Don't Be Afraid of The People You Exist For

Back in the day, I built and launched a clothes swapping app without nailing down who I was building it for and what mattered to them. I actually thought my market was fashion bloggers so I threw a launch party for them with cocktails, goodie bags, a HUGE wardrobe cake with an iPad in it, AND a half naked dude walking around with a branded plastic medallion-like necklace on. ?????? Whoa boy! The things I would love to say to that version of my younger self. I think I’ll write a piece about that another time. Anywhooo, about six months after launching, I learned that bloggers weren't the people my company existed for. Sure, a few downloaded my app and signed up, but did they use it? NOPE. Did they need it? NOPE. Did it solve a problem or pain they had? NOPE, not really. To them, it was a gimmick. ?? That realisation was HARD. Soon after that, I ended up going back to the drawing board and changed the name, position and story that surrounded my business. It was a pretty big setback and it sucked.

How often do you make strategic decisions about your company without talking to people first?

Honestly? I get it. Sometimes it feels easier (and WAAAAAAY less scary) to assume and make decisions about your business without speaking to people first. (Btw, by people, I mean the people YOUR COMPANY exists for. In other words, your customers, potential customers AND your employees.)?

Over the years, I’ve learned that making strategic business decisions without speaking to people first is lazy and quite frankly, RUDE AF. ??

As founders and leaders, we can DO BETTER. If we want to build businesses that people actually want in their lives, we must DO BETTER. We must listen, take it all in, then make an intentional decision. WE MUST communicate our message clearly so people feel seen, respected and cared about.

Why?

BECAUSE they're the ones on the ground, in the real world, living a life we want our companies to be a part of.?

At the very least, THEY DESERVE to be listened to and in return, I'm pretty confident that you'll learn some game-changing stuff. Yeah, it might feel like you're slowing down when you 'should' be getting sh*t done and powering up. Yeah, it's gonna take you longer to get to where you want to be. Yeah, you might learn something that will completely change the direction of your business and set you back a bit. But TRUST ME, IT'S WORTH IT.

Don’t be afraid of the people you exist for. They often have the answers you’re looking for.?

How are you actively staying in touch with your customers wants, needs, hopes and fears right now??

If you need some help and support with that, I'm here. The work I do with 5 Stories strengthens the relationships companies have with people. I'd love to talk.