Inspiration can come from many places — your work environment, home life, or anything in-between — but one source that many people don’t consider is their connections with others. Our founder, Ed Hansen, recently spoke of a businessperson and friend named Pat Whelan. Pat had the expertise needed to help Ed make the most of his landscaping business.
We’re inspired by this story, so today, let’s go over how having friends with experience in a different field can help your business thrive.
Perspective
We all have different perspectives, and that means we never understand the full story. And that’s okay! This is when having connections with friends in different backgrounds comes in handy if you’re running a business. For example, when our founder, Ed, was unsure about how to approach marketing Hansen Lawn & Gardens Ltd., he reached out to a friend who was more experienced in that area. They worked closely together to refine Ed’s strategy while teaching one another about the different business worlds they came from. The result was not only a stronger connection, but better results by applying different perspectives.
The Right Approach
There are many people out there who think they have the right idea about what’s best for your business when it’s really just something that satisfies their own needs, and it doesn’t mean that they intend to do this. There are some really great people who just happen to come to inaccurate conclusions, but some may act on the assumption that they understand what’s going on. This is not a professional or fair approach. If you try to work with someone who thinks they have all the answers but isn’t open to understanding and respecting your side of things, then it’s not a good source of inspiration. In fact, this can make many interactions toxic, heavily biased, and unwelcoming. The right approach is to sit down with each other and say, “You know what? Let’s listen to both sides of the story and work together on this. Let’s understand and enjoy helping each other out here.”
Trust
When a connection is humble and not simply trying to instigate their own perceptions or ideas, there becomes a higher level of trust between you and them. This can make working together easier and much more enjoyable, which will also help to produce better business growth results. By surrounding yourself with respectful, open-minded business connections who look at things from a non-biased perspective, you get an all-around better experience for everyone involved!
In the end, if you want to grow your business healthily and become inspired, look for healthy connections and work with them! Reach out to people who enjoy your input, efforts, and company (not just what you do when it’s convenient to them) and see where the road leads you — it’s likely that you’ll go much further and feel better doing it.
Want to hear more from Ed? Connect with him on LinkedIn!