A Parable for Business Owners

Once upon a time there was a man who ran a very successful business selling hot dogs by the side of the road. Everyday he'd set up his stand with a bright red flag flying over the top that read "Tasty Hot Dogs". And every 100 yards or so along the road he'd set up a big sign that read "Tasty Hot Dogs Ahead". Then he'd stand by his cart and sing loudly, "Hot dogs! Get your tasty hot dogs here. Hot and juicy, only a dollar apiece." The man's son, however, thought this was too much bother for his father to go through everyday. Meaning well, he told his father, "Don't you know that advertising doesn't work?" He continued, "Those brightly colored signs and flag are worthless really. Of course, people who want hot dogs will always buy them, no matter what you do. And please stop singing. People chuckle when they hear you. It's such a corny song." The man thought for a long time about what his son had said. Maybe it was true that all his efforts to let people know about his wonderful hot dogs were in vain. After all, his son was young and smart, a college graduate, so the man believed his son's opinion must have great modern insight. The next day the man took down his signs. He took down his flag, too, and he sat there quietly by the side of the road with his hot dog cart. That day only a few people stopped to buy his hot dogs. He missed talking to customers and meeting so many different people. He even missed singing his song at the top of his lungs. But he had to face the truth. Advertising doesn't work. The man thought to himself, "It's probably because of the weather. It was very hot today and also very cold. No matter. Tomorrow will be better." But the next day was no better. Neither was the next. Every day fewer people stopped to buy. Pretty soon the man had to sell his cart to pay his bills. He was very sad that people suddenly stopped wanting to eat hot dogs.

Now you and I know that people still like to eat hot dogs. The problem was that the man gave up telling people how good his product was. (Indeed, his hot dogs were delicious.) He didn't bother to get people's attention. He didn't even let them know he had a product to sell. He stopped advertising and advertising does work. If you're worried about the man who sold hot dogs by the side of the road, his story has a happy ending. Luckily for him, he had a daughter, too. His daughter has connections in the Big Apple. She found him a job singing jingles for major multi-national, consumer-oriented product manufacturers and he is quite happy now.

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