One weakness that has held many business owners down
Being a business owner comes with a lot of responsibilities. During startup, you’re faced with a lot of challenges, much more than you anticipated. Most would give up but you stuck through and now you’ve been able to set something up for yourself. Congratulations! You ought to be proud. Before we celebrate your success though, you should know about this one weakness that has held so many business owners down; emotions.
Emotions, sentiments, whichever you choose, can be held responsible for the stagnation and even the downfall of so many business men. It can also be held responsible for lack of advancement in so many people’s career. You aren’t a robot that can be programmed to feel or not to feel. You’re a human being with a heart; of course you’ll have emotions. Even the strongest of men have this one thing as their weakness. Absence of emotions is not an option since we’re all human beings but we can handle or manage our emotions.
The idea of ‘there are no sentiments in business’ is easier said than done. Your emotions could be destroying your business and you have no clue about it. It affects and sways business decisions. For instance, you are into sales of a product and a particular brand for one reason or the other is no longer in demand but because you’ve formed an emotional attachment with the supplier, you find it difficult to start buying other brands. When you do buy other brands or quit buying that particular brand, you’re filled with a deep sense of guilt. This is a clear example of when sentiments can sway your judgment/decision.
There is no switch to turn your emotions on or off but with the right amount of discipline you’ll be able to successfully manage them. Then the idea of ‘no sentiments’ will begin to appeal to you. Another instance is when a family member is asking for a loan. Many people fall for this one. You know your business cannot afford to lend out that amount. You also know the chances of getting that money back is incredibly low yet, “he is family”. You find yourself committing to a situation that will probably mean early close down for your business. That’s what sentiments do to you.
There are so many instances but I’m sure you get the picture by now. Since there’s no visible switch to control your feelings, you should take some easy steps towards managing your emotions during business. Here are a few;
- Do not make any decisions in a hurry
- Try to view every situation like an outsider (pretend that you are watching everything play out from outside your body. it gives a clearer picture)
- Learn to say no and stick to it no matter how hard it is.
- Don’t make business decisions out of gratitude or debt.
- Form a ‘no sentiments’ mantra and pretty soon it will become part of you.
You are not becoming heartless because of business. Emphatically NO! You’re simply learning how to manage your emotions better to protect yourself from being directly or indirectly manipulated or pressured into making unfavorable business decisions.
