We all need a little TLC right now. Take time to care for your business and everyone involved — yourself included.
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February 11, 2021 5 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Possibly the greatest thing overlooked by entrepreneurs is how similar a business is to a growing being. Your business requires love and care to keep it going strong — allowing you, in turn, to continue to reap the rewards. This Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to give your company a little love and help your business grow from strength to strength in the year ahead — whether by expressing appreciation to the customers who use your products or thanking your employees, who work long hours to make sure the company is at its best.
Here are five ways to give your business some love this Valentine’s Day and add positivity and performance to the rest of the year.
1. Start taking time out for yourself each day
Many business leaders, including Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, live by the idea that their lives can’t be all business. Bezos is quoted as saying that he strives for “work-life harmony,” because when his home life is going well, then his work at Amazon goes well and vice versa. If you want to operate at your peak, then take time to recharge your batteries. It is as easy as a simple home workout in the morning, a walk around the block in the afternoon, or a few minutes of meditation before you go to bed. A healthy mindset is imperative in any industry as the healthier and happier you feel, the more able you are to approach things with optimism and energy.
Related: 5 Easy Ways You Can Slash the Number of Hours You Work
2. Implement a PR campaign
With the world becoming increasingly global and media sites pivoting to push their content out digitally, it is more important now than ever to get your company into the press. A single news story can generate an influx of sales and leads overnight and might even go viral. Publicity is much less expensive than advertising and has several other benefits, including SEO, positioning you as an expert in your field, and even making it easier to get verified on social media platforms. Many businesses do their own PR and get tremendous results, but it’s just as common for companies to seek out PR firms to help them. Whichever route you choose, if you do it right, the results will be more than worth your while, bringing in additional sales and customers that will help take your business to the next level.
Related: 10 Ways to Get Global PR Exposure
3. Show your employees love
From a simple affirmation e-mail (“Great work last quarter, I really appreciate what you have done for the business and all the hard work I’ve seen you put in!”) to incorporating a structured bonus incentive scheme within your business, it’s always important to acknowledge and show your appreciation to those who are helping you run your business each day. Employees are the foundation to the company’s success and oftentimes a small thank-you or a token of appreciation can go a long way toward making your employees feel at home in your business.
Related: 6 Leadership Best Practices to Empower Your Workforce
4. Set up (or check in on) your 2021 plan
If you don’t have a structured 2021 plan so far, you’re probably not alone. After the whirlwind of 2020, things are less predictable than ever, which makes it hard to have clear expectations of what this year could mean for your business. Regardless, it helps your company tremendously to evaluate your last year of performance and create a plan based on the things that you’ve learned and mistakes you’ve made. And while some of the best plans may not even eventuate, you still need to have a structure in place. Mapping out what you need to do and what you want to achieve on a yearly, monthly and weekly basis not only ensures the greatest amount of success but also keeps everyone on the same page and makes your business as productive as possible.
5. Continue to learn
Sometimes the best thing that you can do for your employees is to improve yourself as best as you can. As an entrepreneur, it’s important that you never stop learning. Whether it’s listening to podcasts on business, spiritual or personal growth or attending seminars, it’s important that you continually expand your knowledge, even in the fields you are most familiar with. Many people underestimate the need to exercise your brain as much as your body in order to create a healthy and positive atmosphere within and around you. The way things were done five years ago or even early last year aren’t remotely the same as how they are done now, and as a business owner, you need to be at the bleeding edge of innovation and creativity so that your business can be a cut above the rest.
Implementing these strategies will help you ensure that you continue to love your life as you succeed as an entrepreneur. Often to succeed in business, all you need is love.