The Business Guide
Just a regular guy that decided to quit his stable job and start a business. After successfully being in business I've learned a thing or two, unfortunately the hard way. I've created this podcast to share my successes & failures and to talk about the "real" ins & outs of business. I'll be personally sharing my stories along with guests.
As Business Owners we wear so many different hats and we have so many different struggles, we will breakdown those struggles together and talk about how we've overcome them and how it's shaped us to be better. If your a business owner currently going through a struggle, I hope this content helps!
The Business Guide
The Essential Role of Soft Skills in Leadership
What if a few subtle tweaks in your communication could skyrocket your business success? This episode of the Business Guide promises just that, as we uncover the secrets to mastering essential communication skills. We start by diving into David's question about how to attract younger customers to his auto repair shop. Discover how leveraging online reviews and creating engaging social media content on Instagram Reels and TikTok can help build a genuine connection with a younger demographic.
Ever wondered how to keep your seasonal business thriving all year round? We've got you covered with practical advice for landscape business owners, including offering Christmas light installation and firewood sales during the off-season. Plus, we help pet grooming business owner Jessica break through her growth plateau by sharing strategies for expanding services while keeping that personal touch her customers love. These tips will ensure that your business maintains financial stability and continues to grow.
The episode wraps up with a heartfelt discussion on the transformative power of soft skills in business leadership. Hear a touching personal story that illustrates the importance of delivering feedback with empathy and respect. By fostering positive communication and listening thoughtfully, you can create a motivated workforce that drives your business towards success. Don't forget to leave your comments and feedback—we value your input as we craft future episodes tailored to your needs. Thank you for your continued support, and here's to your business's bright future!
Hey everyone, what's going on? It's Jonathan Wagner and I want to welcome you back to another episode of the Business Guide. Today we are going to be diving into a topic that is often overlooked by most business owners but is absolutely crucial in business, and that is the importance of soft communication skills. Yes, sometimes we need to take it down a tone and often when marketing or talking to a customer but more importantly, your employees and how your message comes across sometimes you need to bring out the soft skills. So today's episode we're going to be talking about, yeah, just mastering communication skills with your employees, your customers and other business owners. So let's dive in First.
Speaker 1:Again, we're still kind of in the first season of the podcast. I figure the first season is going to be me testing a bunch of stuff and trying to figure out what I like and what I don't like. So today's episode I'm going to start a little differently. I have a couple of questions. Pretty cool. I've brought some questions in the past up just one question at a time, but as they started to flow in, I documented them and took a couple down. So I want to spend a couple of minutes going through some questions and, yeah, I get that, I'll see, get that answered.
Speaker 1:So first up we have David. David owns an auto repair shop. First up, thank you for listening, david. I don't know how you stumbled across the podcast, but thank you for your time listening. So he says, jonathan, I've been running my auto repair shop for over a decade. Congratulations, you've hit the decade. That's a milestone right there. Okay, let me get back into it. So I've been running my auto repair shop for over a decade and while I've got a solid local reputation, I'm struggling to attract younger customers.
Speaker 1:What are some modern marketing strategies that I can implement to appeal to a younger demographic? I mean, I would probably say you know, just kind of thinking of your auto repair industry. Right, I don't know, I'm kind of choking on this. You don't deal with new cars, you deal with used cars and, primarily, who has used cars. Now, a lot of people have used cars, but primarily the market is going to be a younger generation. The newer cars I would say would probably be for maybe somebody that's got a career figured out or whatever. It may be Not saying that other people don't have used cars, but I do think that a younger generation is going to have more of a market for used cars. I forget where I saw this, but I think, like AutoZone and O'Reilly's all those auto repair stores where they sell service car parts I've heard that they are having record years and the next decade is going to be a record for them. As well, as the cost of new cars have gone up and affordability with houses and things like that, people are investing more in keeping their older cars. So I think you're in a market that is not going anywhere. I think you're in a market that you have a ton of room to grow. So congratulations there, congratulations there. Gosh, what are some modern marketing strategies that you can implement to a younger demographic?
