I participated in the Bowling Centers Association of Michigan’s show last week. It was absolutely amazing. They had record attendance. I was invited to present our class that focuses on providing GREAT promotions year round. This seminar is a lot of fun, and the group as a whole shared amazing promotional ideas. I was so impressed with the Michigan board that put the show on and the bowling center owners that seem so committed to growing their businesses in the great state of Michigan despite the economy. You couldn’t miss the energy that surrounded the event. BPAA Executive Director, Steve Johnson, even commented on how well done and exciting the event was.
I think they are passionate about what they are doing in the state of Michigan. I’ve always thought a lot of Roger Philipi, and it was neat on the night of the banquet and awards to watch every single recipient honestly give recognition to others as they received the attention they deserved. It was obvious to me that they are passionate about their association and that they “get it” that they are truly in service one to another!
We had good trade show time, and I was able to meet proprietors that I had not met before as well as other vendors. I love the opportunity to talk with other business owners. As a business owner myself, I feel like we all experience many of the same joys and challenges of ownership. I am particularly motivated when I meet someone who loves what they do. My friend, CEO of Bowling Music Network, Jim Juniper, is an extraordinary business owner from whom I’ve learned a lot. He introduced me to Abid Skeikh, who is the owner of a sock company. Expert Hosiery, LLC.
Jim, Abid, and I were visiting at the end of show the first day. I watched Abid tell me about his company. The more he spoke, the more I needed to have some of his socks. It cracked me up. He was so passionate about the work they are doing. He believes in the quality of the product he provides. He’s interested and motivated to grow his business. It’s amazing to watch people talk about what they love to do whether it is to run a company, play a sport, read a book, drive fast cars, or spend time with their family. When someone knows about something and loves it, their passion shows when they talk about it.
When we teach Sales 101, we ask people to pair up and talk to their partner about anything that they absolutely love. What happens when people really care about something is that they speak with passion about it. There’s no struggle for the words. Their eyes shine, they use their hands to demonstrate, you see animation in their faces and you hear it in their voices.
It may sound trite, but it is easy to do what you love to do. It’s more fun and gives the day more meaning. Have you felt the passion lately for what you do? Does your staff understand the mission so that they can feel and replicate that passion in their jobs? Have you given them a reason to be passionate about what they do? Passion moves people to places they can’t get to without that driving force. There’s no other explanation as to why we’ll work too many hours and get up in the middle of the night and write stuff down so we don’t forget it in the morning. We do crazy things that we thought we could or would never do in the name of passion. Or maybe it’s love. Or maybe they are so close to the same thing it just doesn’t matter. If you love what you do, you’ll have a passion to do it when others are busy doing nothing!
