One of the words that are part of the definition of a business is “entity”. We call it a separate entity and there’s also the factor of limited liability.
I think most of us have taken this “entity” and given it that last definition in a streak of definitions. You know when you read the dictionary entry for a word and, then you stumble upon number 5 and you say “Oh, yeah, you can use this word for that as well…”
However, it’s not meant to be a new dictionary entry.
A business is a separate entity and I want to draw attention to one pitfall we’re drawn to many times. And that pitfall is:
We like to draw the benefits of associating business with our personal life. But we don’t like the price we have to pay for that decision, which is the reverse of the coin.
In practical terms: when someone associates the business with you and it’s beneficial, we take up on it. We take credit for “You were such a courageous person for building this. It shows your great vision and grit!”
But we don’t associate the business with ourselves when it fails — yet that’s not what I want to highlight the most in this article.
In this article, what I want to highlight the most is the following:
As a consequence of associating the business entity with our personal entity, we take it personally if someone chooses not to do business with us anymore.
When we’re talking about B2B contracts, partnerships, etc. and especially professionals, this applies the most. It’s the reverse of the coin I’ve mentioned above.
The best answer is: just don’t do it this way. It’s not worth putting the good benefits on the scale, as you’ll have to pay for them.
You will take it personally when someone doesn’t want to work with you anymore (for various reasons, including good and bad reasons).
You will get high on your horse.
You will decline to get off the horse when you should balance that.
The company is an entity. It doesn’t matter if it’s yours or not — it’s separate from you.
You can do the opposite (which is what everyone else does), but sooner or later you’ll see the reason why the word “entity” was used. And it was a very good choice.
entity
/ˈɛntɪti/
noun
- a thing with distinct and independent existence.
About Ch Daniel
I’ve updated this signature in July 2020, so older mentions of the signature might not make sense.
I currently don’t write on this blog anymore. I wrote daily for 9 months on this very blog, but now I’m focused on building the CH Group.
If you want to follow my newer articles, check out the CH Group’s blog.
See everything I do here: Chdaniel.com
