GarthBox

As the work gets more difficult, so does the act of holding yourself accountable.

I like to think that each day we have a meter filled with willpower and throughout the day it drains. Once the work gets larger, the willpower depletes more quickly, and the first sign of a near-empty meter is a lack of self-accountability.

A quick safe-guard you can put in place is to have someone else hold you accountable… but without them knowing it. Set up a meeting to have someone smart review the work that you’ve put off. Sometimes you need that added layer of disappointing a friend to get you working.

 

Stay Positive & Keeping Trust Keeps Us All Moving Forward

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Sometimes it’s not the service, it’s you.

The barbershop on the west side of town is there for a specific kind of customer. They’re not going to remember your name next time you stop in. They won’t remember you get a 2 on the sides. They won’t remember your fiance’s name. They are there to fulfill a specific need of a specific customer.

It can be easy to think they should be taking notes of when your birthday is, what cut you got, and where you’re traveling over the weekend, but that’s not them. The moment they begin to do that, they fall out of line with their positioning.

It’s not always about being the best in the world, it’s about being the best to a target.

And for that barbershop, their target is men who need a last second hair-cut that they can relax while getting. The haircut is their place to escape, not to be absorbed by.

 

Stay Positive & For Some It’s Not About Making A Shop Better, It’s About Finding A New Shop (And That’s Okay)

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One of the many elements to developing a customer-first business is to create a VIP experience for the regulars.

After all, 80 percent of your profits will come from 20 percent of your fan base. It makes sense to treat them well enough that they keep coming back.

However, VIP treatment for your avid customers likely isn’t something new you need to do. You already treat them a bit better. They’ve already signed up for your newsletter to get deals. You’ve already welcomed them to the mug club.

What truly sets one customer-first business ahead of another is the VIP experience for those who complain, for those who didn’t get treated right at your competitor and are a first-timer at your place, for those who you might like to think aren’t worth your time.

If they aren’t to you, they will be to someone else. The goal is to not only create a VIP Experience for your regulars, but for everyone. The first-timers. The had-a-bad-experience-last-timer-ers. Anyone who walks through your brick & mortar or digital door.

 

Stay Positive & Right This Way

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The most important part of the work to own is the failure, not the success.

It’s admitting what you forgot. Acknowledging that you were wrong. You missed a step. But, after all, you’ve taken responsibility.

Contrary to the common belief, those who you work with will actually expect you to do better next time, not worse. It’s those who don’t own their mistakes that others worry about working with.

 

Stay Positive & Trust And Respect Follow Those Who Own Their Mistakes

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There’s the why you’re doing it that’s about passion, creating change, making an impact, leaving your legacy.

Then there’s the why it will work.

One is easier to spend time on than the other, but you’ve got to remember you can’t have one without the other.

 

Stay Positive & So… Will It Work?

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You’re swimming in a sea of infinity. There’s always something more you can do.

One more email to send. One more social network to check. Review the script once more.

And when you’re done, it can be onto the next one. The key, then, is to ensure you’re doing what you love; that it’s not a grind or a hassle or a nuisance. Instead, it’s a pleasure, a dance, a privilege.

 

Stay Positive & So…What Is It?

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There’s no reason not to filter any work that you’re going to send out into the world.

Not dumbing down the work, but refining it. Not editing it, but proofing it.

Something might be remarkable, but that doesn’t mean it’s relevant.

That’s why you need a filter.

 

Stay Positive & What’s Next Again?

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