We all know we are not going to get out of life alive, so what have you done and what do you still have to do to leave this world in a better place than when you arrived? I believe that we need to live our lives with exceptionally strong morals and ethics and put people ahead of any personal wealth or material possessions. We all have the ability to touch peoples lives in so many ways.
It does not have to cost us money to touch someone’s life, and a principle I love to promote is “paying it forward”. We can all do our bit to help improve the quality for someone close to us or even someone we don’t know. Help to put a smile on someone’s face.
My whole business life has been built on doing the right thing – looking after my clients and my suppliers and ensuring a long and harmonious business relationship. I have always said one of the benefits of working for ourselves is the ability to pick and choose who we do business with. Life is too short to be working with clients or being around people generally who are a constant drain on us. We need to be with people who have the same values as us, people we know we can trust and people who could do business with us – or us with them – on a handshake – and no repercussions. We need to make life as pleasurable for us and for other people as we can.
I have always said that anyone who doesn’t conduct their life with the right values will find it coming back to bite them at some time in their life. I firmly believe that what you give, you get back, so make sure you do good.
Being in business for ourselves is an exciting adventure, and can be a much more pleasurable experience if we build a good team of outsourced suppliers as well as staff. If we just focus on what we know we are good at and get help for all the other stuff, we will enjoy the day to day operation of our business much better. Don’t overwork – don’t think that working 70 or 80 hours a week means you are running a good business – its quite the opposite and it will affect other areas in your life. Make sure you have a mentor – someone who has been where you are and where you strive to be. A mentor will ask you questions, test you and help you move forward – it all aids to having a better business. Build a better business before you build a bigger business.
A business should be treated as one area of our lives. We need to care for it the same as we care for our life partner and our kids. We should not abuse it. We need to make sure we own the business and the business does not own us. So to ensure you build a business on solid foundations, get help and support. Look at this help and support as an investment in you and your business. Build strong relationships. Make sure you work with people you can trust and people who trust you. Do what you say you are going to do and always keep those communication channels open – leave this life all the better for you having been here
This article was first published on LinkedIn by Richard Knight on 14/06/2021