Can You Be a Host in Your Business?

Like many people during this time of year, we have spent the past week hosting family and friends at our home and home-away-from home, our Texas ranch property. As this holiday season comes to a close, I have been reflecting on the approach my wife, Kristen, and I took to hosting our family and friends and how we could apply that to our business life. Four things came to mind right away. I challenge you to think about how you too could apply these four things to your team, your clients, your professional collaborators. If you just chose to take this hosting approach to all of your relationships, how much good would it create???

1. Make it easy for your guests.
   In our homes, this looks something like having their bed ready for their sleep, having their preferred foods in the house, and having toiletries accessible for them in the bathroom. When you host someone, you ask – explicitly – what they need to feel most comfortable; and you get it for them. You prepare the meals, and handle all of the cleanup. You make their stay easy and enjoyable. And when you make it easy for them, they will remember their time with you favorably.
   
   In business, how can you make something easier for a member of your team, a client, or a collaborator? This could look like allowing those members of your team with children to work from home during school breaks. You could store your clients order preferences so their repeat orders require less information input. You could pay your vendors via EFT rather than paper check to expedite their payments. The key is to strive to make engaging in business with you more enjoyable by making those business interactions less complicated for your partners.

2. Plan selfless acts.
   Kristen and I own a Texas ranch and we hunt on it. When our guests come to visit with us, many of them want to deer hunt. Before they arrive, I sit in each of the stands so I can scout out where the bucks are hanging out, how many deer are out there, and which would enable the closest shot. Because of this prep work, I am able to provide a tailored hunting experience for each of my guests. This season, I helped someone shoot a buck for the first time. I got another guest closest to the deer for their first experience shooting a weapon. And, for the younger ones just wanting to view the deer, I brought them to the best stand to see the most deer. Our guests were just floored that I waited for my guests to have these opportunities and didn’t just shoot the bucks myself. But I truly experienced some real joy in this act of selflessness and preparation. Giving someone else the gift of a memorable experience is a lasting treasure for both the giver and the receiver.
   
   Selfless acts often come naturally when a company has a strong culture of customer service. When you care, genuinely, about making each interaction a positive and memorable one, you will empower yourself to serve others before yourself.

3. Remember the Golden Rule: treat others the way you want to be treated.
   When you are preparing to host others, consider what would make a visit somewhere else a great experience for you. What are the things you need when you visit another place? What are the things you want? What would be unexpected desires you could have fulfilled? Seek to understand and fulfill the needs, wants, and desires of those you work across from in business. Treat others the way you want to be treated and you will always be loved and plentiful in your relationships.

4. Always have one last surprise.
   When it is time to part ways, we like to send our guests off with a physical gift – a reminder of their time with us. My wife’s love language is gift-giving, so this comes naturally to her, and I am so grateful for how she shares her love with the people in our lives. At the end of a visit, our guests turn to us to express their gratitude for our hospitality, and we hand them a token of our gratitude for their commitment of spending time with us (often a Yeti tumbler). This one last little surprise sends them off filled with a sense of reciprocity. They don’t walk away feeling like a burdensome house guest, but rather as a treasured partner in the making of lasting memories. It just takes it one step further to show your gratitude for their relationship with you.
   
   What physical reminder of gratitude can you share with your business partners? It could be something as simple as a hand-written card mailed out to them after each service interaction, or a note of appreciation for your team to call out a job well-done.

So, as we enter a new year, I challenge you to be thoughtful about what you do when you host friends and family – and strive to find meaningful ways to apply those gestures to your professional life. Host your way to success in your business with your clients, team, and partners.

Written by Schuyler Williamson

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God Bless!

~ Schuyler Williamson