So how exactly does me, my, and mine sink a company?
Anyone who is in business needs to understand 3 things. The business you own or run is not about me, it’s not solely about my business, and it’s not all mine.
What some business owners don’t understand is that you can’t run your business all by yourself (that’s “me” part of equation). Your business has to be more than being about “my” business. And your business is not all your business. What I mean by that is that you need other people to help with your business. If your business was solely about “me” then you wouldn’t need customers, your business could run on its own. If you have a business that totally runs on its own that is awesome.
One other thing to ponder. Although business owners may think their business is their’s, it’s really not. Without without customers and/or employees, the business owner wouldn’t have a business. I if others have a hand in making your business survive and grow, how can a business owner say it’s mine and mine alone.
This isn’t a new concept I’m talking about. Actually I first heard it from John Adams from the Iowa Economic Development Corporation. There are two concepts I want to share with you; one is the me, my, and mine, which will sink a company. The other philosophy is the you, your, and ours philosophy that will cause a company to rise above all the other companies.
After John explained these two philosophies I started looking at companies, or should I say I started looking at office space that had previously been occupied by companies. After I did some research I found that some of the owners ran their company like “this company is about me,” “this is my company,” and/or “this company is all mine.” With an attitude like that you will push customers away from your business.
According to research it takes seven times more effort to bring on a new customer than it it does to keep a customer. Can you afford that? So why don’t business owners take on the attitude of I’m here to help you, I’m here to help your business, it’s not about me or my business, and it is not because it’s all mine; it’s because I can help you. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Your customers will know if you will be there for them or if you are there for yourself, and your business won’t last long. I remember when I went into business I realized that my business wasn’t going to grow unless I built solid relationships with my customers. It’s not as much about my business as it is about YOU and how can I make my services affordable convenient for my customers. After I developed this philosophy, my business started growing and it continues to grow.
In my next post I will talk about the you, your and ours philosophy. Don’t forget to sign up for one of my upcoming workshops “Social Media Made Simple” and “Simple Steps to Using LinkedIn” at: Omaha Social Media Events