Nordstrom

When to Say No to an Account

Last year, entrepreneur Jennifer Vallez turned down a $34,000 order from one of the largest retailers in the country.

Vallez holds a day job, but explores her entrepreneurial side on nights and weekends with making fabric dolls for her company, Sophie & Lili . When a purchase order for more than a thousand dolls came in from Nordstrom , Vallez was forced to turn to overseas production to fill the large request."After three months of sampling I wasn't satisfied with the final product and had to cancel the order," recalled Vallez, "They were very nice about it, but I was devastated."Turning down an account can mean losing revenue and the opportunity to expand a business and establish a brand. However, saying no can also help an entrepreneur establish a set of values to always operate under."You may think it's good to have even a little bit of business--even if it is outside of what you may want to serve--but that type of relationship tends to snowball," warned Richard Meekins, operations ...

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