You are an inspired person. You have a passion and did more than dream, you took that passion and turned it into a business.

Is it easy? Hell no! You pour everything you have into your business. Time, energy, and money don’t even begin to tell the story of just how difficult small business management is, but there is a way to get back to being an inspired owner.

Transforming from a dreamer into a successful entrepreneur can sometimes make us lose focus of what matters. We are trained to look at the metrics. What is the cost/revenues ratio? How effective are the customer retention programs? How do I optimize our search engine rankings?

The list of metrics becomes endless and we slowly shift from a person engaged with people, to a person engaged with numbers. Our passion drowns in management and our inspiration is fleeting. Clients’ faces blur into each other and special moments are few and far between. We wake up some time later and wonder where the love went? When did our adventure turn into a job? And finally, how do we get back?

Fortunately, pulling yourself back from the brink of a calculating capitalist is not difficult. Focus on your clients, as the famous quote goes:

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” – Carl W. Buehner

This is just as much true for you, as it is for them. Get back to experiencing the relationship with your clients. They love your services, which is why they come. When you spend a moment connecting to them and their experience, you humanize the relationship and they feel special.

Get That Feeling Back

Think of the last time a business made you feel special. It doesn’t matter how long ago, you will remember. You will remember because they made you feel. You will remember the ones that you despised as well. The stronger the emotional reaction, the stronger the memory, both positive and negative. This is why treating your clients like they matter, matters.

Get back to the client’s experience. In making them feel special, will you share in that feeling. It is that space of feeling like what you are doing matters that keeps us inspired.

Making clients feel special is sure to improve customer experience, a great way to step back into the groove, and is also the foundation for your small business success.