I love my life. But it’s not that my life is easy. In reality, some parts of my life are downright hard. However, when I began my Creative Business I was blindsided by the negativity that would come. I had to learn ways on how to deal with negativity early on and put those things into practice.

Hurt people often hurt people. In other words, when someone hurts me, it is usually more about what they are dealing with rather than what they truly feel about me. Negativity usually comes from deep roots of someone carrying hurt, shame, stress or burdens. They place those weights on others in efforts to make themselves feel better.

I have experienced many doses of negativity in my life. But in the world of business, it came like a thief in the night. Negativity often comes without warning.

Therefore we must know how to deal with negativity before it comes.

My first real experience with negativity was when a client hired me to paint her kitchen cabinets. During the initial consult, we discussed all of the details, the painting process and payment. She was eager to have us get started. After two days of hard labor, we had delivered a kitchen of her dreams. She was thrilled. Even posing for a picture in front of her newly renovated kitchen. She was thrilled, I was thrilled. All was well.

That was until the next day.

I still to this day, do not know what happened in the mind of my client to cause her to do a complete 180. She went from thrilled to completely dissatisfied in one evening and it was then that she refused to pay for the work that had been done. I also went from thrilled to devastated as I watched this once happy, over the moon client, turn to someone that refused to allow me to understand why the sudden change of approval. No matter what I did, offered to do or said, could have changed the mind of my client that day and it was then that I learned this very powerful truth.

Sometimes there is nothing you can do for someone else’s negativity.

It is part of the job. Ask any business owner or a famous person. Negativity lurks around in places we least expect. It blindsides us when we aren’t ready and rears it’s ugly head even when uninvited.

Even Jesus experienced it. Therefore, we will too.

But we don’t have to fan the flame of negativity, nor should we give life to the ones that insist on casting their own hurts upon innocent bystanders. Life is too short to rest in negativity and it’s a choice we have as business owners to stand for integrity or wallow in the things that try and come against us.

I paid my painters for the work that they did, even though I never received a dime from the client and I had a choice. I could stay in disappointment and reflect on the negative. Or I could do what I knew to be right and move on.

Choosing the latter and because of that, I have been able to see negativity as an opportunity to GROW. To grow myself spiritually, to grow my customer service as a small business owner and to grow in my response for when negativity comes my way.

Four Simple Ways on How to Deal with Negativity:

1. Set Clear Expectations. Whatever your creative business, set your expectations upfront so that your customer knows exactly what to expect.
2. Keep It, Professional. Build relationships within your business but keep it professional in your interactions.
3. Acknowledge Customer Concerns. In the world of customer service, the customer is always right. Despite how hard it may be, walk away when the customer is unwilling to see eye to eye.
4. Not Everyone is Going to Be Happy. Let it go and realize that there will always be people that are unhappy. Arranging your business and changing your structure for one unhappy person will be detrimental to your business. Let it go and trust God to provide when it doesn’t go as planned.

For more insight on how to deal with Negativity and Improve Customer Service, consider my Craft to Cash Course.