Picture an artist in a meadow working away on their masterpiece. Every brush stroke took years of practice and skill refinement to make it happen in just the right way. The same rules apply to growing a business and learning from others’ mistakes.
In the thirty years since Hansen Lawn & Gardens was first formed, we’ve seen many local companies come and go. While we’ve heard others mention that they’re glad when a competitor is out of the game, it’s not how we like to operate. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone, and we don’t want to see hard-working folks fail in their endeavours!
Honesty is the Best Policy
We don’t want anyone to fail. We don’t even want any company in our industry to fail. It’s not fair on customers, employees who need to make a living and the business owners trying to stay afloat. However, honesty plays a critical role in that regard. We love being transparent and upfront with our customers because we know it’s what they value when it comes to our landscaping services. When considering the long-term impact of honesty, it becomes clear that it’s a trait that can’t be ignored.
Don’t Celebrate Failures – Learn from Them!
With that in mind, should we all be honest and considerate, our failures should never be celebrated. It’s a horrible prospect, but it’s just the way many businesses behave. We believe that fairness and mutual respect is the best way forward. We’ve all failed here and there, so why mock or show gratefulness for those who are going through a tough time? It makes no sense, especially if you’re trying to appear professional. You can fall down seven times and get back up on the eighth, and all that matters is that you get back up in the first place and keep moving.
There’s Room for Others to Grow
It’s important that we put our own needs aside when it comes to the development of other businesses, mainly because what they do often doesn’t have any impact on us other than a bit of competition. The world is a big place and there’s plenty of room for everyone to get involved and do well. Encouraging others to grow indicates that your business is operating without a bias towards other companies, effectively levelling the playing field and ensuring fairness.
Treat others the way you want to be treated, they say, and it makes sense! You never know – karma could come back and bite your business’ potential where it hurts most. Always be humble, neighbourly and fair. In today’s world where so many of us are angry and overwhelmed by change, being happy about someone else’s failures is the last thing we should be doing.