Struggling? Hurting? Recovering? Winning? Thriving? Crushing It? Be grateful. Gratitude is the key to success in life and business. The Bible tells us to be grateful in ALL circumstances. After many small mistakes and enormous failures, I have lost count of how many times gratitude has lifted me out of the mire of defeat.

“Help is on the way,” is so hard to grasp when you’re in deep despair. “This too shall pass,” is incomprehensible when you get kicked in the face. When things are going well, it’s easy to be happy and thankful. It sounds unconventional to be thankful when the chips are down. It even feels strange to be appreciative of your tough circumstances. The true test of your mettle is to pause and give thanks in bad times. In my experience, the time at which I became grateful was the turning point towards the situation improving. Thinking back, these were growth moments on the road to winning.

One might ask what this has to do with operating a flooring business. I believe it has everything to do with running a business. In fact, it is the foundation of my business and personal life. Here are some examples of how gratitude is used in our business:

Thank You Notes. Every day starts with a heart-felt note of thanks to a customer, supplier, mentor, or friend. This process puts the mindset at an advantage over the rest of the world. The notes are handwritten, old-fashioned, and rare. Even the address and return address are handwritten. To add a personal touch, I use my artwork (paintings) to create stationary for this purpose. The response is amazing. Our top-producing salespeople follow this process as well.

Follow-Up. When was the last time you were served extremely well at a restaurant? Chances are the wait staff went out of their way to follow up and make sure your dining experience was wonderful. This seems to be a thing of the past as most people communicate via text and social media. Visiting customers, or at the least calling them to thank them, is a task that is remembered. Genuine appreciation means repeat business and referrals. We tend to buy from people who show us they appreciate us.

Core Values. If some form of gratitude is not a part of your core values, I suggest adding it. Decisions at our company are made based on our core values. The way we treat customers and suppliers is based on those values. Gratitude is the foundation of our success. The results speak for themselves.

I would love to hear from you on ways you practice gratitude in your business and life. Email me at mketterman@gotyoufloored.com.