When dissecting this proverb, “the cobbler’s children have no shoes”, it can be understood as a phrase that describes a person who doesn’t benefit from the products or services of their own profession and as far back as this saying goes, it remains clear how relevant it is in business today.
In my experience with coaching, I’ve come to find that the lack of internal use of services or products that a business provides is a common occurrence within plenty of industries, whether it’s a law firm, advertising agency, or media company – implementing their own solutions seems to be out of the equation.
I don’t quite agree with that logic, as every company should be their own number one client and make practical use of the services (and products) that they provide.
Salaries Are Paid, So Provide The Service To Yourself
Indeed, it does take time, resources and plenty of effort to provide a great solution to different clients. And as a business owner, you make sure to put your best effort in when giving people the greatest possible value that you have to offer.
But, the same logic should be applied when looking at your company; clients will come and go, leaving the most consistent and important client being your own organisation.
For some strange reason, too many entrepreneurs feel as if they should outsource or pay for external involvement to solve some of the problems that they are perfectly capable of handling within their own company.
I find it quite a common occurrence in ad agencies, where they often look past their own employees to advertise and market their business by looking elsewhere – wasting energy and resources on other people to do the job. The very same thing happens in particular law firms, where legal issues are handled externally, instead of looking at their own highly qualified and capable staff to get certain jobs done.
In doing the research and going through a number of case studies, I’ve come to find that some of the most successful companies that exist make use of their own services internally and take this approach quite seriously; often spending up to 20% of their total budget around providing homegrown solutions to themselves.
This becomes even easier (and obvious) to do when staff are already being paid salaries to provide these solutions for other clients.
When you boil it down, it’s simply a case of practicing what you preach. You should put your own services into practice and utilise them to advance your business, while avoiding unnecessary spending.
It becomes a bit counterproductive to spend time and money hunting down external sources to do things that your company is already highly capable of doing on its own. Every business owner should be aware of this when seeking out solutions for their organisation.
You’re technically paying for the service already, so make your own company a client and treat that client with love, respect and attention.
More Benefits To Becoming Your Own Best Customer
Making efficient use of the solutions that you provide within your own business is obviously very useful and will be of great benefit, so it goes without saying that running with the idea of being your own client or customer can bring about even more promising results.
Taking the time to act as a client for your own company will give you more insight into the way that it operates.
You go from actively seeking clients to becoming one – looking at your business from a different perspective. And by using your own products or services, it will help you pick up on issues, flaws and points that could be worked on to build a better brand identity.
This brings awareness around processes or interactions that could be made better for your customers, improving delivery in different departments and discovering areas where money, time and resources can be saved.
Becoming your own customer or client allows for more involvement and understanding, which will aid you in developing a much better solution.
Give it a try, be more involved, practice what you preach and make a far greater impact.
As a business coach, I’m constantly practicing what I preach and have to ensure that it’s my duty to deliver an impactful, remarkable and informative solution to my clients.
It isn’t easy running a business, it isn’t easy being alone at the top, it isn’t easy figuring out the right direction to take when the going gets tough, but it is easy to connect with a coach that has the ambition, drive and desire to make a difference in your life.
I am that coach and I am eager to take the journey with you in becoming the best version of yourself, so that your business will flourish.
Make life easier by contacting me whenever you’re ready:
+2783 253 3339