Speaker 1:So one thing I go back to is always make sure that that you know says you have a good, solid local reputation. Is that a local reputation from you doing a good job? I know that I've got a repair shop down the street from me that we use, and he came word of mouth after a few auto repair shops didn't work out for us and now we continuously take our fleet there. It is not always convenient because he is so busy and obviously we have cars that need to be on the road, but this guy is just a straight shooter, does not try to upsell you and really just does a great you know great job for a great price. You know, obviously, local business like that. I mean, we got that local reputation. So if that's the local reputation that you're talking about, then that is great.
Speaker 1:I would almost offer or offer up to say get online. I don't know what your online presence is doing, but you definitely need to have Google reviews, yelp reviews anywhere you can get reviews where your customers can go and spread the word to a mass audience. I think that that is going to help your business out. So again, don't know if you're online already, but I would definitely get on there. Encourage your customers to leave you a review. You know, if they did have a negative experience, try to nip that in the butt very quickly so it doesn't get out online. But yeah, I say, go online. That's where a younger generation is looking.
Speaker 1:Anyways, let's see what else could we do. You know, I mean I think that a lot of businesses are adapting to Instagram Reels, tiktok, things like that. You know, again, I think that it's a little bit of a strategy, right, we are business owners, we don't have time to be full-time content creators and things like that. But I think that you could put consistent content out there on maybe your social media, maybe friendly tips of how often you're supposed to have your oil change or your tires rotated. Come through all of these different repair things that you deal with transmission fluids, windshield wiper, all of these different things and create content that you deal with transmission fluids, windshield wiper, all of these different things and create content that you can consistently engage with your audience. Now I wouldn't, you know, just throw out a random post and start posting it. You want it to be, you know, genuine. I think, with you know these quick 30-second, 60-second videos that are coming out. I think that there is a niche for you. So don't go on there and just draw something up on Canva and put out a tip. Engage with your audience. So, if you don't mind getting in front of a camera, pull out your cell phone. Get a cheap little microphone off of Amazon that connects to your cell phone it will greatly help that audio and shoot a quick little 30 second video of hey, this is what's going on with you know, this car that I'm working on, and if they would have come to me sooner with maybe rotating their tires, I would have been able to save them, maybe replacing their tires or whatever it is. So I think that if you do that, watch how quickly you build a little bit of a market there.
Speaker 1:In our area we do have some content creators, if you will. So I think with social media you've got these like mega influencers, and then you also have these almost these like micro niche influencers and maybe they have 5, 10, 15,000 followers, but they're specific to an area or a product and typically, typically those clients convert more. So in our area we actually have a couple micro influencers, if you will, that specifically go out and make content with local businesses and that gets high engagement. That is all super hyper local. So, right, doesn't matter if a video gets a million views throughout the United States, it's all about getting maybe 1000 views or 500 views specifically in your market or your area and people are sharing and engaging that content. So maybe hook up with a micro influencer. You're gonna have to go on Instagram, you're gonna have to go on TikTok, facebook, look at these different sources and see who's engaging in your community. But I think that could be a great way to engage with a younger crowd, and then I don't know what you're doing for Fleet, but you know.
Speaker 1:I figure I should just say this while we're talking about your question. But I don't know again what your fleet looks like if you're taking fleet accounts. But for me auto maintenance has been such a struggle With so many different vehicles on the road. Taking those vehicles out of rotation is hard, especially when you have almost practically a tech or an employee assigned to each vehicle and they've got to go out every day. The weekends are a great downtime for us. So for me, being able to schedule weekend work having it dropped off on Friday, worked on Saturday and then we can go pick it up first thing Monday and also being flexible, like I said, if we have a service that needs to be done, we'll schedule it out with our local auto repair shop that we use. But sometimes things break and they don't start and he is flexible at getting out there.
