When Eva Cassidy started singing about rainbows and the land somewhere over it she can hardly have though that her lyrics would inspire people for years to come.
Moreover, I'm pretty sure that her musical mentions of lemon drops and chimney tops where not meant to positively provoke the thoughts and minds of business men and women and entrepreneurs on a global scale.
I do however take inspiration from one of the other lines "...
and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
" I guess my point is that it helps to have something that you are inspired by, something to push and drive you each and every day to make that extra contribution that will take your business to the next level and ultimately make your dreams come true.
Its good to have a dream, an agenda, a target and to be really focused to try and make the dreams a reality.
Whether its going the extra mile to really give a new customer (or potential customer) a once in a life time buying experience or finding a product that really helps to drive your profits forwards.
We are all in a position to make decisions that effect us every day and many of us our also in the position that our decisions effect other people too.
My daughter drives me - not literally she's only 15 months old - she is the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow.
That may be cheesey and perhaps a little soppy and predictable or cliché but I don't care, but everything I do, I do ultimately for her and to build a happy and fulfilling family life for us.
I am a great believer in building a personal relationship that operates in tandem with a business one.
The personal touch can be the Midas touch in terms of your business.
Building a long lasting relationship of trust and integrity is just as important, in my humble opinion, as the quality of the actual product or service you are actually selling.
A sustainable business, even more so for an online business, is built on a loyal, trusting and returning customer base.
Your customer base is also a massive free marketing tool.
Word of mouth is a massively powerful and incredibly efficient way of spreading the word about your business.
The danger lies here in the fact that the average customer - such is human nature - is more willing sometimes to share a negative experience than they are to share a positive one.
Just another reason to get the fundamentals right and remember that your customer has the power to make and break you! Quickly back to Eva's song to help me conclude.
The rainbow that she is singing about is created by both sunshine and rain.
The perceived positives and the negatives of the weather working together to produce a thing of beauty.
It's important to get the balance right in business too.
Work through the hard times, the black clouds and the occasional downpours, strive to succeed and the sunshine at the end of it will help to make your dreams come true.
Now, go and chase your rainbow and hopefully you won't have that song in your head for the rest of the day.