Over time the appearance of any business can deteriorate, often without the owners or managers being aware of it. This deterioration happens slowly making it harder to notice but no less significant. A run down, tired looking business sends a very bad message to prospective customers.
It’s like looking at a photograph of yourself now and comparing it to one taken ten years ago. Sadly there will be a few more lines, possibly a few more pounds and for us blokes, a little less hair. If you woke up and saw that these changes had occurred overnight, you would rush to your doctor to find out what life-threatening illness had you become afflicted with.
Exactly the same changes can occur in your business. The day you open the doors the business is sparkling, the uniforms are fresh, the company cars look smart, the signage is bright and fresh and everyone has a bounce in their step. Over the space of a few years, however, the premises can become run-down, the uniforms fade, the company cars become dented and old, and the signage and carpets old and dirty looking, giving the whole business a run-down appearance.
Stop for a few minutes and take a good look at your business. Be objective. Think back to the day you opened your doors. How does it compare today to when you started? Are there areas that could be improved?
Remember to that these days fatigue can creep into other aspects of our business, like our websites. An out of date, poorly maintained website sends just as bad a message as a run down premises.
Customers like to see that a business is staying current and fresh. It sends a positive and energetic message and it says that the business is prosperous. A tired, worn out and fatigued looking business looks like it could close any day and generally they do.
Just as there are physical elements to a business that can show signs of fatigue, business owners themselves often show the greatest signs of fatigue. Burn out it is a real problem in the business world. It seems to me that that behind every worn out looking business, there is a worn out looking business owner.
I strongly believe that we need to manage our main asset – which is of course ourselves. We need to take breaks, we need to be healthy, we need to have regular holidays. But of course there is never a good time or enough money to have a holiday, or enough hours in the day to take a break or enough time to stop and get a healthy meal. The problem is that if we don’t address these issues, they eventually catch up with us and cause major problems.
I always advise my clients to make a list of the reasons why they can’t take a holiday. The longer the list of reasons the more important it is that they have a holiday. This is a big topic, in fact I wrote a book about it, “101 ways to have a business and a life” – because I struggled so badly with stress, burn out and fatigue from working crazy hours in my business.
Fatigue, of all kinds, creeps into a business over time. It has many different ways of manifesting and as business owners we need to be diligent. We need to make sure that we are sending the right message to our customers.
Great article Andrew.
Owners also need to be aware of this issue when it comes to selling their business.
A good “spring clean” before they put their business on the market can often make a huge difference to the final sale price.
Thanks Mr Green – and a great point re the pre sale spring clean. People trying to sell a tired, run down, worn out looking business rarely get full value. “Fixer up” businesses are not as appealing as beach front shacks. All the best mate.
Cheers
Andrew
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