Taking Charge Of Attitudes

Most small business people find it difficult to manage thiswell. In a shop, a smile and an offered hand, maybe. But eventhis is denied when you own an online business. You have onlyyour site upon which to demonstrate your credibility andexpertise. And words are the most effective tool you have atyour disposal.

Build A Professional Image

To make the words work, consciously build a business self.A person who rises above or stands aside from bothersomenegatives present in day to day living. Got a temper? Bury it.Want to argue? Don't. Are you one who believes deeply aboutthings? Forget those convictions not related to doing business.

The latter can be particularly hard to do. If you favoryour religion over others, your convictions must not be revealedon your site. Many will disagree, which is counterproductive.If you can't abide children, never let it show. There are anendless list of notions such as these that simply must be setaside in running a business.

Once you have defined that part of yourself you are willingto share with others, never depart from this definition, evenmomentarily.

Avoid The Risk Of Negatives

The above may seem harsh. I can picture many businesspeople I know saying this isn't so. They take the positionthat its sufficient to let yourself shine through.Unfortunately, they are wrong.

We can't risk anything that may appear other than positiveto our visitors. In short, we must always put our best footforward. Always take care not to offend. Some of ourconvictions must be restrained, and never be allowed to "shinethrough."

Your religious, ethnic, and nationalistic convictions haveno place in business. If you can't grasp this easily, askyourself if you are willing to share your sexual convictionson your website. Or your attitudes toward the opposite sex.

A Disasterous Example

Years back I was gathered with about a dozen fellow teacherssharing our lunch break. Devoted brown-baggers, we had at leastthis in common. Groups were clustered here and there deeplyinvolved in solving their vision of world problems. Two womenwere sharing cat stories.

Abruptly one teacher said to the group as a whole. "I hatecats. When I'm driving, I try to hit them."

The silence as they say was deafening. The two women whohad been chatting about cats tossed a steady stream of angrydarts with their eyes.

I think this was about the dumbest thing I've ever hearda person say. And I said so. The fellow glowered at me for atime, then left the room. He was substituting at the school forthe day. I've always wondered if maybe it was such opinions,freely voiced, that prevented him from finding a permanentposition.

If for a moment you doubt the need for accenting thepositives and ignoring anything your visitors might construe asnegatives, consider putting the above two sentences about catson your site. Those who argue that the "real you" in all it'sparts should be visible at all times, should also try this.

It matters what we remain true to ourselves. But we mustshare only positive traits our visitors can relate to. We mustaccent the strengths in our life that enhance our businessefforts, and avoid all else.

Utilizing Your New Self

Be professional in all ways. Always be upbeat and positive.No negatives are allowed. Ever. Go the extra mile whenappropriate. And never ever break promises.

Never misrepresent yourself or your product. Never evenexaggerate. In fact if you consistently undersell, you willalways over-deliver which of itself assures satisfied customerslikely to return for another purchase.

Take honesty to a grand extreme. Never even considerducking a customer complaint or a request for a refund. Neverever mislead or take advantage of a visitor.

Good news gets about. And news of an honest site will aswell. But news of a site perceived as dishonest spreads 10 to20 times as rapidly. Frankly, few can afford this risk.

Honesty matters even more in what you say on your site. Itmatters most when seeking to demonstrate expertise. Includeonly information you know to be so and arguments you know to besound.

If you haven't got the information or argument needed as youwrite, say so boldly. Your readers will accept a simple, "I'mnot sure here, but it seems ..." If it's a point that matters,go find the facts, then rewrite this segment later.

Sure, you'll make mistakes. You'll be flat wrong now andthen, despite best efforts. But most will not hold you pinnedto the standard of perfection. A quick admission of error anda simple apology (Sorry, I goofed here.) are quite acceptableto most, provided all else is straight.

However, there is no way at all to "cover" or "apologize"for stated views with which your visitors disagree. You may infact truly hate kids. But say so on your site, and you'll losean awful lot of moms and grandmoms. Pops and grandpops, too.There are not a whole lot left when you subtract those who likekids from the general population.

While you may feel you are not being completely honestunless you share all your convictions, your social views arenot what your visitors came to your site to discover. Sharethe expertise they need, do so completely and honestly, thenquit while you're ahead.