Are you in the business of creating happiness?

There’s a common perception that success in business is about selling as many products and services as possible, at the highest prices possible to make as much money as possible. I suggest that a truly successful business is one that strives to create as much happiness as possible for customers, team members and business owners while turning a profit in the process.

When business is conducted in ways that honor and support everyone involved, the business is positioned to serve the purpose of creating greater happiness and success in the world as a whole. Its purpose becomes a more encompassing endeavor, one not solely focused on providing wealth to owners, investors and board members.

All of this begins with customers, the life blood of any successful business. If customers aren’t happy with the products and services provided to them in exchange for their hard-earned dollars, they won’t return or have great things to say about your company. When you consider customers, it’s important to see them as human beings who have graced your business with their patronage, not as a dollar sign that feeds your bottom line. By not taking customers for granted, you will treat them with the respect and care they deserve and they will become raving fans of you, your team and your business.

The same applies to your valuable team members. They allow your company to function. Without their dedication, it would be extremely hard — if not impossible — to conduct your business as you do. Their agreement to give large portions of their lives to earn a living and help you do business should not be taken for granted, either. Like you, your team members have dreams of happiness and success. Their families depend on them just as yours do on you.

Team members are not cogs in the wheel of your business. They are human beings. When you treat them with dignity, just as you would want to be treated, they will give their best to you and your customers. Your team members are the conduit between your business and your customers. The better care you take of your team members, the better care they will take of you.

In my work with a variety of companies, I have witnessed the dramatic differences between businesses that truly care about their customers and team members and those that do not. It is wise and helpful to work with a qualified professional who can coach you to become a great business leader who strives to create as much happiness and success as possible for everyone involved.

You would not want your customers or team members to take you for granted or to limit your dreams. As a business owner, it is vital you lead by example toward the outcomes you want to achieve. When you operate from the mindset that others want to be just as happy and successful as you do, you will see and treat people differently. Through this larger perspective, customers and team members cease to be objects necessary to achieve your financial dreams. They become critical links in a chain that creates happiness and success throughout the process of doing business.

There is more to your business success than money, prestige and power. When your customers look forward to doing business with you, when your team members consistently come to work and give their best and when you lead with a powerful example of truly caring about others, you will experience personal and entrepreneurial happiness while your business prospers.

It is true that you cannot please everyone. Some customers and team members will never be satisfied with your exceptional efforts. In your pursuit of greater happiness and success, you will need to let certain customers and team members go. However, and without fail, the companies that choose to operate with a “win-win-win” perspective — where happy customers, team members and owners succeed — are the most rewarding companies to do business with, work for and run.

The bottom line is that your customers, your team members and you are all in business together. When you operate from a balanced perspective that includes the best interests of everyone involved, and not just yours, the success of your business — and the happiness you create — will exceed anything you ever imagined.