We all need to vent and share our frustrations and “issues.” As home business owners, we may think we have more than our fair share of trials and tribulations. However, as the main representative of our home-based business, it is important to keep the whining and negative attitude in check—especially when dealing with customers, prospects, and vendors.
Sometimes whining is hard to catch. We may spend so much time working alone or in isolation that when we make contact with a listening ear, we just need to vent. We may vent about other customers, a negative experience with a vendor or supplier or a colleague, something that went awry with our family, a slow paying client, or other realities of the home-based business operation. The trick is to find safe places to vent and not let all that negativity affect our businesses or our reputations and relationships with our customers.
I am definitely not someone who thinks that a person needs to be perky and chipper all the time. In fact, the lack of genuine emotion and openness can be a real turn-off to customers and other people we come in contact with. But too much whining can be off-putting too. After all, we want our customers and clients to feel like we enjoy working with them and are enjoying our home business. Otherwise, they may wonder what on earth we’re doing and assume that we hate things so much we will eventually close up shop and abandon the business. Admitting to having a tough day or feeling a bit crabby is one thing, constant whining about all the pitfalls and downfalls of your home business is another. So, it might be worth your while to do a reality check and a little self-evaluation to see if you are letting too much whining seep into your business conversation.
See Also: Taking the Focus Off Yourself and Your Business
Keep Your Business Message Positive