Putting the Fun Back into Your Business
Most entrepreneurs who start their own business have a drive and passion for what they are doing and find it a lot of fun. However, over time that drive and passion may dwindle and the business may not be as much fun as it used to be.
Typically, when a business owner loses that passion, so does their staff, and then the entire business begins to suffer. There are many reasons why it is important to get that passion back, and why you should work to put the fun back into your business.
Stress Reduction
In order to be a successful business owner you have to be committed to your business. When work is fun, you are more likely to stay on top of the game, and any staff you may have will enjoy their work, meaning that they will probably stay with you longer and cost you less money in hiring and training.
Hold regular meetings with your staff to find out what they enjoy doing. Ask everyone to write down two or three things they like to do for fun, and then use the lists as guides to incorporate what they enjoy into the workplace.
Activities could include allowing employees to play their favourite music at work, pizza Fridays, organising a team for a local sporting event, having a casual dress day, or even allowing pets at work once or twice a month.
Customer Relations
When you and your employees enjoy working, your business will have a happy, positive atmosphere. This will make customers want to be around more and will help to deepen relationships and trust. Happy customers will also refer you to their friends, families, and peers.
To help deepen customer relations, organise a monthly get together with social activities that have nothing to do with the business. These events should be informal and short, designed to give your employees and customers a chance to see the each other’s human side. This will make business calls and meetings feel less like a chore and more like a conversation with a friend.
Employee Relations
Employee relations are just as important as customer relations are as happy employees are typically more productive, and stay at their jobs longer.
When organizing a fun business event, do not force employees to participate, put in extra hours, or stay late in order to attend. It is much better for morale to cut into productivity occasionally in order to ensure a happy workforce.
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
In order for the owner and employees of a SME to operate as a team, everybody needs to feel comfortable talking about difficult issues.
One way to achieve that is with shared positive humour, as it helps to promote a relaxed and open atmosphere.
These are only a few reasons why you should work to put fun back into your business, and a few suggestions on how to go about it. Use your imagination and enlist employees to help you!
Hope this helps and remember to have fun while you’re making your millions.
