#WednesdayWisdom – Importance of Fun in Business

Often when I ask business owners if they are having fun in their business, I am met with a blank stare, or their head and shoulders drop as they reflect on my question. 

So why is having fun in business so important and why are so few business owners having fun in business? 

As always, we need to start with our mindset as business owners.

Traditionally, the gathered wisdom was that business needs to be serious. We must work hard to be successful and even harder to stay successful.

 Certainly, working hard is an element of owning a successful business. There are other vital elements.

Our first step is to decide that we are going to have fun in our business.

What are some of the benefits of having fun in business?: 

• A business owner’s health can suffer from too much stress. Having fun can relieve some of this stress
• If a business owner is suffering from too much stress, this will project a negative impact on their family, their team, and their customers.
• A business owner who is having fun in business will have a positive impact on his family, team, and customers.
• A business owner and their team who are having fun in business, who love coming to work, can be up to 3 times more productive than someone who is just getting through the day to pay the bills
• Top performers will be attracted to a business with a reputation for having fun in business. 

So how do we set up our business to have fun?

• Have clear and inspiring Vision, Mission and Culture statements that everyone in your business understands and buys into in their daily work lives. One of our points of culture is Fun.
• Have written systems for running your business with clear written roles for everyone in your business.  Everyone’s role to include 3 KPI’s to measure how they are performing their roles. This will reduce stress for everybody.
• Have regular reviews with your team to ensure everyone is on track and identify any further training or support that may be required.
• As an owner, you should have your team complete a 360 review of how you are carrying out your role (which should also be written down).
• Insist that each member of your team have goals that they want to achieve with an Action Plan to achieve them.