The Price of Giving

“In the beginning, the price of giving great love is risking that it won’t be returned. Until you understand, of course, that great love is always returned. With interest.” – Mike Dooley

Remember the first time you fell for someone. Oh sure the stories will vary from, we are married to this day, to it was my first broken heart. There are very few that would say they never have put themselves out there or made themselves just a tad vulnerable in order to be loved in return. Then the question, how much to give, right? You don’t want to sound too anxious and give away too much, and the scariest part is that short amount of time you have to wait and wonder whether or not the feelings are mutual right? These are the fundamental building blocks that separates humans from all others, and give us the ability to form meaningful relationships. This is a prime example of how sometimes we pay a price for giving in both the good and bad outcomes, there is a price for giving in and letting yourself be vulnerable to someone else.

What Does the Price of Giving Look Like in Business?

The work solopreneurs have to put in up front can be exhausting and risky, and many times after months or years of carefully selecting just the right business, creating a plan of action and following through, the growth can be slow at times and frustrating. The other thing that business owners will often feel is the pressure to have instant success and this leads to, “so why am I not getting the clients.” In almost all of those cases I can venture to guess that they are seeking to sale sale sale, not even entertaining the thought of reaching out and making authentic connections. This will prove to be futile every time because people don’t want to be sold, you have to earn their business. This may seem like marketing 101 to some of you but surprisingly I have met many many many business owners that still don’t get it.

“All you have shall some day be given;

Therefore give now, that the season of giving

may be yours and not your inheritors”

-Kahlil Gibran

You know if you ask any entrepreneur to list the top 3 reasons for starting a business, making money would be close to number one for most. I have a friend that is also an entrepreneur and had his own unique ideas about why he wanted to go into business. Zach shared with me his reasons for going into business, and making money didn’t even make the top 3! Zach had a huge amount of faith and he loved to share that with others, he also wanted to build community ties by only hiring those that needed a second chance like former inmates and maybe someday gaining enough respect within the community to provide him the opportunity to run for office and make changes to help others. His goals were always about giving instead of receiving and he is one of the most successful and well respected entrepreneurs I know.

So what’s the price in giving for your business? What is at the heart of your business, or what do others perceive it to be? If your business is all about squeezing customers then it’s time for re-visiting your objectives and goals to make changes. Sure someone will make money using this method, yes, however your business will build long lasting success by laying a foundation built using solid principles and strong character. So what kind of changes do you need if you didn’t start off like my friend Zack? What do you need to fine tune your ability to think “give”, and I’m not saying give away the cow, just a glass of milk? So the price of giving is good, and you don’t lose money; you make more friends, referrals and friends that do business with you.

I hope that you were able to ,take something away on the price of giving and if you have any questions find me on Twitter @MsHoverfly or email me at Michelle@MsHoverfly.com