When you love what you do, there’s no drudgery or sense of burden.
There’s only enthusiasm, passion and joy.
In fact, you’ll often feel better when you’re “working” than when you’re not. You constantly seek to improve yourself and your business, and ideas flow readily. It’s fun being you in your business.
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.
Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether or not you’re doing what you love:
- How often are you so excited about your business you can’t wait to start your day?
- How often is the opposite true?
- Do you dread even the thought of working on or in your business?
- If so, how often do you feel this way?
- Are you inspired and energized by your business, or does it feel more like drudgery and a burden?
Be honest here.
Why did you start your business?
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your intention was to create a situation in which you exert 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. You might have also wanted more freedom, financial abundance and the ability to travel frequently. Maybe you wanted to make a difference in some fashion or actually enjoy what you do for a living.
Sometimes people start a business selling a product or service they believe will make them rich, but they don’t believe in or would use themselves. This will eventually create a huge disconnect within a person for which riches won’t compensate. If you sell useless, low quality or defective goods and services — and you know it — your lack of integrity will catch up to you at some point, potentially destroying your business and any professional satisfaction you once felt.
Believing in the products and services you provide is necessary to enjoy owning your business. Not only does integrity feel good, it also attracts and retains talented team members and increases the number of loyal customers you serve. Integrity increases the fun, pleasure and success you experience in running your business.
Another key factor in the amount of satisfaction you derive from your business is your leadership style and ability to lead. If you don’t like to be a leader, don’t understand what one is or how to perform this responsibility in an effective way, the amount of fun you experience in your business will suffer.
Ineffective leadership is 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, strive to be their best and support others in doing so. This behavior results in greater job satisfaction; increased productivity, loyalty and retention; exceptional customer service; and greater sales.
Becoming a good leader takes time and effort. But as you do so, your business runs smoother and becomes 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 business culture. This is a situation worth avoiding at all cost.
The more qualified, better trained, happy and committed your team members are, the better it is for everyone involved. People who like and enjoy their work will perform at much higher levels than those who don’t. Hiring talented individuals is a science. A qualified professional can provide proven strategies to dramatically 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 aren’t thriving. Financial success is only one aspect of your business.
When you’re passionate about your business; sell exceptional products and services; provide effective leadership; and assemble a capable, happy and loyal team, financial rewards will follow.
Moreover, you’ll derive far more enjoyment in the process.
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This article was written for and published in collaboration with The Business Times newspaper. Access the article here.