If you look back to before you started your business did you you see yourself as a more caring person? Many entrepreneurs feel that in order to get ahead they’ve got to be the shark in the boardroom. But after a while, this approach can backfire on us. Learning how to care for your business isn’t about handling every aspect with metaphorical kid gloves but it’s about remembering certain aspects that need propping up from time to time.

Here are some ways that you can elicit care and compassion for your business so it helps you in the long run.

Outsource Components

When we start to outsource specific areas we are able to benefit the business by looking at the areas where we are particularly weak. Many IT security companies provide outsourced services. When your business needs an overhaul in terms of its security, by outsourcing you’re able to give it that extra layer of protection. When we start to outsource this can cause problems with the permanent members of staff. While this can highlight to them that we don’t care but this is when we start to focus on collaboration and improving the culture within the business. Because if we show our employees that we care for them they are going to work better for us. If we don’t show them that we care it will have the opposite effect.

Listen to What Your Employees Have to Say

It sounds obvious but we seldom listen to what they have to say in the proper sense. As our business begins to improve due to our leadership we may find that we love the sound of our own voice so much that we make hasty decisions that will cause problems further down the line. If you want your employees to care about the business you have to listen to what they have to say. This means encouraging a forum where they are able to speak their mind. Weekly meetings or one-to-one sessions will give your employees the chance to express what they feel is good or bad about the business. Your role is to listen, not to get defensive!

Focus on Caring for Yourself as Well

We can give too much to our business which will result in us burning out. When we think we are doing our best for the business by working 15 hour days our input greatly diminishes and we begin to become overwhelmed by stress. There are so many ways to reduce stress that it’s common sense for every entrepreneur to make sure that they have a toolbox of tactics so they are able to look after themselves. The business can take priority but if we don’t focus on our self-care, our decision-making capabilities can have a domino effect which causes the business to suffer and the employees to lose faith in our abilities.

Learning to care for your business is not about treading carefully but it’s about having an inherent understanding of what your company requires to thrive inside and out. We might think that we are more important than the business or we may work so hard at improving the company that we don’t let anybody else have input. Learn to care in the proper sense.