Does doing business with a Texas handshake vs contracts ever kick me in the butt? Yep, but not often enough that the pain of change (especially the change of mindset) is less than the pain of not changing.
Transplants (I being one of them) to Texas are often perplexed by the niceties they encounter doing business, walking down the street or even driving on our well-maintained Texas highways. Sometimes they are even frightened by how easily we dish out smiles, open doors, and strike up random conversations. They suspect we want something. A new branding client who grew up in Detroit said people in his neighborhood didn’t offer free smiles. Still to this day, T doesn’t smile unless you give him a real reason to flash (better be fast on the shutter to catch it). And, having spent a lot of time with him, I know even then he’s a hard sell.
Up until Mitchell Levy came to speak to my Success North Dallas group (which, by the way, you’d ever like to attend a meeting, contact me. We have the best speakers EVER from Ben Carson to Herschel Walker), I never really thought about Texan doing business on a handshake. Sure, I’d heard the saying, but had never really given it much thought. However, as Mitchell worked his magic, helping SND members create the book (yes, in less than an hour) “We Texans Do Business with a Handshake,” I thought to myself, “yep, that’s how we do it.”
Whether it be a simple Plano headshot session or a 4-day Fortune 500 company event in Dallas, 99% of our photography assignments are agreed upon sans pen, paper and contracts. More than a little crazy if you think about it. I am not going to pretend it’s all as sweet as pralines and bourbon doing business this way. Recently we did get burned by a company in Florida on a product photography assignment, which caused me many sleepless nights. Do you think it could have been the fact they were based in Florida? Just kidding . . . I think.
We may have to change one day, but I prefer doing business on a pinky promise, a handshake, or a hug. After all, who does it really hurt in the end when things go awry? It may cause me a little bit of anguish and maybe a few dollars, but it’s worth it to do business in a genuine manner where we expect only the best from our clients. And they expect and receive only the best from us.
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