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Quieting the Critics Who Want to Hold You Back
If you know me very well, you likely know that I am a dog person. We have three rescue dogs whom we absolutely adore. No doubt, this makes the algorithms of my social media feeds show me a lot of content about dogs. (Stay with me! This has an entrepreneurial mindset application. I promise!)
Today, I saw a precious story about a shelter that rented out their dogs to adults playing Pokemon Go. The goal was to help the renters escape the stigma of being adults playing this alleged children’s game. The image accompanying the article showed shelter workers standing in the doorways of empty dog pens because all the dogs had been adopted, thanks to this innovative program. It was marvelous!
And then, the people. Sigh. The people. They came out to respond to the article. Ugh. Most of them had very positive comments. However, people are what they are…
One person was furious that this program applied to dogs. After all, what about the cats? They need loving homes, too!
One person was upset that this program was for Pokemon Go players. They pointed out multiple similar games for which dogs could also be walked. Why wouldn’t the shelter include those games, too?
One man commented that he’d like to rent the blonde woman in the photo standing three pens back on the right. Charming.
Yet another commenter remarked that the shelter was ripping people off by “renting” the dogs. They said the shelter should have just let people walk the dogs for free. Why should people pay to walk shelter dogs? Also, this commenter’s local shelter lets people walk dogs for free.
Let’s apply this to your business.
No matter how much growth, impact, or positive results your business achieves, there will always be people telling you that you’re not doing enough. You must stand on your peace with the knowledge that you are starting, doing, or have accomplished what you set out to do. This requires a firm foundation in your goals and beliefs, and a clear vision of what you plan to accomplish. You cannot do "it all," no matter what "it" is.
(I strongly suspect that the shelter does lovely things for cats, too. Cats were simply not the subject of this specific story.)
Regardless of how successful, innovative, or positive your business is, there will always be people telling you that you’re doing it wrong. You must possess the self-confidence to ignore them. One of my favorite aphorisms is, “If you wouldn’t take someone’s advice, don’t take their criticism.” Remember that.
(I cannot imagine that the shelter denied people or dogs the pleasure of the walks because the human was playing a different game, or even no game at all. The story mentioned Pokemon Go because that was the inspiration for the program.)
There will always be people who miss the point entirely, and/or behave inappropriately. There will always be people who want to degrade, objectify, and devalue others and what others are doing. These are not your people. You must value yourself and others enough to set boundaries, block those people, and protect others who might not even be aware of the situation.
Nothing else needs to be said about this commenter.
There will always be people saying that you are overcharging and that if you really wanted to do something good, then you would give it away. These people hold a poverty mindset. Producers understand that everything has a cost.
There will always be someone else who is willing to provide the same or similar product or service for less. I would rather anyone be forced out of business because the market won’t bear their price than to be forced out of business because they are working themselves to burnout for insufficient or unsustainable compensation. Better to earn nothing in exchange for nothing than to earn pennies for moving mountains.
Also, the "rental fee" was a donation used to pay adoption fees, creating a cycle of support. Don’t let anyone attempt to shame you for doing well while doing good, especially when they themselves are doing nothing but making noise.
And finally, the whole program was based on the idea of adults desiring to keep their Pokemon Go playing on the down low. The lesson here is to meet your audience where they are. The argument could be made that the game players would have benefitted more from a mindset shift away from hiding their enjoyment from the judgement of people they probably don’t even like. I wouldn’t disagree. However, that wouldn’t have resulted in a bunch of shelter dogs being exercised and adopted. People were much more receptive to renting shelter dogs than to a mindset lecture. This shelter provided a win/win/win/win situation, and you can’t dispute a four-way win!
If you’re feeling stuck or frustrated by the noise and would benefit from some clarity and insight in your business, I’d be honored to help. Drop me an email. I respond to every single one.
-Kris
