Fear and The Jeweler (A Tale of Failure and Missed Opportunities)

So as you may have gathered already from my previous posts, we have been extremely busy the past couple of months. Naturally, the traffic at our restaurant has been heavy, especially during our peak lunch and dinner rushes. As a result of this, our neighbor next door (a jewelry store) has become increasingly difficult to deal with, prompting us to go under construction yet again to resolve some of the traffic issues that he believes are threatening his business. It has become clear that he would be happier had we never opened.

Now think about that last sentence for a moment. This “businessman” would prefer to have an abandoned Smoky Bones restaurant next door than a flourishing Chick-fil-A. This caused me to wonder the obvious question….why?

The answer, I believe, is fear. With the 4th quarter approaching, the Jeweler is fearful that our business is going to have a negative impact on his. He is afraid because something different is taking place. Fear has caused this man to go into survival mode. He is determined to get things back to the way they have always been.

As a businessman he should be looking for a way to turn this into an opportunity. There are hundreds of ways that a Jeweler could partner with a restaurant so that both parties win. I mean, he has a captive audience (our guests waiting in line) right outside of his door! There are hundreds of ways he could use this as an incredible marketing opportunity. He could use this as an opportunity to capture an entirely new customer base! Just think of the possibilities…his business could double!

Unfortunately for all parties involved, the Jeweler has decided to let his fear get the best of him. His lack of ingenuity or creativity coupled with his crippling fear has eliminated his chance to build off of our positive momentum.

It is a sad lesson, but an important one: A leader driven by fear will not take risks, will miss opportunities, and will focus too much on self preservation. In other words, fear leads to failure.