Following is a true story.<\/p>\n
The names and places have been changed due to living in an overly litigious society full of losers, whine-bags, and mush cookies always tugging at Uncle Sam\u2019s boob when someone is \u201cmean\u201d to them or a business doesn\u2019t want to serve them. But, other than that, it\u2019s all true and serves as a nice example of my \u201canti-professional\u201d teachings.<\/p>\n
Anyway, here goes:<\/p>\n
Back in July I visited one of my favorite towns on the planet.<\/p>\n
Specifically, a wine bar.<\/p>\n
This place not only has great wine, but the owner personally cooks your meal on the spot, there is nobody else cooking but him, and he is one of the best cooks I\u2019ve ever met. Anyway, when you go inside the first thing you see on all the tables is a little \u201creserved\u201d sign. Thus, when you walk in, your first thought is, \u201ccrap! did I need a reservation?\u201d<\/p>\n
But alas, no.<\/p>\n
You see, the owner doesn\u2019t want *everyone* as a customer.<\/p>\n
And, as he said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI just put those on the tables to keep the riff-raff out.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Riff-raff being anyone he doesn\u2019t want to serve.<\/p>\n
Example:<\/p>\n
After sitting down, a man and a woman came in with two kids. The owner really doesn\u2019t like kids in his restaurant because he said they tend to be boring customers that want basic food items he doesn\u2019t serve, which parents then demand him to create off-menu items just for them. And, he said, even if they do order something, they don\u2019t spend enough money to make it worth it.<\/p>\n
Long story short:<\/p>\n
The owner shoos them out and says all the tables are reserved.<\/p>\n
Then, he says:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re welcome\u201d to the rest of us.<\/p>\n
Moral of the story?<\/p>\n
This guy runs his business the way HE wants to. He serves ONLY the customers he wants. And, plays on HIS terms. He\u2019s quite prosperous, too, and is kind of like Seinfeld\u2019s Soup Nazi (the Wine Nazi?) in his own way.<\/p>\n
Anyway, he\u2019s the quint-essential anti-professional.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the way I run my business as well.<\/p>\n
And, so do a lot of smart folks these days.<\/p>\n
If this way of doing bid\u2019niz appeals to you, then check out the podcast episode I did about anti-professionals over yonder here:<\/p>\n