EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS I have heard many successful businesspeople say that staff are the most important part of any company. Speaking from experience, I can confirm this is true. Maintaining these relation - ships is critical to success! Unless you, as the owner or manager, wish to complete every task required to run the company. Of course, I’m being facetious because there is bound to be a time you will need support in your business. It’s important to note that people come and go for various reasons so try not to take it personally and remain open to developing new relation- ships as your company grows and changes. SUPPLIERS / SUBTRADES RELATIONSHIPS These relationships are often your lifeblood when it comes to completing projects and successfully growing your company. A critical aspect of main- taining a solid relationship with your suppliers is that you can count on them to help you out in a pinch. Certainly, this goes both ways. Now, please don’t “cry wolf” when small issues arise. This will most certainly result in a loss of trust, and they will likely not take your urgent requests seriously in the future. CLIENTS RELATIONSHIPS Everyone has heard “the customer is always right” but I think we should look at this phrase from a new perspective. When you have a trusting rela- tionship with clients, they will seek your advice and guidance rather than fighting with you to be
“right”. Ultimately, you should both be on the same side trying to problem-solve together. I often say “the clients you don’t do business with are just as important as the ones you do”. Defi - nitely, a concept for you to think about! On the other hand, have you ever heard of “firing the client”? This is what I call it when it’s not feasible to develop a healthy relationship with a particular client and we need to step away. No matter how much a project is worth, a bad relationship will be toxic for you and your company. Most note- worthy is that this toxic relationship will take up your mental space and interfere with pursuing quality clients. Spend your time with clients who will respect you and trust your judgment. In the long run, this is the type of client you want a relationship with. I will save personal relationships for another time but suffice it to say, these relationships are critical to personal happiness and impact your business much more than we realize. Our partners, children, parents, and friends are what make our lives complete and if any of these rela- tionships are lost, then the remaining relation- ships become increasingly important. I truly hope you found this article interesting and helpful and please continue building your rela- tionships. In the end, they may be all we have and all we will ever need.
37
36
FALL/WINTER 2022 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • FALL/WINTER 2022
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker