by JimRaffel on February 16, 2011
Earlier today as I was leaving the partner business where I’d spent the last two days, I stopped to say goodbye to Betty, the woman at the front desk.
I started with a smile, and then thanked Betty for her help over the last year tracking down invoices and payments.
Betty smiled back, and said, “Thank you, Jim. Travel home safely.”
That was it: Thirty seconds to humanize the interactions we have had over the past year.
Now, we both know the person we email and fax a little better.
For a small business, collecting money can be difficult. The edge you have on the big guys is that you can humanize the process.
I learned a long time ago that the velocity of money in a small business can make you or break you. If those smiles and thank yous I spread around gain me even 10 or 15 days in the receivables report – well, trust me that’s big money for any business.
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by JimRaffel on October 3, 2010
You know that feeling you get when you smile at a person and they smile back? There’s nothing quite like it is there?
Most of the time a simple act like a smile is all it takes to be there for others.
A friend posts a message on Twitter making it clear they are having a rough day. In 140 characters you can reassure them how awesome you know they are. Sometimes that’s all it takes to turn a mood around.
Over the last two years of my life I’ve transformed the way I live my life and run my business. I did not do it alone. In fact, without the support and encouragement of friends and family along the way it never would have happened.
Now, I strive to be there for others in little ways whenever I can. The hotel desk clerk who is clearly stressed out, whom I greet with a smile and warm hello instead of returning the scowl. You know, little things like that to encourage our humanity.
Give it a try this week. Hugs, a shoulder to cry on, a cup of coffee to share a laugh over. The little things that make us all human and humane.
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