Hello everyone! My name’s Shane and I’m one of David’s team members, working as a content provider for his various sites. He’s spoken about me before in previous posts, like “Cut Out The Middleman” and the first part of “The Cost of Debt.” I pitched an idea to David about doing a guest blog for today since Halloween is by far my all-time favourite holiday, and he gave me the keys for the day and told me to run wild. Well, within reason of course. I decided to post this article a few days early so that hopefully, you might have enough time to implement some of the ideas therein. If not, there’s always next year!
I don’t think I’m alone in my love for Halloween. I’m sure we all have fond memories of growing up, getting all dressed up in our costumes, and going out trick-or-treating. For me, that love never went away. I’m presently 28 years old and still celebrate it every year (though my neighbours have long since stopped giving me candy, I have to buy my own). So if I’m still celebrating it, why shouldn’t you?
Well, why not? Halloween is an excellent oppourtunity to boost morale amongst your team, and your clients too!
Tell me something. When this season rolls around, and you’re out going about your day, doesn’t it bring you just a little bit of joy to walk into a place of business and see the staff all decked out in costumes? A little nostalgia for days gone by maybe? I’m willing to bet it does. I’ll even go one step further and bet your clients will have the same reaction. That little mood boost in your clients could (and probably will) work wonders towards ensuring your dealing with them today will be just a little bit more pleasant. And isn’t that what we all want in our client interactions?
And your team? Look at it this way. I’m a firm believer we never really grow up. We just take on more responsibilities, which gives us less time to indulge in more “childish” pursuits. This is the perfect time of year to throw all that out the window and be a kid again. We all loved dressing up for Halloween as children, and let me assure you, it’s even more fun now. By encouraging your team to dress up today, you’re adding a little bit of extra fun to their work day. This is a great morale booster. You could even take it one step further, buy some candy, and hand it out to the rest of your team (or your clients, if you have the type of business where you have many of them coming in and out throughout the day). You could even have a costume contest, if you felt so inclined. There are tons of little things you can do today to make the work day more enjoyable. Get creative! We’re big on creativity around here, and you should be too.
The point, really, is to use Halloween as an excuse (and a very good one at that) to add a little fun to your work. To make it a little more exciting. David used a quote a few days back that I’m pretty fond of: “A happy worker is a hard worker.” This is pure truth. I know I work far harder when I’m in a good mood. So if today is an oppourtunity to make the people you work with (and yourself) just a little bit happier, why not go for it?
Being self-employed is a lot of work, and a lot of the time, work can be pretty boring (not for me, I love my job, but, you know, for the rest of you out there). So if you’ve got a chance to make it a little un-boring, take it! Your team will thank you, your clients will thank you, and, if we’re being completely honest, you’ll even thank yourself.
Once a year my own path to Personal Independent Earnings passes through October 31st, and you had better believe every time it does I will be unashamedly working in a costume (a Batman cowl this year, I believe). I have a blast with it, and I’m working all the harder for it. Give it a try, I think you’ll like the results.
I just wish Alfred was around to make my coffee.
