Sometimes, despite our best intentions, mistakes happen. Some sneak up on us, some pop right out in our faces and still others are big enough that the proverbial shit hits the fan.

But if there’s anything I’ve learned since becoming self-employed, it’s that it’s not the mistake that matters.

It’s how you handle it.

If you rant and rave and scream and cry, not only will you not get anywhere, but everyone around you will either get pissed off at you and scream back or they’ll just simply leave. The problem then becomes you have nobody around to help you pick up the pieces and get back on track. You have nobody who believes in your message or your product.

The right way to handle mistakes

Own it. Acknowledge it. Apologize if necessary. But never blame anyone else. I don’t care if you think it truly is someone else’s fault – never lay blame. It’ll come back to bite you in the ass. And – it will be the ONE thing everybody remembers. You don’t want that. It would be the downfall of your business.

Just accept responsibility. And then get on with fixing it if at all possible.

In addition to owning it and accepting responsibility, your next step is to speak the truth – no sugar-coating, no beating around the bush, no blaming – just say it as plain and simple as possible.

And never make excuses!

Excuses are just laying blame elsewhere. Excuses are the weak way out. They have no place in your business. Or your personal life, for that matter.

I remember several years ago when I first started doing design work as a side job to my regular full-time employment, I had a customer who wanted a program, sorta like what you get when you go the circus or something. Glossy, filled with photos and info and cool trivia stuff.

At the time, I worked in a print shop and got a quote from the owner for printing this program. I was going to do everything else – design, layout, paste-up, etc – and the shop was going to do the actual printing. Then I would handle the folding and binding of the program.

Well, I got it all ready for press and it was run – full color cover and black and white interior. It looked good.

But due to increasing the number of programs as well as paper changes and a few other miscellaneous details, my boss ended up charging me a few hundred more than the original quote. It ended up eating my profit margin so I had to go tell my customer that there was a price increase.

So, I called her and asked for a face-to-face meeting. When we met later that week, I simply told her that due to the paper changes and the increased number of programs, it was going to add to the cost.

She was a little irritated at first, but in the end she thanked me for just telling her the truth, straight up and to the point, and asking for an increase in price. She gladly paid it and even spread the word about my business to other small business owners. At the time, it was one of the best testimonials I’d ever gotten.

As I said earlier, accepting responsibility for mistakes and then fixing them if at all possible is the right way to handle problems. No blame. No beating around the bush. Just straight and to the point without excuses.

It might not always come out exactly like you want, you may even still lose the customer in the end. But you’ll never have to beat yourself up for how you handled it. You’ll never have to regret making an ass of yourself or worse. No matter what happens with the customer, you can hold your head high knowing you acted with integrity. Which, of course, is Rule 1.

And speaking of Rules . . .

I’m right on track with the eBook (Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow) I’m releasing this Friday to my newsletter subscribers. It’s out right now in the hands of a couple of good friends who are going over it checking for errors or inconsistencies. Woo-hoo! I can’t wait to share it with you!

Please make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter so you’ll get a copy.

I’ll talk to you soon!

Until next time . . . keep blazin’!

During my years in real estate, my mentor used to say often that no matter what kind of problem you were dealing with, it was all about connection. Since then, I’ve found this to be true in practically every endeavor. And I find it especially true as an entrepreneur.

Every day, you’re given a choice of how to act with every person you encounter. But these days it seems like truly great customer service is the farthest thing from the business mind. I find this rather disturbing. Because instead of acting on faith and genuine care, it seems people often react to the situation.

Well, you can’t react to a situation and come out unscathed. It’s just not possible.

If you want that good experience from your customers, you have to give that good experience to them.

First.

You have to make a connection with them. And sometimes you have mere seconds to do that.

Customer service – true, genuine, customer care – is on the decline. All these huge corporations forget that. They’ve gotten so big, they’re just a machine, churning out their product or service. They’ve forgotten that connection to their customers. It’s a sad thing to see.

But the good news for YOU as an entrepreneur is that you’re not a big machine. And you can change that. You can treat your business like a personal interaction with each customer. You can show them value in you not just in whatever you’re offering.

I’ll tell you what – I would rather deal with a human than a big corporate game any day of the week.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Make a connection with your people and you’ll have them seeking you out time and again.

Until next time . . . keep blazin’!