Be honest here:
- How often are you so excited about your business you can’t wait to start the day?
- How often does just the opposite occur and you dread even the thought of going to work?
- Are you inspired and energized by your business or burdened by what feels more like drudgery?
When you love what you do, there’s no sense of burden or drudgery. There’s only enthusiasm, passion, and joy. In fact, you often feel better when you’re working than when you’re not. You seek ways to improve yourself and your business and ideas flow. IT’S FUN BEING YOU!
More often than not, people who start a business do so based on what they know — what they’re good at and comfortable doing — not necessarily what they’re passionate about.
Why did you start your business?
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you wanted greater control over your destiny. Perhaps you wanted to build something meaningful that could be sold for a profit or passed down to your children. It’s also probable you wanted more freedom, financial abundance, and the ability to travel. Maybe you wanted to make a difference in some way or actually enjoy what you do for a living.
People sometimes start a business to sell a product or service they believe will make them rich, but don’t really believe in or use themselves. This will eventually create a huge disconnect within a person for which even riches can’t compensate.
If you sell useless, low-quality, or defective goods and services — and know it — your lack of integrity will catch up to you, potentially destroying your business and any satisfaction you once felt.
Believing in the products and services you provide is a necessary ingredient in the enjoyment of owning your own business. Integrity not only feels good but also attracts and retains talented team members and increases the number of loyal customers you serve. Integrity increases the pleasure and success you experience in running your business.
Another key ingredient in the amount of satisfaction you derive from your business is your style of and ability to lead. If you don’t like to be a leader, don’t understand what one is or how to assume this responsibility, the amount of fun you have will suffer. Ineffective leadership constitutes one of the major pitfalls to happiness and success in business.
Effective leaders provide a consistently empowering example, use the best tools for hiring talent, and invest in the development of their team members. They aren’t perfect or infallible. They’re human, authentic and strive to be their best and support others to do the same. This behavior results in greater job satisfaction, increased productivity, loyalty and retention, exceptional customer service, and improved sales. Becoming a good leader takes time and effort. But as you do, your business runs smoother and grows more successful. The amount of fun you experience increases exponentially.
In addition, the quality of your team is essential to your happiness and success. All business owners understand the unending stress and challenges poor-quality team members bring to the workplace culture. This is a situation well worth avoiding at all costs.
The more qualified, better trained, happy, and committed your team members are, the better for everyone involved. People who like and enjoy their work perform at higher levels than those who don’t. Hiring talented individuals is truly a science, and a qualified professional can provide proven strategies to improve your success rate.
Through my work as a professional development coach and consultant, I’ve met many business owners who are financially successful, yet not thriving. Financial success is only one aspect of your business.
When you’re passionate about your business, offer exceptional products and services, and are an effective leader who’s built a capable, happy, and loyal team, financial rewards and enjoyment will follow.