Speaker 1:But yeah, so I would say adapt a fleet market too, you're going to have really good customers. I mean, we, at the end of the day I wouldn't say we're massively high paying customers, right, we want a discount, we want a good service, but at the end of the day we just want a good price. I don't want to bait and switch every time I go in there. I don't want to send my guys in for an oil change and we end up getting up-selled on a ton of different things. So I think that there's a couple suggestions for you on the younger market, but also try Fleet out if you have not been into the fleet market.
Speaker 1:Okay, so we have another question Again. Bundling all these questions at once, this is super cool. Thank you so much for engaging and shout out. David. Thank you for listening to the podcast. Please send me a follow-up question if you have anything else.
Speaker 1:Next question goes to Sarah. Sarah is a founder of a landscaping company. So, sarah, again, thank you. Don't know how you stumbled upon the podcast, but thank you for listening. Really, do appreciate it.
Speaker 1:She says hey, jonathan, my landscape business has been growing steadily, but I find it hard to manage cash flow, especially during the off season. Do you have any tips for maintaining financial stability year around? Cash flow issues is every business owner's practically business partner right. I think that we all deal with it at some point, you definitely being in a seasonal business. I mean, again, I'm here in beautiful California, but temporarily I did live in Texas, it was very interesting to see that you know you only had your lawn mowed for, you know, six months out of the year Obviously the winter and things like that the grass didn't grow, things didn't need to be done. So it was kind of interesting to see that. You know these landscape businesses had to adapt to that. So this suggestion that I'm going to give is just kind of a suggestion off of what other guys were doing in that area. That I thought was pretty creative. Again, being a native to Southern California, our landscape guys come all year round and I'm sure that they don't really have ups and downs and they have nice little upsells that they can throw on tree trimmings, bush trimmings, things like that. So yeah, let's jump into that.
Speaker 1:So, maintaining financial stability, so obviously, so you're talking about, I would think, the decrease in the work volume that you get, you know, from not having work. Maybe you're in a place like Texas. So landscape companies out there, during November, christmas, january, I did see landscape companies ironically heavily investing in hanging Christmas lights. Now in California we pretty much hang our own Christmas lights. I would say there's probably some random services that I've seen that go out and do hang Christmas lights. But wow, in Texas it was a booming and thriving market. So I don't know if that was just Texas or if that is other parts of the United States. Hit me up in the comments, guys. Let me know if people install Christmas lights around your neighborhood or your town and specifically where you're out in the United States. But going back to your question, I think that that was a great avenue for these landscapers to adapt. Now obviously there comes with higher risk. Your employees have to be trained, they have to be willing to do those things right, get up on roofs, get up on ladders, not scared of heights. So there's definitely more risk to the business, but I think that that would be a great little added bonus during the slow times that you could add on.
Speaker 1:Another landscaping business that I saw had offered tree cuttings all year round. So they obviously they went around and took down trees. They had a little lay down yard, obviously. They went around and took down trees. They had a little lay down yard and this landscape company actually provided me with this in the winter months as well, but it was firewood. So they would go around and charge these customers money right to cut down trees. They would remove the trees, take that back to this lay down yard, cut it up, let it dry out, and then they would sell it in the winter or the following year. What a great business model, right? You're getting paid to essentially remove your product and then, instead of disposing of your product, they were holding onto that product and then selling it to people in the colder months. So I don't know what your current business model looks like, but I would absolutely be looking at Christmas tree hanging or, excuse me, christmas light hanging, if that's something up your alley. And on the flip side, I would also look at possibly that firewood. I really like that more than the Christmas lights. I think that everybody needs firewood around that time and if you're positioned well in the market, I think that you could dominate that.
Speaker 1:And then another thing that comes along is sprinkler systems. Sprinkler systems in colder months need to be weatherized. Sprinkler systems break. Things happen. So I think that, as you're coming out of maybe colder months, maybe that spring where people are getting back into the routine of maybe watering their lawns or their landscape and now it's starting to grow back, right before you get busy, maybe pivot into doing sprinklers.
