As a business owner, dealing with business theft is as inevitable as dealing with taxes
When it happens, it’s easy to become discouraged and question everything.
But Roofing Insights owner Dmitry Lipinskiy warns that changing your process, especially if it’s already successful, could ultimately cause more damage than any theft can do.
Here now are 5 ways business owners can properly deal with theft:
1. Always remember where you came from
To start and create a business takes time, energy, and commitment.
But above that, it takes a determined individual to overcome the obstacles placed in their path.
When a business owner becomes a victim of theft, it’s important to remember those humble beginnings, those times when you didn’t have the success you currently do.
“If people stole from you, that’s good, because it means you had something,”
Lipinskiy says.
Remember: people can always take your things or your money, but they can’t take away the values that made you successful.
2. Don’t stop selling, don’t stop working
“I’m the calmest guy in the room when people steal from me,”
notes Lipinskiy.
He says this not because he’s invincible to feeling hurt or betrayed, but because Lipinskiy is confident that no matter what someone steals, he can always earn it back.
Also, it’s futile to lament the fact that someone stole because your business isn’t going to wait around for you to feel better. It’s important to get right back out there. Not only will it help your business, but it will also help you get over your anger and frustration.
3. Don’t let it affect your faith in people
No matter how bad you’ve been wronged, you still need to trust others to make your business grow. Refusing to let other people into your business because you’ve been burned in the past is not an effective business strategy.
“When you let bad people affect how you make decisions, you will make bad decisions, too,”
Lipinskiy warns.
Trust your process, and trust that it will overcome whatever bad apples make their way into your business.
4. Avoid the temptation to implement crazy policies
“You cannot create a policy that will [negatively] affect your business,”
states Lipinskiy.
For example: let’s say an employee took your credit card and used it for their personal expenses.
You now think, I’m never giving another employee my credit card.
Huh?
Then who is going to run errands for you or handle small tasks that can be delegated.
Again, feel hurt, but don’t hurt your business in return.
There are good people out there. You just have to find them and trust that they will do the right thing.
5. Don’t change who you are
You were victimized, but that doesn’t mean you should turn around and do the same thing to someone else.
Again, trust your system and ignore the temptation to completely overhaul your company.
“Be honest with your employees. Be honest with your customers,”
advises Lipinskiy, who explains that good people will notice when you do the right thing, and that alone will generate way more business than any revenge plan.
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