Business is Always Personal (for me)

How many times have you heard “It’s not personal it’s just business.”? Well for me that isn’t true.

I take pride in helping every single client of mine. When people find out that I’m self-employed they often say, “Nice, you are your own boss!” My response is, “Not true. I have hundreds of bosses… my clients.”

Many of my clients end up being good friends of mine and I consider helping them to be not only a professional obligation but also a moral obligation. For me, business is always personal. I know that at any given moment I’m only one unhappy customer away from damaging my reputation and jeopardizing my business as a whole. I came from nothing and this business and my reputation are all I have.

Within reason, I will bend over backwards to take care of my clients and preserve my livelihood. Working on nights and weekends, taking calls after hours, agreeing to strict deadlines, apologizing for mistakes and refunding payments are just a few of the measures I’m willing to take to keep my customers happy.

I want to have a lifelong business relationship with all of my clients. My clients, therefore, know that they have a friend that cares about them and is willing to do what it takes to preserve our relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t take everything in business personally. If a client can find someone who can help them quicker and/or cheaper, I’m not offended by that.

At the end of the day, I want to know that my clients are in the hands of the person best able to help them. Ideally, that would be me but if it isn’t then I want the best for them even if that means I miss out on their business. As you can see business is always personal for me. Thank you Michael Scott (AKA Steve Carrel) for the motivation.