It doesn't matter if you're self-employed, a freelancer, or a company employee; it's always necessary to maintain a professional demeanour, a positive business reputation and be mindful of what could go wrong to avoid damaging your career or business.
Here is a list of eight (8) most common bad business habits capable of ruining your professional career and business reputation.
1. Being absent
There’s nothing that can ruin your professional or business reputation more than your employer or customers finding you absent, especially during rush hours. A relatable example is stopping by at your vulcanizer`s shop on a Monday afternoon to inflate your tyre and you find out he’s left the shop unattended to go to church. You go a second day and you find him unavailable again and you ask for his whereabouts and you're told he's absent for another excuse again. You certainly won't be there a third time. Be present, be available when needed.
2. Procrastination
If you're procrastinating, put an end to it! It's the worst thing you could do. No matter how good you are at what you do, procrastination will ruin your business reputation. Plan your job, create reminders, meet up with deadlines; communicate appropriately when you can’t due to circumstances, set an alarm clock, and do whatever it takes to avoid procrastination. Gossips will continue to arrive, social media will continue to bubble, and friends will always be there for chitchats. The main thing is to plan your activities so that they don't interfere with your work.
3. Laziness
Being a slacker is a surefire way to destroy your business reputation. It's one of the most harmful behaviours you can have. It will impair your desire to work, causing you to miss deadlines, lowering the quality of your work, and causing your clients to abandon you.
4. Not caring
It is critical to be excited about what you do if you want to be successful with it. It's probably time to consider a career shift if you do not enjoy what you're doing.
5. Bad people skills
Another important attribute is the ability to work with others. A successful business or employment requires more than just completing a project on schedule. Let's face it, a simple grin or small talk doesn't take much effort, but it can brighten someone's day. It's important to remember that we're dealing with people, not machines. And you need people for when you’re stuck or need new ideas
6. Being rude
This one goes hand in hand with people skills. Normally, you believe that no one cares that you're having a poor day. Nobody does, in case you didn't know. Clients come to you for excellent service, not for a positive attitude.
Yes, you will occasionally have unpleasant clients that get on your nerve, but it is still your responsibility to remain professional and effectively handle them. Calm your short-circuited nerves and make your money, while also keeping a good business reputation. There’s nothing more difficult to shake off than a bad reputation, it Spreads like wildfire.
7. Neglecting mistakes and criticism
We are all human beings, and it is quite OK for us to make mistakes. However, it's critical to pinpoint the source of the problem. If you've lost a client, figure out why; if you've received a complaint, do everything you can to avoid making the same mistake again.
8. Ignoring reviews
Before they buy something, most people like to read evaluations that reveal information about you, your organization, the quality of the service you perform or the product you're delivering, and have a general idea of your business reputation. If you have a terrible one, you will lose more than half of your customers. Make sure you're always aware of what others are saying about your company. Keep that professional or business reputation airtight.
Chances are, you’ve fallen short on one or two things on this list, the important thing is to recognize it and sit up where necessary.
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