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“The customer is always right.” While business owners have undoubtedly heard that phrase many times, just about everyone has seen videos of customers behaving badly. From rioting on airplanes to mistreating grocery store workers, customers have proven time and time again that this well-worn saying is often incorrect. However, there’s still a lot of good that can come out of empowering your customers, especially as a small business owner. When your clients feel truly empowered by working with you, they are far more likely to come back to you again in the future. Better yet, they’ll likely refer you to others in their circle, as well. There’s a fine line to walk to ensure you empower your customers without losing control of how you run your business. But do it right, and you can have confidence that you’ll satisfy every one of your clients. Optimize your services based on customer needs. The needs of your customers will undoubtedly change over time. This is especially true today with the rate that technology is changing how we interact with the world around us. You might even find yourself expanding to new customer groups as you grow your business. This became especially clear during an email conversation with Becky Moore, writer, photographer and founder of Global Grasshopper. She explained, “I started doing a travel blog because of my own wanderlust. While the blog provided valuable information to other would-be travelers, I’ve since been able to collaborate with countless brands on tourism-related campaigns as they look for relatable ways to promote their destinations. That initial goal of helping other travelers remains in place, but by paying attention to the market, we’ve also been able to expand into brand marketing as well.” A willingness to change your services based on identifiable client needs ultimately empowers your customers by helping them better meet their goals — a sure way to get them to continue working with you in the future. Provide self-service options whenever possible. People are coming to you for a reason: They need help. At the same time, many customers aren’t entirely willing to give up their sense of independence. This is why self-checkout lines are so popular at grocery stores and other retailers — because customers often like to do things themselves, even if the employee running the cash register would still be more efficient. As such, whenever possible, you should help your customers feel like they’re in control by allowing them to “self-serve.” If they want to navigate your entire website and schedule a consultation without making a phone call, you should definitely give them the option to do so. You can also help customers self-serve by providing a FAQ or support page that addresses common questions and concerns. When clients feel like they can figure out problems or get answers without needing to call or email you, they’ll have a more favorable impression of your business — and you’ll save time. As digital marketing entrepreneur Neil Patel notes, a FAQ page can also boost your SEO: “By default, your frequently asked questions, and their associated answers, are full of relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is probably searching for. You can capture longtail keywords in ways that are natural and human, rather than keyword stuffing. These question-and-answer layouts are also a good way to snag the featured snippets Google provides in their search results.” Be open to feedback. The idea of getting genuine and potentially critical feedback can be frightening to many entrepreneurs. Like it or not, customers feel greatly empowered by the ability to leave reviews for the businesses they interact with on Google or Yelp. However, you don’t want to discover that someone had a negative experience with you after you read their review on Google. While engaging with a customer by responding to their review can help mitigate the damage (especially if they’re willing to update their review), brands can’t expect those bad reviews to disappear. It can be far more beneficial to you and the customer when you reach out to them directly to ask about their experience — both the pros and the cons. By letting your clients know that you take their feedback seriously and that you’re committed to improving your services, your customers will feel like they are helping to shape your business for the better. This proactive outreach will also give you a vital opportunity to solve customer issues before they result in a negative online review for the world to see. If you’re willing to listen to customers with genuine, authentic feedback, you’ll often find helpful tidbits for how you can do better. Better yet, this practice can also help you collect positive testimonials from satisfied clients who might otherwise not have published a review online. Empowering to create a win-win. No matter what type of services you provide, creating a high-quality experience for your customers is ultimately what will keep you in business. By helping clients feel truly empowered when they work with you, you can improve satisfaction and retention rates, while also ensuring that you are fully meeting their wants and needs. When you empower your clients, you will end up making your job easier, because you’ll better understand how to serve them. That’s going to pay big dividends in the long run.

