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Unsung Heroes
by Denise Hedges
This is for you. It's a thank you note.
For what?
For doing what you do as a business owner.
Sometimes when I'm driving through a commercial area, I make it a point to really look at a business or two as I pass by and imagine the people behind the doors and what they're doing at that moment. Making a sale. Handling government paperwork. Responding to a customer complaint. Thinking about how they can more effectively market the business. Doing accounting. There are so many jobs to be done and the work is all-encompassing. The commitment required is awe-inspiring.
What I've come to appreciate is that each establishment, among the thousands in any given community, is the center of somebody's life. Each business is somebody's baby. Those who are owner-operators have a huge amount of who they are tied up in that operation, monetarily, emotionally, and physically. It means everything to them ... when it comes to work, at least. They're fully invested in every sense of the word.
Pass through any door and you're sure to find someone whose workday runs from early in the morning 'til late at night ... someone who can never really get away entirely from the mental and emotional demands of the business ... someone who cares deeply about serving the clients or customer and getting it right ... someone who worries a lot about a lot of different things.
That business may be doing very well. It may be struggling, but one thing's for sure, it isn't running itself.
It takes a lot to run a business, whether it's a storefront operation or a home-based business. With all the challenges, it would be easy to let it get you down or even make you give up, but you keep on keeping on. And thank heavens that you do, because you're serving people. You're taking care of their needs, and in doing so, you make your community work. It's absolutely no exaggeration to say that you are the glue that holds society together. Without you and a legion of others like you, it all falls apart.
Sure, you're doing it for yourselves. You're working to make a living and you're following your own dream as you take care of the needs of others. That's as it should be, but you're doing so much more. You're part of something bigger and very important. You're the lynchpin of a functioning economy and the ones who help produce the quality of life we all enjoy.
And so, I salute you, the unsung heroes, for putting yourself on the line, dealing with all the stuff you have to deal with, and making it happen anyway.
I just want to acknowledge you and say thanks for being who you're being and doing what you're doing.
I admire you and appreciate you.
Best Wishes,
Denise
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