Is there room for joy in business?

My business is about joy.

My joy. And other’s.

It’s about a lot of other things, too. Like math and money and spreadsheets. But at the core of it, I began my business to deliver myself and others more joy. I just don’t think business is always about business. You’ll get to know more of my philosophy about that when my podcast, Braving Business, launches in April.

Is the creation of a business or product about joy?

Absolutely.

Why do you think people buy things? Unless it’s something like insurance, people buy things because they believe they’ll be happier when they have them or if they allow themselves to say YES to that thing.

It’s about experiencing joy.

Why did you decide to go into business? Probably to live your best life. To deliver yourself more joy. And usually what people tell me about their products or services is how they will make their clients’ and customers’ lives better.

So, why is it that we leave joy at the door when we’re getting into the details and tasks of business.

Why do you get lost or confused or lose confidence when it comes to some certain aspect of your business? You forget about joy.

Your joy + the joy of others.

You get lost in the details.

When you’re thoroughly enjoying yourself (or laughing through the tasks that you don’t love) you’ll have clarity. You’ll make amazing business decisions.

If you don’t think business is about joy- just take a look at this image below from my business.

This is one of my team members.

I hired my team last year. And part of hiring a team was delivering them each joy- NOT just having them work for me.

Sure, they need to be technically skilled. But what I believe comes along with working at Cleveland Flea, being a vendor there or a shopping the market is JOY. Pure joy.

It’s what we all run on. It’s why we make certain decisions. And it’s why I believe you should, too.

My success stems from my belief that I should love what I do. That what I do should make others feel loved and joyful. And that tackling the hard stuff is necessary to protect that.

Don’t make it all about the hard stuff.

Remember that joy fuels us all.

And get to work.