How you treat other people really matters, especially when you are an entrepreneur. People will respond to you and do business with you when they know, like and trust you.

You can’t spread misery all day as an individual or an entrepreneur, then post a smiling image to your Instagram feed and think people will trust you. People will sense something is ‘off’ even if they can’t explain why. 

The best way to have friends, be respected and run a profitable and sustainable business is to use your power to impact others positively. (I wrote more about your power to impact other people here)

Positive impact can give: 

• significance to your life through building a good reputation, positive legacy, meaning and significance, good health and personal satisfaction;
• profit to your business because positivity is good for business. It builds trust, which helps you get repeat clients and more positive ‘word of mouth’ recommendations;
• benefits to other people. You can start a ripple effect as people pass the positivity or ‘good deeds’ forward.

Positivity is good for your business 

Your positive approach to your business is demonstrated through your core values and business principles, how you treat your employees, and the quality of the products or services that you sell to your clients and customers.  When you aim to provide a top quality experience for customers through your products and service, you increase the likelihood those customers will become loyal fans and believers in your company and service.

When people receive value from your business and from you as a person, your business is likely to be more profitable. People want to do business with you because your products or services help them and others like them in the community. That leads to positive reviews, word of mouth recommendations and repeat customers – which is all good business!

You are also more likely to attract the right sort of employees to your business. The best employee will be someone who is committed to your mission and who gets involved in the purposeful work of helping others.

As an entrepreneur, your focus is to build a profitable business. If you aren’t profitable you won’t be in business for long! But as well as making money you can find ways to have a meaningful impact through your business. 

Your impact can reach beyond your direct employees into their families and other contacts.

Your business gives you more scope to influence and impact other people because you have the infrastructure to reach out and spread your message. 

According to Liliana Biglou the Head of British Council Ghana, “Businesses have the power not for profit alone, but to bring social empowerment to societies.” 

A new research by the Social Enterprise Activity (announced by the British Council Ghana) revealed that 98 social enterprises in Ghana currently employ 998 young people directly, and that impacts positively on 103,148 lives in Ghana. www.ghanaweb.com 

There is more likelihood of you being profitable when you make a meaningful impact. People will want to do business with you because your product or service helps them and other people like them in the community. In fact, the quality of your service can often be a decisive part of a customer’s decision to buy from you.

Therefore, a sound business strategy can be built on outdoing your competitors through your positive approach and quality products and service, instead of trying to minimise or criticise their work or products.

How to have a positive impact as an entrepreneur

As an impact entrepreneur you are responsible to impact others positively in your life and your business. Here are 5 steps to help you be more positively impactful as an entrepreneur:

1. Understand that you always make an impact – either positive or negative. Evaluate the type of impact you currently have and decide what type of impact you want to have from now onwards;
2. Decide what you can do in your life and business to make people’s lives better – helpfulness, quality, service, product, attitude, values;
3. Make sound business choices in response to this question – ‘will doing _____ enable me to impact more people positively?’ (Don’t think only about money and profit although they are an important part of the equation);
4. Measure the impact of your positive approach in business terms – does a positive approach bring you more satisfied customers, re-purchases, and positive recommendations, OR less complaints, returns, and dissatisfied customers.
5. Focus on what brings results. A positive approach is likely to be the most productive and profitable business strategy and when you prove it through your measured outcomes, you will double-down on those practices as a smart entrepreneur.

Oprah Winfrey says: “The surest way to bring goodness to yourself is to make it your intention to do good for somebody else.”

As an entrepreneur you are in a position to impact many people and customers. How you show up as the manager and how your business treats customers, matters a great deal. When you treat your customers well – give them value and reliable service – they will be far more likely to return for more business. In the best case, they will also pay your positive attitude forward!

Alternatively, a negative attitude harms you, your business and other people. If you cheat customers or provide poor service or unreliable products, don’t be surprised if they do not make a repeat purchase or give a favourable recommendation to others.

Since you have the power to impact and influence others, use your entrepreneurial position responsibly! Choose to excel, give value and provide a top quality business experience! It is a sound and profitable business approach. (To read more about your power to impact other people, click here)

Before you go, tell me when you chose to have a positive attitude and how it impacted your life or business.