No matter how a business owner feels about their business, their business will make a difference or impact, both to themselves, their customers and others in their community. Their strengths and weaknesses affect how they interact with others, and the responses to the services they offer will in turn affect how a business owner responds.

There are three different ways in which your business can make a difference.

Sharing of talent, genius abilities and knowledge.

Don’t be afraid to share what you know, your talents and your genius abilities. Volunteer at college opening days and describe to students how their careers can make a difference. Offer advice on their career plans or paths or mentor new business owners.

Help your community by organizing fundraisers which help worthy causes. Not only is this free advertising for your business but it helps make others aware that you care about the community in which you live.

Your intentions and how they affect your customers.

View your business by looking at it from your customer’s perspective. Your principles will make a huge difference in how they view your products. Does your business make it obvious to others what you stand for and what you identify with? Does it show commitment to others and that you don’t compromise on quality? Do you have a way to apply your intentions to your business?

Self-growth.

Business interactions can also make you more aware of how social conditioning has caused you to behave in a certain way and once you are aware of this, you can begin to pay more attention to what you do and what you say. Business interactions actually motivate business owners to take a deeper look at how their business fits into the community. They realize they they too can still be inspired by others and that learning is a lifelong skill.

Character is what you have when no one is looking. Be true to yourself and run your business with the highest of ethics. Realize that in order to care of your business and therefore others, you first have to take care of yourself to the best of your ability.

Don’t get so wrapped up in your own business that you become passive to what is going on around you. You can’t change things when you aren’t moving. Taking the safe road isn’t necessarily the best choice. Challenging yourself is a major part of owning your own business and making a difference in your own life. Ask yourself why you’re running a business and why THIS business? Some call this your purpose but there doesn’t need to be a purpose for everything. Sometimes you just do things because they make you happy. What observations are you able to make about yourself? What problems do you want to solve and how can you be the best at solving them?

By making a difference with your business, you become more intuitive and get to know yourself better. What time of time do you do your best work? What types of personalities do you feel most comfortable working with? What are your most interesting characteristics?

In the end, it is your relationship with your business that will result in the outcome that you are working toward. Realizing that the work you do for yourself actually has a huge impact on those around you can make you become more involved with your community, which helps build a successful business.

“If your presence doesn’t make an impact, your absence won’t make a difference.”
~Trey Smith

© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015

image courtesy of thewaterproject

  I’ve been thinking a lot in the past year of how much more confident I was when I was younger. By younger, I don’t mean a child, I’m talking about just a decade ago. Trying new things, stepping outside of my comfort zone, public performances – they were all part of my life. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a comfort zone!

Sometimes I believe it’s media that causes us to have more stress and anxiety. When you are constantly bombarded with the same messages on television, the internet, everywhere you are, it’s bound to affect you eventually. Most of the messages we are getting seem to revolve around our health; whether it be what we’re eating (or not eating), our alcohol intake, exercising, whether or not we smoke. I remember a time when all of the above weren’t things we were much concerned about and we were happier and healthier!

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with your business. Self confidence is very closely related to what many call charisma, that certain compelling attractiveness and sense of power that draws people to those who exude it. It can inspire loyalty in your customers, transfer itself to your products and services to have them appear as more appealing and of higher quality while also helping you to succeed.

Your self-esteem is based upon how much confidence you have. When you come across as calm in all situations it shows your ability to handle the most difficult of tasks and this, in turn, inspires confidence in others. It’s a win-win situation. New areas of business become challenges that you enjoy, self-doubt disappears and you no longer compare yourself to others or care too much about what they think.

Modern advertising would have us think the opposite. That everything we do in both our business and personal lives has to fall in line with a certain standard, and that standard has to be the same as those of everyone else. Standing out is not an option. All businesses must cater to the same clientele within the same demographics. Our businesses must toe the line politically, socially and in every other way that might mean someone would speak up about it and say it doesn’t fit in with how they feel a business should be run.

Never forget, that your business is just that – your business. In order to be maintained efficiently and to grow successfully, the owner of a business has to believe that what they selling meshes with their lifestyle. When you’re pushed and pulled in so many different directions because of what you’re told in the media and through other advertising, you become self-critical. You lose your ability to make a decision and act on it.

Forget about comfort zones, the constant bombardments of what others think is wrong with you, what is good for you, what is not good for you. Make those decisions for yourself. You know what causes stress in your life. You know when you’re out of shape and what needs to be done about it. Quit letting others tell you what is right and wrong with your business and your decisions. Decide for yourself and watch your confidence grow.

© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015

image courtesy of kzntopbusiness

  Our small businesses are important to us and one of the greatest signs of success is expansion and quick expansion if possible. Is it possible that many of us are expanding too quickly, taking on too many responsibilities and financial obligations?

The ability to focus on what are the most important aspects of our business lets us concentrate on the essentials and still have time to ourselves while watching our business grow in a more managed way. Simplification is becoming more popular as we finally realize that bigger is not better, more is not the way to go.

Be realistic. Take into consideration the economic outlook, particularly in your niche. Learn to plan for further downturns while still being optimistic. Consider where your business is at presently, who purchases from you and also, at what point you would like your business to be part-time because as you get older a full time business will no longer be something that should be a priority.

Make plans. Looking at when you would like to start downsizing, if not immediately, pinpoint which areas of your business are the most costly. These are the areas you need to start reducing if possible. If this isn’t possible, why not? Are there some functions of your business that are spread out among various employees, if you have them? Could these be consolidated into one job? Would it be more financially viable to outsource these tasks?

Change your policies. If, until now, you have made it a habit to deal with certain suppliers, hold onto certain employees or any other long term habits, change them. Once you’ve identified where your business needs to go, implementing change is going to be difficult, especially if it affects others, but necessary to your financial future.

Downsizing any business takes preparation. Always take into account any promises made for future projects, how your reduction of services and products will affect your most loyal customers and keep in mind that you can always specialize in your most popular items. Having more doesn’t necessarily equate into dollars, it’s how satisfied you are with the life you have created.

© Chris Draper, DemGen Inc. 2015

image courtesy of linkedin