I have been overseas this week and noticed people, usually men, walking through the traffic selling newspapers. Nothing really surprising about that except that they usually sell a range of titles. The guy in the photo is offering seven newspapers – there are two titles on a frame above his right shoulder. A pretty amazing feat.
Seeing this chap walking up and down the lines of traffic the other day got my mind wandering, wondering about what we do which is similar? How to we walk our businesses outside our four walls?
The wondering hung with me through the day. I couldn’t help shake the feeling that we have spent too much time and money building shops which are based on the need for our customers to come to us. This chap on the road, and so many I have seen this week, are in a situation where their only option is to get on their feet and chase business.
I am not advocating that we close our shops and hit the road. Of course not. I am, however, questioning whether we have built homes for our businesses and ourselves which are too comfortable for us, too hard for us, to leave to get our and chase sales.
If we sit in our nice homes we rely on visitors (customers) coming to us when better business could be out on the streets somewhere. This chap is pounding streets probably because he has no choice. We have a choice and all too often choose to not chase as hard as we could. Maybe we need to run our newsagencies as if we have no choice other than chasing every opportunity possible.
That’s what I started thinking about at least when I was stuck in traffic and saw this chap on the street selling so many newspapers.
Well we have people at traffic lights washing wind screens, why not selling papers ????
did you enjoy manila’s traffic jams Mark?
hate I have never experienced anything like it and I’ve been to a few places.