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Getting Into The Mind Of A Business Owner

By Jacqueline Drew
START Marketing Inc.
www.startmarketing.com

Salespeople want to know how to sell to them.  Employees want to know how to impress them. And their spouses just want to know why they're just plain insane. I'm talking about business owners.  And after dealing with hundreds of them, I thought I would share some of what I've learned about them, with you. 

1. Business owners pick up the garbage on the way into the office, clean the mugs, and sweep the floors. If you want to impress them, help them do it.
2. They don't tend to dress fancy, or drive expensive cars and own big houses.  They often pay their employees more than themselves, and are more proud when one of their employees dresses fancy, drives a nice car, and owns a big house.
3. They care about making their businesses fun, unique and meaningful.  If they were in it just for money, they'd have taken a job a longgg time ago. If you act like you're in the job for the money, you won't impress the business owner.
4. Business owners care about making a difference in the world, and really crave seeing their customers' happy reactions to their product or service.  They need to spend time on the front line to get meaning from their work.
5. They choose to work evenings, weekends, before dawn, or whatever it takes to make the business work. And they are proud to do it.  If you show them you do it once in awhile too, you'll have their respect.
6. Business owners often don't sleep well, especially when in a financial crises, and they really worry about looking after their employees. When they do sleep well, they often are dreaming about their businesses, and how to make them great. In which case they'll pop up in the middle of the night and madly scribble down ideas.
7. Business owners prefer to deal with other business owners.  If you're trying to sell the owner of a business, bring in the owner or top officer of your business.
8. Finally, small businesses desperately need active owners.  If a business owner no longer desires being active in the business, it is time he or she moves on and sells the company to someone who can bring the energy and dedication of a sincere owner.

Being a business owner is an honour and a burden – a lot of hard work, and maybe someday, a little bit of glory after everybody else had already achieved it.  And even with all that said, business owners are people you may never quite relate to until you try owning a business yourself.    But I wouldn't trade it for any job.