Your business is your baby. And like a proud parent, you feel elated whenever somebody buys your product or avails of your services. And still much like a grumpy parent, you feel bad and rejected every time you hear about somebody choosing the competition instead of you. While it is always good to be passionate about your business, you still need to balance it with practicality and rationality.

 

Dealing with negativity

“Haters gonna hate,” says the person who knows himself better than others and what they say about him. This kind of attitude will surely help ward off the bad effects of negativity! However, you also need to listen to what others are saying. You have to be tough enough to handle all criticisms as constructive pieces of information and opinion. The challenge is filtering through the sincere and the trolls.

• Open a communication channel for complaints. Designate one or two channels where people can give you feedback. Create an extension number for customer service, and have your staff take note of any complaint so you’d know how to address it. Just don’t use your social media accounts for this. Facebook and Twitter should always be clean and free from negative comments; filter them every day. 
• Block unnecessary people with unnecessary comments about you and your business. As time passes, you’d notice who among the complainers are genuine and who aren’t. Blacklist the phone numbers and email addresses of these people; you don’t need them. VoIP phone service providers like RingCentral have call blocking; email providers like Gmail have Spam options.
• Rinse and repeat, improving your company as you go. You won’t have a negative comment if you’re company is perfect, right? So treat every negative comment as a challenge to better your business, your product and your customer service. 

Should you detach?

Absolutely not! Passion is what separates the winners from the quitters when it comes to running a business. With all the hurdles, the critics and the haters in almost every industry, a high level of attachment to the business will help you press on. So make sure that you remain passionate about your business every day no matter what. Here are some pointers:

• Get up to work. Each day you choose not to work is a day that you don’t choose your business. You may think a day will not count, but for a startup business, every day matters. 
• Get a mentor. Have somebody, whose experience and opinions you respect, tell you if something is wrong or right, and how it can even be improved. This will keep you in check and will motivate you to become better in what you do. If you can’t reach out to anybody in your location, you may check out online courses such as those in Creative Live.
• Celebrate victories. It may be as small as a client upgrading a package, or recognition from a well-known magazine. These milestones should serve as inspiration for you to get motivated amid all the trials.