I was reading back on something I wrote a while ago about my attitude to business. It was the day I realised I wasn’t a ‘business person’. I suspect up until that point I had high aims for being one of those scarily exciting, calculated and ‘aggressive’ individuals who make hugely successful companies and are admired by all. These days I think those qualities in entrepreneurs are some of the most admired. I rarely see soft qualities being admired in business.

Up until that day I think I thought I would change to become the typical business person, maybe even more so because I had experienced enough situations where I felt entirely ignored and disrespected because I was young and a female and nice. I felt like I had something to prove to people, to business.

In the past few years, I have learned bucketloads about the attitudes that are perceived to be successful in business, I say perceived because some of the people I have met who have them aren’t successful, but people think they are anyway because they have those qualities. That day, I decided my aim wasn’t to be like that. I don’t like those people. You don’t have to demand respect, you can earn it, you don’t have to be loud and assertive, you can quietly ask for what you want. You don’t have to leap to anger if the world doesn’t go the way you planned, you can adapt. You always, always treat people with respect, and thank them for what they give you, even if you could just take it from them anyway.

I think it’s an easy win to become the traditional dominant personality business person, I see them everywhere, but I also see a bunch of people who break that mould and are all the better for it. I love working with those people, we get along, the work is fun. I currently have a couple of customers who are just about to do a major, major launch, and despite all the pressure, you would think they are taking a walk in the park. We’re all working hard but everyone is polite and friendly. That kind of business person takes some effort to create. I have other customers who send me angry emails as soon as something goes wrong – even if they have to retract them later because actually nothing has gone wrong. While I understand their frustration, I can’t say I enjoy working with them. I think I can confidently say that I’ve worked with some of the worst and some of the best and there is a big difference.

I’m not really sure what my point is, but I think it’s that you can choose your attitude or at least be aware of it and try to influence it. I think I’m kind of over people who think it’s ok to run their business through their ego.