The Psychology of Fresh Paint

A bit more remains to be said about business owners who are gun shy about doing things in anticipation of an economic recovery.

An owner mentioned to me the other day that he wanted to redecorate his conference room and purchase some new furniture. It hasn’t been a bad year, and he could expense the furniture under his Section 179 exemption. He is afraid, however, about whether his staff will see it as wasteful when he hasn’t rehired all the people he laid off in 2009.

If you don’t practice open book management of some sort, I’ll make the pitch to do so once again. Such misconceptions on the part of your staff can be avoided if they are educated to how much things cost, and how hard it is to turn a consistent profit.

Now is exactly the time to spruce up your workplace.If you really think that an employees might object, tell them the cost in relation to an employee. “Yes, we are spending a bit of money to freshen the place up a bit. In fact, we could have brought Bob back for two weeks with this money, but we just didn’t want to send him home again after that.”

Deferred maintenance costs more in the long run. In a case like this, it doesn’t just cost in terms of greater repair expense later. It costs in terms of morale. Let the employees know that, while the business hasn’t recovered fully, it also isn’t sinking any more either. A few gallons of paint or square yards of carpet can make all the difference in your attitude, and that of your workers.