“Better Is The Enemy Of Good”—Fortune Cookie Friday Small Biz Wisdom

Complacency to remain “status quo” as a solopreneur or freelancer can mean a shorter shelf life for your small business.

This week’s fortune cookie reading, “Better is the enemy of good,” reminds us of that.

Good is…well…good. But only by getting better can our businesses achieve respect and create greater demand for our services.

Good might get the contract, but better is the key to keeping a client for life.

Lots of other businesses are good. What are you going to do to be better—to give clients a reason to work with you rather than your competition?

Fortunately, striving for better doesn’t always require significant effort. Tweaking minor aspects of your M.O. can make a big difference in the perceived value of your services.

Doing business better and adding value can mean:

• Reading one article a day that can strengthen your knowledge in your field or help you hone your skills.
• Returning emails and phone calls more quickly.
• Responding to inquiries from your website contact form within 8 business hours.
• Never forgetting the personal touch when communicating with clients. Show you care by starting with sentiments like, “How was your weekend?” or “I hope all is well with you.” End on a note of, “Have a wonderful day,” and “Thanks again for the opportunity to work with you.”
• Sending customers links to blog posts and articles relevant to a particular challenge they’re facing or a topic you’ve recently discussed with them.
• Showing clients some love on social media by connecting with them on the channels you share and liking or sharing their content regularly.
• Proactively suggesting projects that can either save them time, money, or make them more money.

Now the question: If better is the enemy of good, is best the enemy of better?

Endeavoring to be your best (not to be confused with the unattainable goal of perfection) will always take you farther on the road to success. But take care not to thwart your efforts to better yourself by comparing yourself too closely to your competition. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing, but focus on developing your own unique value.

Good. Better. Best. Raising the bar is the enemy of ordinary.

Over to you! What do you do to continually better your business and raise its value to your clients?