If I had a tenner for every person who I’ve ever spoke to about their new business venture who I could tell probably wouldn’t go very far with it, I’d be one of the dragons on Dragons Den…or something very similar.
It’s not because I think they won’t make it out of some inherent pessimistic streak thats running through my veins. If you know me, you’ll know that I always try to encourage, inspire and motivate those around me.
I know they will fail because they are going into the venture for just one thing: the money. And only the ones. Don’t get me wrong, I love money, too! The handbags, gadgets and little luxuries that I indulge in here and there don’t just fall out of the sky. It takes money to live my life, honey!
However, just focusing on the money that the business will bring means they really don’t care about the business they are going in to (i.e. they have zero passion for what they are about to start, the industry or even the products or services), and they don’t care about the customers who will buy it.
Just because it’s hidden behind a friendly voice and a wide smile doesn’t mean that the lack of passion and interest will fool potential customers. Think of the times you have been to a shop and not a single sales assistant approached you, smiled and offered to help when you were clearly looking for something. How many times did you walk out of the shop? Or ask for help and got a begrudging (and rude!) point to the other, east, west or south of the shop, just for your sheer audacity to ask for help. Then, compare it to the opposite experiences of going into a store, and being made to feel as though you were the only customer (or the most important person) in the store. How the sales assistant made you laugh, gave you their ‘honest’ opinion about your purchase and made you feel happy that there are still humans on the planet who have manners. The difference between the two ales people is just passion.
You might argue that there might be reasons why the first sales assistant was such a pain to deal with – but that’s where passion kicks in. When you care, and are passionate about what you are doing, it becomes extremely difficult not to share that with the rest of the world – even if you’ve got things on your mind.
So, the lesson to learn today class (lol!) is to give a care. If you don’t then you’re in the wrong business – it’s time to dig deep and look for something you care about, so you can enjoy your working day, too, and make the coins you really deserve.
