Business 101: Putting Your Heart and Soul into your Business – How to Build the LOVE
You remember those magical first moments when you first met, you and your big idea? Your body felt wired with crazed energy, your cheeks were often flushed, your words couldn’t catch up to the pace of the thoughts that powered them, and your creative genius within was awakened and keen to produce masterful works that seemed to strike all the right chords with your small but mighty and loyal first audience.
Ah yes, you were smitten with a big idea and falling deeper in love with the big dreams you had for the two of you. You were becoming an entrepreneur.
As you grew together however some bumps in the relationship smarted a little worse than others, and even some of the good times felt a little overwhelming at times.
People along the way started to take you and your big idea pretty seriously after a while, and some even started offer advice on your maturing endeavor with your big idea. Little by little, you welcomed more input and execution on your big dreams with your big idea. Before you knew it you had outsourced experts, consultants, and even perhaps new partners.
Then one day you woke up to realize that the dream was bigger, smarter, highly ranked in search engines, and better marketed now, but the magic seems to have faded a bit.
The difference between good and fantastic is in keeping the love alive between you and your big idea.
5 Ways to Keep and Build upon the LOVE in your Business:
#1: Maintain Perspective: Build in time to reflect regularly on where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re going. Access the part of you that fell in love with your big idea, and don’t allow the momentary stresses, deadlines, and setbacks tarnish the fundamental passion.
#2: Seek Alignment and Dissention: Amass a team around you that first and foremost believes in your big idea almost as much as you do, and give yourself the autonomy to dissent with trusted consultants, or advisors if you aren’t feeling things clicking. Play with it and get it right before bringing it to the client. If your magic’s not there, your clients will ultimately see it.
#3: Be Authentic: Ensure every aspect of your growing business remains fundamentally committed to the original mandate and dream you had for it. Ask yourself if that new marketing campaign supports the original mandate of your big dreams, and if that new product is aligned with the vision.
#4: Stay Connected: Make a habit of regularly working in the trenches even if you don’t have to anymore. Make the deliveries, greet your customers, pick up the phone, and roll up your sleeves to remain in touch with the essence of your business. This will help it to keep feeling like you. Extend your voice to your team and inspire in them a deep desire to remain true to your business’s ethics and essence.
#5: Tell your Story (often and passionately): Remind yourself while engaging with your clients and peers, who you are, how you fell in love with your big idea, and what the big dreams are that you have for it. Share your uniqueness and complete the dots for your audience. They will remember a story about you so make sure your story articulates your magic.
