I want to give you a few strategies today that you can implement immediately to not only transform any kind of small business you may be doing offline or online, but also transform your mindset.
As many of you may know, I’ve been building businesses for over twenty years. We have had over 500,000 people now go through our courses, and something I tell everyone who goes through the course is this:
Your relationship to other people is affecting your ability to make money.
Your relationship with other human beings – both offline and online – is both directly and indirectly affecting your business. When most people set out to start a small business, it starts with a desire to make a difference in the world, not to simply make money. And this difference they pursue is going to affect others.
While financial goals like supporting a family or getting out of debt are great motivators, they will never be enough to sustain your motivation day in and day out. The thing that is going to sustain you is your relationship with people. This is why people show loyalty to certain people and even to certain brands – because of the relationships and PEOPLE behind the product, not just the product itself.
As a matter of fact, studies show that people would actually pay more money for people and brands that they trust. They’ll pay more money for things like loyalty, time, and attention. Relationship is a big key to your value in the marketplace and can’t be overlooked by simply using the best direct response marketing strategies.
How can we change our mindset and change the way we think about people in a way that can benefit our relationships and our business? How can we change our relationships with other people in a way that enhances our ability to make money and impact the world?
One thing you have to do to build relationships as a small business owner is address any “triggers” you may have when it comes to clients and customers.
If you get ready to do business and there is something about a certain client or customer that bothers you, then you need to address that. It may be their gender, age, style, income bracket, hair color…you name it. If there is anything that triggers a negative reaction in you, then you need to do some soul searching. All too often people today get uncomfortable when somebody is different than them. This leads to walls and division. There’s no room for division in successful business, or relationships. Instead, we should be seeking to build relationship with people regardless of similarities or differences. Find common ground. Let love be our focus. Yes. LOVE.
Everyone will have triggers in life in general, not just in business. Triggers may be formed from relationships we’ve been in or experiences we’ve been through. People or situations that may have hurt us in the past could unknowingly be affecting the way we interact with people today. We might be triggered by memories in ways we didn’t even realize, which could lead to broken relationships by either feeling inadequate to serve certain people or to feel superior towards them, and even, to refuse to serve that person.
When we start understanding our triggers, God can help you overcome them. We must break down our triggers so that we can build up our relationships.
Another thing you have to do to build relationships as a small business owner is remember that comments on social media are not the same as a real relationship.
Social media can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to relationships. It is a platform that allows us to connect with all different types of people from around the globe, but it is also a place where insecure predators can lurk anonymously behind a screen. As a matter of fact, I have a policy that 99.9% of the time to never listen to or take too seriously anyone who does not have a face on their Facebook profile. If you aren’t transparent and authentic enough to show me your face, then I’m not going to listen to what you write.
In some ways, social media may eliminate some of the triggers you may experience in person, but that is because it is eliminating a more real, physical, human aspect to the relationship that you can’t get from behind a screen. Social media lacks a physical and spiritual connection that you are able to experience with relationships in person.
You are certainly going to have to have boundaries with whom you are going to do business with, but you can still love all people throughout the process.
Love will always win in my book. ALWAYS.
There are going to be some people I might not ever be able to do business with because of some of our moral values and convictions, but I can still love them. I can still serve them. I can still teach them about being a small business owner.
Part of doing business well is loving others well. Your clients and customers should be at the heart of your business plan, not your salary. Once your heart is in the right place, the rest will follow.
With love,
Sandi Krakowski
