inedible food was served at the bar?

We knew from our last experience with my drink being an issue that they weren't going to take the feedback well. Nor were we going to order any more food, where the average bill for dinner was $300.

We were just done.

I simply couldn't understand the hype. Why were people eating here? Were we nuts?

Sometimes in the hype and enthusiasm for something new, we can overlook a litany of flaws.

In business, if the hype and marketing looks great, people can be really excited to check something out.

But if your foundation is built on shaky ground, marketing cannot save you in the long run. 

Your reputation, ie: how people speak about you when you're not in the room, will be the ultimate judge of character.

The "new and hot" restaurant? It didn't survive. 

And your business won't survive on just marketing alone. Building a solid business with a strong reputation requires a solid strategy before you ever start marketing.

We get one, maybe two, chances for clients to check us out after they've seen our marketing.

If you haven't built a business with a strong foundation they can trust, prospects will see nothing more than a house of cards.

And they won't be returning.

Hi, I'm Laura Khalil (KUH-lil) and I'm dedicated to helping ambitious women find bigger contracts in the next 60 days, and rebalance the scale of financial justice in our favor!

I grew my consulting business by going after bigger contracts with GE, Intel and Twitter and today I pull back the curtain to help you find your perfect slice of business.

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