HOW DO WE AVOID NEGATIVE FEEDBACK ON OUR BUSINESS AND DAMAGE TO OUR REPUTATION?

One thing as small businesses we cannot afford is negative feedback or damage to our reputation, as sometimes it can be irreversible and in some
circumstances force us to close the business down. Reputation is everything. This is why as business owners we have to be honest, reliable and trustworthy. We have to do what we say we are going to do and when we say we are going to do it. Failure in not an option.

Look at the damage all MP’s have done to their reputation through the whole Brexit scenario. To say it is a total shambles would be an understatement and if us – as small business owners – had conducted ourselves in the same way, most of us would not be in business today. If you are running a successful business in the right way, you say you are going to do something by a certain date and you do it – or else!

I want to relate a decision I made after watching the 2003 London Marathon which was to run the 2004 London Marathon. I am not a marathon runner and was not even a runner at that stage but I had made the decision. I contacted several friends who had also expressed an interest. Ten said they would run with me and two followed through with the decision. Not ever having run a marathon before and at the time of the decision, and only running 3 miles once a week, it meant a massive change of direction and some serious decisions needed to be made. I spoke to someone who had run a marathon before and they gave me a couple of tips – get decent running shoes and subscribe to Runners World. I did both. Why seek advice from someone who has done it before and then not do it. Runners World gave me a plan of how to put timeslots in for runs at certain distances. I know where I was and I knew where I needed to be in 12 months’ time and I knew I needed to make plans – serious plans – and have the focus and discipline to follow these plans through and I would succeed, my two friends and I all made the same decision. We ran together when we could. We kept in touch with each other. We spoke to each other regularly. We had a diet plan as well as a running plan. We kept each other on track and we had a responsibility to each other. We also had a responsibility to the Charity we were running for and the people who had sponsored us. Running the London Marathon is supposedly the toughest to train for as all the long-distance runs are during the winter months. We had to train when it was wet, cold, icy, snowy and dark. We had to run when we least wanted to. We had made a decision. We said we were going to do this and that was it. Our word was our bond. We knew the date of the event and we trained to be ready for that event. If we hadn’t trained properly, we would not have been able to ask the Marathon event organisers for an extension.

If only our MP’s had dealt with the Brexit situation in the same way. They knew the date. They should have worked to that date.

Long story short, we completed the marathon is 2004 and also completed the 2005 London Marathon. Running a business is no different. You need a support team to help you and keep you on track. We all need to outsource for suppliers to help us run our business. Make sure we choose carefully, as if you don’t you could end up with an imposter wrapped in tin foil instead of our Knight in shining armour. We cannot afford for our reputation to be damaged. We cannot afford to have negative feedback on our business. It takes years to gain our clients trust and respect and seconds to lost it. We have to get it right.

So what next? You need to take the next step… Just fill out the form on the contact page and let’s get your business on the road to success!