By Ron Kustek
I’m sure you’ve asked yourself this question before — perhaps right after you decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge, or 6 months later when you were facing the day to day challenges — either way, it’s a question to keep in mind throughout your self-employment.
If you’ve found something that you really love to do, either creating and selling a product or providing a much needed service that you really care about — then most likely you still have the passion to get up each day and keep improving on what you started.
But if you no longer have the same drive, or a similar desire to keep improving and engaging with your customers — then perhaps it’s time to think about your next phase of life.
Think back to when you started your business, when you didn’t quite know all the things that you now know about the day-to-day challenges of dealing with customers and employees.
Think back to when you made sure that everything was clean in your business, that there were no cobwebs lurking in corners or when the paint looked fresh, or the plants and flowers were bright outside your entrance.
Think back to when every customer and every situation was approached with a smile, with the positive passion to truly resolve the issue because everything mattered.
Everything Still Matters
If you are keeping your business on life-support, whether emotionally, physically or financially, let me be the first to tell you: it shows.
It shows that you’re stressed, it shows that you no longer make eye contact with every customer or employee, it shows that your shoulders and posture carry the weight of time and decisions not made.
It shows that you are in the ‘nether-zone’ of not wanting to close your business, but that you truly need a break from the daily pressures and responsibilities, and that perhaps you need to decide whether you should continue to have the business, or perhaps its time to move on.
News Flash: Indecision Shows
Your employees know if you are no longer into the business, if you’re no longer feeling the love of every moment being open and operating.
Your customers also feel whether the ownership of the business has ‘checked out’ or is just too pressured to make even the smallest changes needed.
Realize that when you’re walking quickly from one part of the business to the other and not engaging positively with customers — that you’re being observed and felt both visually and energetically. And your genuine feelings cannot be faked.
Your Business Is A Relationship
We’ve all likely been in relationships that are going great — and those that are going nowhere.
If you’re business relationship has reached the point where you no longer feel that you’re happily building a future together, then like any relationship, it’s likely best to move on.
You may have given it your all, and have had some great times, and now is the time to move on before all memories of the good times are lost.
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Ron Kustek is a business instructor at Cabrillo College. Email: [email protected]