Too many businesses fail because they stop giving. Once a business hits a certain level the mindset shifts. The business expects the customer to cater to them. They stop giving and end up lost.
You started your business because your superpowers aligned with your work. You didn’t do it just for the money.
You need to get back to listening to what people really need. In this economy you can’t afford to sit back and let work come in. You have to find ways to separate yourself from everyone else.
Ask your people what they need from you. By people I mean your clients, customers and your employees. Yes, your employees too. You don’t need to break the bank to make them happy. All you need to do is get back to listening and implementing changes that might hurt a little now, but will help you in the future.
Everyone has time to hop on Twitter, Facebook, send a quick email and engage with their people. Ask them questions, answer questions and find out how they are feeling. If you don’t make time for this you aren’t keeping your finger on your customer’s pulse. And if you aren’t careful they will slowly die off.
Short term thinking ends up hurting a lot more in the long term.