Speaker 1:I know when I was in Texas, I had to have a sprinkler guy come over and again he did landscaping and mowed lawns in the summer months and when I met with him he was extremely busy and wanted to schedule out some of the repairs that I wanted done in the colder months. So pretty unique business strategy. We did ultimately go with him and he went in and just completely redid our sprinkler system. So I think that there's a couple things there to help you generate some more cash flow, hopefully ultimately helping your overall cash flow for your business. So, sarah, thank you. So, to help you generate some more cashflow, hopefully ultimately helping your overall cashflow for your business. So, sarah, thank you so much for that question.
Speaker 1:A really good question. All right, I think I'm gonna pick one more. I actually have three more questions, but I don't wanna get too tied up on this episode with questions. But I really think that this is cool. Let me know what you think. Maybe I should stack all these questions and do an episode where it's just questions. Let me know what you think.
Speaker 1:So let's see, we have Jessica. She is the owner of Jessica's Pet Grooming. Okay, so she says Jonathan, I've built a loyal customer base over the years, but I'm noticing a plateau in growth. How can I expand my services without losing the personal touch of my customers' love? So, jessica, thank you for the question. Let me get a sip of water real quick. So pretty cool, jessica.
Speaker 1:I mean a little, uh little backstory in between me leaving, uh, my job years ago after the recession and before I got my job at Walgreens. I actually helped out as a dog groomer for all of probably about a month. That dog grooming business was owned by none other than my mother and she had had that business for over 15 years. So pet grooming is something I am familiar with and I just want to go into some suggestions that I gave her. I don't know if this really is going to apply to your business. I don't know what type of technology that you've worked in, but I can definitely speak on some of the frustrations she dealt with.
Speaker 1:So I do know with dog grooming, it is a very labor-intensive business model, right, and a skilled business model. I've noticed the reliability in employees is hard, as you need solid people in there to do what they're trained to do, which is dog groom, and not a lot of people have the taste to do that. So I do know that employee market is hard. So for a lot of dog grooming owners they do rely on themselves to do a majority of the work and then hire accordingly. But you see stores like PetSmart, petco, they obviously have something figured out, there is a model that they've been able to turn onto a larger scale and a larger volume. But you do lose that customer approach and customer love.
Speaker 1:So I think that one just embracing that you're a small business and that you are a local pet grooming shop does speak wonders to people. You're always going to have the people that go to the big box chains and at some point they do get tired of that. Maybe there was somebody in there that did something wrong. And those frustrations come into your shop and you're able to resolve those. So I mean I would probably say you're going to want to be maybe more of the face of the company. I don't know if you're in the background grooming the dogs or not, like my mom was. I actually have a friend that also dog grooms. They're in the dog grooming shop quite a bit. I would say get in front of the audience. So again, I know that the employee aspect is really hard and it is tough and challenging. I can totally relate there. I remember the stories. But I really think if you're able to make up for that on you being the face of the business with these customers, as you're checking in and checking out the dogs, you also have control of the upsells. What we noticed in her dog grooming business was a dog would come in completely matted that's where their fur is completely just. It's really hard to work with and there was always an additional charge for that. Well, anytime an employee was checking them in, they would not tell the customer that and then after the fact the customer would not pay that because they weren't told the charge. So I think you as the business owner ultimately have control in your pricing and your upsells.
Speaker 1:A couple of things that I suggested to my mother. She was very old school, so write appointment book penciled in. This dog is coming here. I know that there's another dog that I know of. Now they do embrace social media. They've got a great following. But they'll say, hey, I've got a couple bookings here or we're no longer taking bookings. They'll do that on their social media. I think social media one is a great tool, but set up an automation.
