Make It The People Who Count, Not The Money

A wise friend sent me this quote “ Change your focus from making money to serving more people. Serving more people makes the money come in.”  And she is right.

So often we get caught up in the numbers game – be it number of sales or number of people attending an event or number of members.  But when we do that, we run the risk of diminishing what we are offering as our focus is on the money, not on the customers.

And people can pick up when you are treating them just like a meal ticket. I am sure we have all been in situations when we’ve felt nickel and dimed or treated shabbily.  It doesn’t feel good and you leave feeling somewhat disillusioned and disappointed.   Yes, we have to keep an eye on the bottom line, but when that is all you focus on, to the detriment of fostering meaningful relationships, then I suspect your business suffers.

I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when we had ten people registered for a lunch meeting.  “Only ten women,” I thought to myself and I questioned whether we should cancel or not.  I am so glad we didn’t, because the right ten people were there, and they rallied around one of the women who needed a boost, and who received encouragement and support from the others.

She left with her head held high and the other women also had a bounce to their steps because they knew they’d made her day and had made a difference.  That is what it is all about, not the number of participants, not the money made, but helping each other.

It served to remind me of why I started Company of Women in the first place and was a lesson I needed to learn that day.  Sometimes we can wander off track and get caught up in the chase for the all-mighty dollar, but when you are genuine, honest and care, I have to believe that others pick up on your authenticity, and your business benefits, and in turn so does your bottom line.