Hiring a practical lawyer who is well-versed in the issues affecting emerging companies can be a smart business move for startups. Here are top five reasons every emerging entrepreneur should hire a lawyer – and the right one. 1. A smoother due diligence process with investors Most startups will need to raise money from outside investors, often in multiple rounds of funding. Sophisticated investors will conduct due diligence on the company prior to investing, and will request copies of entity formation documents, patent and trademark filings, material contracts, etc. Producing insufficient documentation in the due diligence process can be a huge red flag and may ultimately derail the investment. Involving your lawyer in these important matters for your business will help ensure that the due diligence process runs smoothly, and will give your prospective investors the comfort they need to stroke the check. 2. Tap into the lawyer’s network A good startup lawyer will help startups with more than just their legal needs; they will also allow promising startups to tap into the lawyer’s network. Startup lawyers with lots of clients or who practice in a large firm often have relationships with potential investors, strategic partners and customers. Good startup lawyers recognize the value of making introductions to help their clients succeed. 3. Be smarter about structuring founder relationships A good startup lawyer will help founders navigate issues with entity formation and, most importantly, will help founders structure their legal relationship with one another. Investors will tell you that the team running the startup company is perhaps even more important than the startup idea. It is crucial for founders to think carefully about how they want to allocate equity among themselves, and what will happen to that equity if a founder decides to leave the company. Lawyers are often called upon to assist with founder divorces, which are generally messy and painful. Thinking through founder separation at the outset, when everyone is getting along, can make the founder divorce process much cleaner and more straightforward. 4. Help founders be more strategic Often founders can act with single-minded focus to achieve short-term goals, such as completing development of the product, garnering investor interest or closing a deal with a customer. This is especially true when a startup is new and has limited manpower. A good startup lawyer can act as a member of the team and help companies take the long view. From developing strategies for the protection of intellectual property to evaluating various funding options, a good startup lawyer can help founders be more thoughtful about their business. 5. Comply with the law At its most basic level, hiring a lawyer can help founders ensure that they comply with the law. Founders don’t know what they don’t know, and a trusted adviser can help startups navigate the legal landscape and help ensure, for example, that the company doesn’t violate the complex securities laws when trying to raise funds and issue stock. Legal compliance is especially important for startups operating in highly regulated industries, such as the health care industry, where it is easy to get tripped up.

Out-of-the-Box Ways to Stay Motivated and Excited about Your Business Getting and staying motivated is crucial, whether you're striving to reach a business goal, starting a new business venture, or managing the daily operations of your business. Lack of motivation can affect your confidence and hurt your potential for growth. The more motivated you are, the more momentum you'll have and the easier it will be to tackle ambitious goals and reach higher levels of success in your company. Building a business is challenging, but motivation is a fundamental part of the equation. Being motivated all the time is unrealistic, but there are strategies that can help you stay motivated consistently and achieve explosive growth in your business. #1. Entrench Yourself in a Goal Having a goal can help you stay motivated and excited about your business. SMART goal setting is one of the best ways to outline your priorities, clarify the importance of each goal, and create an action plan to help you achieve your goals. Break down long-term goals into weekly or even daily steps, and the progress you make daily will help you build momentum and motivate you to keep pushing forward. #2. Relive Past Successes Remind yourself what it felt like to reach certain accomplishments or milestones. Think about the process you went through and the work you put in. Thinking about your best moments can help you overcome challenges and take consistent action. #3. Have a Mission Bigger Than just a Business Look at any successful company and you'll realize that it's more than widgets, marketing or who is in charge. Most successful businesses are built around a mission and vision. And the driving force that makes these businesses successful is helping people and changing the world. If you want to remain consistently and constantly motivated and excited about your business, build your business around a goal that's bigger than making money. Create a business that makes a positive impact on the lives of your employees and customers. Build a business that offers financial security and freedom. Get clear on the values and mission that determine the actions you take. #4. Take a New Approach Many times progress generates routines; routines lead to boredom, and boredom can lead to lack of motivation. Are your routines causing you to lose excitement? It's time to shake things up. Change the way you do things. Change when you do things, how you do them, and change how you think about everything. Alter your standard processes and introduce a new way of thinking; this will help you get past complacency and renew your motivation and excitement. #5. Find a Mentor There are people who have walked the path before you, faced the setbacks and emerged victorious. Appreciate the drive and determination of others and look at how they overcame the setbacks they faced on their journeys. This is motivating and it'll give you some creative ideas to help you get through the hurdles you're facing. #6. Find an Accountability Partner Having someone to encourage you, support you, and challenge you is a good way to get and remain motivated. If you're the only one holding yourself accountable, it's easier to cheat. Sharing your goals and vision with others enlists them to help you deliver, and also it holds you accountable to take consistent action. When you make a commitment to someone else, you'll have someone else counting on you. Also, you'll have an increased motivation to take action because there's a chance you'll disappoint someone other than yourself. As a business owner, you're building your dream. You're putting your mark in a world full of conformity. And it'll take a lot of consistent and constant motivation to move past the hard times. Use these six tips to tap into your inner power and use that motivation to build your entrepreneurial momentum.