Speaker 1:I know you know— these people that have dogs love their dogs and their dogs aren't going anywhere. So they want them groomed, they want them looking nice, they want them taken care of right. So go in and create an automated system. And there is programs. I did look and do research so there is automated programs that you can take and put on the computer if you don't already have that. But I would really invest in the time of setting up the reoccurring appointments and services and work on your email list and text message list, because if you're having a slow day you can send out a nice banging deal where it's going to drive some traffic into the people that don't necessarily want to be on appointments.
Speaker 1:So I hope that that helped your question out. Necessarily want to be on appointments. So I hope that that helped your question out. Thank you again, jessica, for asking that question. I think that's all the time we have today for questions, so let me switch back over into the episode. All right?
Speaker 1:So the importance of soft skills, communication and leadership in business. There is a joke that goes around my business, my restoration business that I am a very tough person to work for, to work for, and it's coming from the employees that did not work for me at the time that I was a very, very tough person. But some of those employees that were around for those tough times when I was a very tough business owner, growing my business very, very strict on everything I wanted to do and see with my business, that message is still true to this day and even the other day I forget what it was, but I was talking to my operations guy and you know I checked in with my employees and everybody was okay and for whatever reason it was a question that nobody wanted to ask me and they were scared to come and ask me and I just laughed because I've really positioned myself to be super approachable over the probably past six or seven years. But it's so funny that the first three or four years that kind of that drive that I had is still within my business. So I think importance of soft skills we'll get into that. But my personal story is absolutely you do need to be soft and I have adapted through that through the years.
Speaker 1:I was a very tough person to work for. That was learned in my training at my former employer. I had had a manager that was very strict, very cross every T. Nobody liked her, but I learned under her management and when I started my business that is the management approach that I took in my business. Not only did I hold my employees to that standard, but I held myself to that standard. So I mean, if an employee didn't come in with the right belt, I'd send them home for the day and say, hey, come back tomorrow with the right belt. So I was very strict on the appearance that I wanted. I was very strict. I remember having business cards made and I think we went through probably 20 different revisions and then when they actually got printed, they printed up wrong. And I remember having like 50,000 business cards of just so many different additions of them because they kept coming out wrong and I was such a stickler on absolutely not.
Speaker 1:This is the way it needs to be In business. I still deal with customers that are very hard to work with, as I was back in my early days, and that has definitely helped me change and become much more of a softer communicator. I take time to really work through issues and understand what somebody's going through. That has helped me on my employee side, but it's helped me on my customer facing side as well. So my guys and again I'm somewhat distant from my operation, it definitely runs itself. But when I do need to get involved as the business owner or step up, that is where I can be the refreshing soft person, where maybe my guys have been working through an issue and they're completely frustrated. I can be the refreshing soft person where maybe my guys have been working through an issue and they're completely frustrated. I can come in and be that soft voice. So yeah, I don't know, definitely you got to figure out your. You know the way you handle yourself around your employees and your customers.
Speaker 1:So let's see here. So again, I remember in my last episode, or a couple episodes, I jotted everything down. I'm trying to go off of this. I'd like to stay on topic here. I felt like my first couple episodes I was going off topic. So forgive me if it seems like I've typed stuff out, but I've totally typed stuff out and definitely want to process it and talk to you about it. So first up is going to be understanding the value of soft skills.
Speaker 1:I remember this particular employee that I had, real hard worker, really really good guy, really really good guy, and for whatever reason, if you gave him any feedback, he would really take it to heart. I mean, I mean really really take it to heart. I mean I remember one day his like polo was like stained and I said, hey, if tomorrow you could show up in your other polo, that would be great. Um, I remember seeing him go to his car and cry about that. Those are the times that you start to realize that you, as a business owner, you are kind of a figure to these people. Right, you're their employer. You've got to remind yourself that they're in the backseat and you're the one driving the car and they're helping you drive the car. Maybe they're in the back seat and you're the one driving the car and they're helping you drive the car. Maybe they're giving you directions or they're helping you out, but at the end of the day it's somebody that they're looking to for direction in that business and you don't want to be known as the guy.
