Maintaining a business is very much like keeping a relationship. It’s a two-way street; it’s about giving and taking. Since Valentine’s Day is today, I won’t be dispensing with the usual tips, advices and general opinion about business. Instead, I will be discussing what I have personally observed and experienced on how relationships and business operations are more alike than they seem to be.
On Giving Special Attention
Businesses and relationships have the tendency to demand your utmost attention that at times, it may seem draining. But you know for a fact that both are attention-seekers and you have to fulfill that craving because you just don’t run a business for fun, you do it because it ignites what you are passionate about. It keeps you satiated and alive just knowing that you have given it your best shot.
On Showing Genuine Appreciation
Some people are married to their businesses, some are dabblers and some just try to get by. Sometimes people tend to overlook things, being busy and all, that common sense and manners are forgotten. How often have we disregarded saying “Thank you” to our customers? Or for that matter, how often do we express how truly thankful we are as small business owners, especially to our patrons? Not often enough? Never? One might even say that like our personal relationships, it’s already a given. A smile and a monotonous “Thanks for dropping by” does not count in showing how we appreciate the other.
On Acknowledgment
Everybody wants to be recognized. With this recognition, whether you are doing a great job or not, you would feel a sense of accomplishment since it is an expression of gratitude. No one wants to be invisible especially since you know you are working yourself to the bone in getting people to recognize what your company has to offer.
On Sharing
It’s not just about sharing your own experiences, it’s about sharing who you are as a person, what you have and to what lengths you could go, how far the distance you would run to get what you don’t currently have.
In your personal relationship as in operating your own business, you always have a choice. What is important is that there is commitment, trust and passion. Both business and relationships should have an unequivocal commitment to be better at what you do and what you can offer, trust that together, you and your customers (and even your loved ones for that matter) will work things out in both your favor and finally, the passion to keep on going even when the odds pile up against you.
