Take a minute and think about why you have your own business. Why do you do what you do every day? What are your motivations? The first things that come to mind are the direct benefits to you and your family: getting paid, setting your own price for your work, setting your own schedule, the list goes on… Beyond personal and financial benefits, control over the quality of your work and the pride you take in it. It’s also important to pause and appreciate the impact it has on others: The people you serve through your work.
Anchor “…your work deeply in the dreams, desires, and communities of those you seek to serve. It’s about changing people for the better, creating work you can be proud of, and it’s about being a driver of the market, not simply being market-driven.” (Godin, 2018)
You fix people’s problems. When someone has a leaky roof, you fix it. When their toilet doesn’t work, you fix it. Beyond fixing immediate problems, you also bring people’s dreams and desires to reality. Most people want to improve their home or business. Beyond caring for our family, our homes and businesses are what we think about most. We work and save to make them better, to make us feel better in them and about them. And when it’s time to make those dreams and desires a reality, it’s your business we’re going to call first.
“The generous act of helping others become who they want to become.” (Godin, 2018)
It’s a good idea for you, as an owner, to step back from time to time to consider this perspective. Bring this perspective to your entire organization. If you have a crew or an office staff, take a moment to appreciate the big impact this work has on people’s lives. Show some photos of a job well done. Appreciate their work. If you get praise from a customer after a job is done, especially if they’re letting you know how you’ve helped them achieve a goal they’ve had, share it with your team. Everyone wants to feel like their work matters. And this is even more important when things are stressful, or your whole team is hyper-focused on getting stuff done. Take a few moments to make sure they see the impact they’re having.Â
A side benefit of this perspective is that you’ll also be better attuned to your customers’ needs. This will position you to identify opportunities to add service lines you’re not currently offering.
Try to recognize how important your work is to every customer. Take pride in what you do. Then harness that energy to keep building your business.