Speaker 1:That was super harsh, super harsh. I remember years ago somebody was explaining one of their bosses that they were a stickler in the toilet paper that they used in their bathrooms and would literally come out and yell at people if they used too much toilet paper. That makes for bad business. Overall, you're going to have employees that do not truly believe in your brand or message and they are truly coming in just for a paycheck and I've talked about this in past episodes and we'll talk about this in future episodes but employees that are coming in just to collect a paycheck and nothing else could be so detrimental into ruining your business. Now there are a lot of people that just want a job and then want to clock off and go home and live a nice life, right. But you also don't want the person that really loved their job and then became lukewarm about their job and no longer puts in any effort into that and just shows up for those checks. Those people will ruin your business, they will rub off on other employees, they will rub off on your sales, they will rub off on your customers and you will be known as this business that is just lukewarm and customers will choose other businesses over yours.
Speaker 1:So I think being able to engage your employees and your customers with a soft tone or soft approach going back to that polo example, could there have been a different way? I could have approached that at the time, absolutely, even though I was super short, and move on right. Hey, if you could show up next time with a cleaner polo. I can completely understand how that has come across. So is there something else I could have said Absolutely? Should I have said absolutely? So, whatever you're dealing with, I would say, take a step back and realize your audience. Your audience may look up to you. You may that be that figure that is working harder than they're working right. I mean, sometimes we clock in hours before them and hours after them and they want to see somebody that appreciates their hard work too. So in that polo example, maybe I could have said hey, I don't know if you noticed you've got something on your polo, can I get you a new one? That would have been a better approach than just being a little bit harsher. I've noticed that through my time in adapting the softer skills. I do like to mix jokes in. That is something that I often do. I'll joke around, but I do go out of my way to accommodate my employees and my customers. So the soft skills very important. Know your audience, know who you're talking to. Remember we're all people, we all make mistakes, we all have bad days. Don't be super harsh on people that you don't need to be harsh on.
Speaker 1:The impact of communication in business. So effective communication is at the heart of every business interaction. And that is so true, right? You show up to a project. If you don't communicate what you're going to do on that project or sell yourself on that project, then you're not going to get that project. So effective communication is absolutely essential in business.
Speaker 1:It's not just about talking. Now it's so weird that all I'm doing is talking on this podcast. I wish I had somebody else here, because I don't like just talking. I like to be able to listen. I don't know if you could tell, but the listeners sending in those questions is me getting a chance to now listen to your business, me getting a chance to now listen to your business, and I feel like I'm more engaged with that. Rewind the episode, see where I'm more engaged. I really do appreciate listening to people. So communication is not just about talking. It is totally about listening. If you have that upset customer, this is where your soft skills need to come in. Don't point the finger and say, hey, this is your fault.
Speaker 1:This was done like this, for example, maybe a paint color came out. Different Client picked the color. You painted a sample Client told you to move on. Then you moved on, painted the room and they absolutely don't like it. You could totally have the skills of. Well, you get what you paid for. Here it is. You picked the color. We did a sample. This is what it is Effective communication. You want their referral. You want them to be happy, right referral. You want them to be happy, right. And I'd probably go to say eight times out of 10, that customer knows they made the mistake and would be willing to pay you to fix that mistake, because everybody can pick up a paintbrush, right. We choose that. We don't think we're skilled enough or we don't have the skills or we just don't have the time. So we are paying somebody to do it. So you picked out a bad paint color. I am so sorry that this isn't to your expectation. I'd be happy to paint this over again, but unfortunately this is my labor. I do have to pay people to do this. Maybe I can work you out a little bit of a deal. Maybe we could do a bigger sample area next time and let it dry, but there is going to be an additional cost. So soft skills you have to know how to use them. But communication is absolutely key in every successful business, get another sip of water for, for me, developing soft skills for yourself and your team, skills for yourself and your team.
