Building your business is about not being satisfied. (source: Visualpanic / CC 2.0)
I recently caught up with Joel Gurman, Regional Vice-President at Quicken Loans, and a Snap Fitness franchisee. I asked Joel to share with Dot Connector readers his top three lessons learned from both his 14-year career at Quicken Loans and from his time as a Snap Fitness franchisee.
Here’s what Joel had to say…
Lesson #1: Always be happy. Never be satisfied.
There never comes a time to kick up your feet. It’s all about trying to identify the next “inch” or “twist” that will build your business. When business is at its best, it’s the time to challenge yourself even more.
Think about it: when times are tough people usually push themselves simply out of the need to survive, and the results are never ultimately what they could be. When things are going well, that is the time to push. It’s the time to really think about your business, so you can realize even greater success.
Others may see this as a negative, saying that you are never happy. The key is making sure that you place an equal emphasis on both being happy and not being satisfied. Remember, it’s easy to be happy. Why? Because it can always, ALWAYS be worse.
Lesson #2: Truly listen to everything your Clients have to say.
Very often the key to building a successful business is simply opening your eyes…and ears. All to often, people want to only follow their heart. While sometimes that is the right choice, taking in as much information as possible will always help you make the right decision. Talk to everyone that you work with and listen to what they have to say.
Remember: feedback is a gift! Whether it is positive, “feel good” feedback, or negative, “delivered with a needle” feedback, it is all a part of growing as a person. The key is listening to the feedback, not only hearing what someone is saying, but understanding why they are saying it. This doesn’t mean that all feedback is “right”, but it is important information that you can learn from.
Lesson #3: Always work hard. Nothing comes easy.
I firmly believe that everything worth having can only be achieved by hard work. Over the years, I have seen people making choices because it would make things easy; change careers because their current one is too hard. Whether you work for yourself, or you work for a large company, at the end of the day the value you add is based ultimately on the results you bring.
My goal everyday is to do more with my day than anyone else. That’s why after a 10 hr day, I will go to the gym, or do more work at home. Remember the lottery winner who loses it all…nothing comes easy.
If you’d like to learn more about Joel Gurman, please visit his website at: www.joelgurman.com.
