SHOPKEEPING

A true shopkeeper is one who, while being a seller, also knows what it means to be a buyer. He is not only focused on selling but also understands the mindset of the customer. He knows himself, and he knows the potential buyer who walks into his shop.

The shopkeeper and the customer are two completely different kinds of people. The shopkeeper thinks in terms of money, while the customer thinks in terms of goods. The shopkeeper looks at the customer’s pocket, while the customer looks at the shopkeeper’s products. But the shopkeeper who only knows how to take money from the customer’s pocket will never become successful.

The successful shopkeeper is one who can read the customer like a book. He makes the customer’s need his own. He feels the customer’s heartbeat in his own chest. He understands what the customer wants, and what will truly satisfy him.

One type of shopkeeper is the one who simply sits in his shop. If a customer comes, he looks at the price list and tells him the rate. If the customer buys, he gives the item. If not, he calmly sits back down and perhaps reads a newspaper.

Another type of shopkeeper is the one whose body is in the shop but whose mind is in the streets and markets. Mentally, he walks among the customers. He knows their needs before they even speak. He tries to please them wholeheartedly, even if they offend him. He becomes their well-wisher to the utmost degree, even if it is their first and only visit.