Speaker 1:Years ago I had this employee that would come in, the friendliest guy. I mean. He was like the life of the party, right, good guy. Everybody could talk with him. Customers loved him and probably once or twice a week he would come in and he would just be in a horrible, horrible mood. He'd be difficult to work with. You know, fortunately for us, customers never saw it. He was always, always was able to separate himself from that in front of the customers, but he did not separate himself and his attitude from us right, his coworkers and ultimately, his employer. This guy was good, friendly guy, liked him, worked for me for a couple years.
Speaker 1:I sat him down in the office one day after so many complaints and I had to do something about it and I sat this employee down and I said look, I really like you, I like the work that you do, I like that you show up. No complaints there. My complaints are your attitude and we've briefly have talked about it in the past or it had small sit downs, but this time I made it very serious. I said look, I can't have this attitude anymore with these coworkers or myself. There's too many complaints here. And he understood it. He was in a very positive mood that day and I said look, I have to give you an ultimatum. I really need you to work on this. Or help me, help you work on this, or there's the door. You're not going to have a job here. And he said look and I will meet you. And I will say that if my attitude creeps back up like that, I will expect you to get rid of me that day and fire me.
Speaker 1:And for about a week I had an excellent employee, back to normal, great guy, excelling with everybody, and then one day just snapped at some of the coworkers, brought him in, cut him his last checks and see you later. About six months goes by and he comes back asking for a job. He got into a different field and realized that people weren't going to put up with him, realized that he needed to do better and actually got into some therapy. He was dealing with some issues. So right, like we go through so many different things, these are our employees. They go through things as well. So I let him back on and for about two and a half years I had a outstanding employee back. Those original issues were no longer and he did a great job until he left to go into a different career field. So in that situation for that employee, it took him losing his job, going to another industry and then figuring out hey, there's something deeper I've got to work on, and he was able to work on that. Hey, there's something deeper I've got to work on, and he was able to work on that.
Speaker 1:For me to develop my soft skills, I just slowly just started realizing, hey, if this task isn't done today, or if somebody shows up with the wrong belt, is it really the end of the world? Is it really the end of the world and anytime? I asked myself that and it came back no. Then I chose to be a little softer and approached it a little differently. And as I started to approach these a little softer, a little differently, a little bit more careful, that helped me with my communication and my soft skills develop into what they are today.
Speaker 1:Now don't get me wrong If my business needs a bulldog, I am the bulldog. So there is a time and place for you to be able to put your skills elsewhere right. Put your soft skills, use them, but also you're gonna need to set them aside and be the bulldog when you need to be a bulldog. But remember your audience, remember who you're talking to. I think that, regardless, anytime you talk to an employee or anytime you talk to your customer, you should always have respect for them, the same respect that you would have for your family. You should definitely have with them. Nobody is ever below us at any point in our lives. We are all humans on this earth trying to make a living and trying to live a successful life. So so I think that wraps it up for the soft skills. I hope that you were able to get some quality skills out of that, or at least some quality advice. I hope that you were able to get some quality advice, maybe out of the questions earlier. Maybe some answers that were provided hopefully added some clarity on, maybe, something you are dealing with in your business.
Speaker 1:As business owners, we are consistently challenged with so many different things, and my goal with this podcast is just to be a friendly voice that you can check in with and maybe work through something you might be working on or experiencing a challenge with. So thank you again for taking the time to listen to the business guide. That's all I have for today, guys. I really appreciate the comments coming in. If you have any questions or just want to say hi, drop me a line.
Speaker 1:There's a little box that you can send a text message, or, if you're watching it on a platform where you can leave a comment, little box that you can send a text message, or if you're watching it on a platform where you can leave a comment, leave a comment. I look at those. I truly love to see the feedback, so please give me a thumbs up on those platforms as well, as we get those kind of off the ground. Again, everyone, thank you. My name is Jonathan Wagner and this has been another episode of the Business Guide. I hope that you have a great day and continue to succeed in your business. We'll see you on the next episode.
