NEW: Emma Brown

I’ve just had an epiphany that I know you’re going to love. It’ll make your business more enjoyable and customers will be drawn to your enthusiasm.

Celebrating the wins

I’ve just had an epiphany that I know you’re going to love. It’ll make your life more fun, your business more enjoyable and it’s guaranteed to have customers knocking down your door because they’ll be so drawn to your enthusiasm.

Let me explain how the epiphany came about. I just bought another business. Quickly. I heard it was for sale Thursday two weeks ago, called the owners that afternoon, met with them on Saturday to discuss, then made the offer on Tuesday. That’s typical Emma speed.

It’s another network and the founder has run it for five years now. The passion and integrity of what he’s done is stamped everywhere. You can see it when he talks about it, you can see it in the way the events are pulled together, and it’s on the faces of the guests and the volunteers. I get excited when a brand comes to life through people. Particularly when there’s no tangible product to attach it to.

Last night they “handed over the keys” to me, the new owner. It was a night full of celebrating. For them, it marked the end of five years’ of hard work, and as the universe would have it, last night was the five year anniversary (to the day) of their first event. What I liked is that the date was a big deal for them. They knew it, they remembered it, and they had no problems sharing the achievement with everyone.

The moral to this little story? Remember the milestones in your business journey, and celebrate them all. Here are some tips.

1. Mark the milestones in your diary so you won’t forget.
2. Throw a party and make it fun.
3. If you know your first customer, bring them along and thank them.
4. Tell the story – what was it like then, what is it like now.

I can’t tell you the day I started my first business and then sold it seven years later. My head was buried so firmly in the sand on both of those days, just trying to survive, that I forgot to celebrate. The same thing happened when I bought my next.

I’m not going to let it happen again, and that’s going to be easy because last night was unforgettable.

PS Paul and Petrina – to life and celebrating!

Emma Brown, at 27, has bought three businesses and sold one. She is Chief Chick of Business Chicks – www.businesschicks.com.au , Australia’s leading community for women, and Managing Director of Last Thursday Club – www.lastthursdayclub.net – the monthly event for big thinking professionals . She’s on the board of Entrepreneurs Organisation, avoids coffee but still talks fast, and lives in Sydney with her entrepreneur partner.

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