A few months ago I was asked to be part of an educational panel that would critique websites from an SEO, Design, and Content perspective.
Five business owners bravely volunteered a website for review. As we went over the sites, the website owners displayed various degrees of defensiveness that ranged from crossed arms folded tightly over the chest, to shouting from the back of the room, “Yea, I have all that! I just haven’t put it up on the site yet!”
After the event, many of the audience members commented on how much they learned, and how much they enjoyed the event. A few people in the audience suggested that we do a full-day training. But only one of the business owners came up to the panel to discuss her website, and even then she continued to defend her choices.
I realize that we made a critical mistake when we reviewed the sites… specifically, we didn’t take into account that each website was an extension of the business owner.
For many entrepreneurs and business owners, what they do is who they are. A business success is a personal success, and failure is personal as well. This isn’t necessary a bad thing. In fact, I believe it is the personal attachment to their business that motivates most entrepreneurs and business owners to succeed.
When you’re an entrepreneur or business owner you take your business home with you. You eat, sleep, and breathe your business. And you have to because no one else is going to pick up the slack.
The problem with taking your business too personally is that you lose objectivity. And lack of objectivity impedes personal and business growth.
3 Signs That You Are Taking Your Business Too Personally
- You become angry, hurt, or defensive because your business partners or employees disagree with you.
- You find yourself resistant to change or routinely reject new ideas.
- You refuse to delegate.
There’s a balance between honoring your vision for your business by staying-the-course, and being the bottleneck in your business. It’s like the standard definition of art, “You’ll know it, when you see it.”
Read more: Is Taking Business Personally a Problem?