What a 90s Television Show Reminded Me About Joy in Business
Anyone else feeling slightly nostalgic for a simpler time at the moment?
I am… and I’ve found myself rewatching Dharma & Greg.
If you’re roughly my age, you might remember it – very 90s, wonderfully frothy, and centred around Dharma, who is basically the human embodiment of doing things because they might be fun. And I’d forgotten how much I loved that about her.
She dances. She talks to strangers. She follows random ideas. She seems to find opportunities for fun in completely ordinary situations. And somewhere between episodes, I started thinking:
When did we all get so serious?
Particularly when it comes to business. Because running your own business is serious in lots of ways.
…there are bills to pay, clients to find, decisions to make, invoices to chase and those occasional days where you think “you know what? I could just get a proper job”.
But equally… If we’ve chosen to build our own businesses, surely one of the perks is that we get to decide what they feel like? And lately I’ve been thinking that I want mine to contain a lot more joy.
When did business get so serious?
There is so much messaging around business that tells us to be strategic.
To optimise. To scale. To monetise. To post consistently. To analyse our numbers. To create funnels. To build systems. To be productive…
And yes, lots of that is useful. But sometimes I think we become so busy trying to build a successful business that we forget to ask whether we’re actually enjoying any of it. Which seems a bit mad, really, doesn’t it?
Especially if one of the reasons you started your own business was to create a working life that felt better than the one you had before.
I’m not suggesting we abandon the spreadsheets (I actually quite like a spreadsheet). But perhaps there should also be another question sitting alongside all the sensible business ones:
Is this actually fun?
Or at the very least:
Could it be more fun?
Which leads me to skipping...
The other evening, we went for a walk after dinner. Nothing particularly exciting about that. Same roads. Same village. Same kind of evening.
And at one point, for absolutely no reason, I started skipping. Actually skipped.
Yes, I felt ridiculous.
Yes, I was very aware that I am a grown woman skipping down the road and I haven’t done that in about 25 years…
But it also made us laugh.
And suddenly this completely ordinary evening walk had this tiny little moment of joy in it. Nothing had changed. I hadn’t gone somewhere amazing. I hadn’t achieved anything “productive”. There was no big life event. I’d just done something slightly silly.
And it reminded me that joy is often much more available than we think it is. It doesn’t always arrive as some huge, life-changing thing, or some passion that lay dormant. Sometimes you have to create it. You have to notice the opportunity. And sometimes you have to be willing to feel a tiny bit daft in order to access it.
And I think there’s something in this for business
Because you can do exactly the same thing in your business. (Not the skipping necessarily… I’m not ruling that out… it might make a fun social media post…).
But looking for those little opportunities to make things lighter, warmer, more interesting or more enjoyable.
It might be:
- Choosing to work with someone because you genuinely enjoy their company.
- Creating an event because you think, Wouldn’t it be fun if…?
- Meeting a client somewhere you actually like instead of sitting on another Zoom call.
- Collaborating with another business owner on something neither of you quite know will work.
- Putting a little more personality into your website, your emails or your social media instead of trying to sound like a corporation with 4,000 employees.
- Simply giving yourself permission to follow an idea because you’re curious about it.
Now, I’m not suggesting that every business decision can be made because it sounds fun. Obviously, not. But perhaps more of them can than we think.
Joy is surprisingly magnetic
Have you noticed that joy isn’t just nice for the person experiencing it? Other people notice it!
You know those people who seem genuinely excited about what they’re doing? You lean in. You want to know more. Their enthusiasm makes you curious.
And I think businesses can have that same effect. When someone clearly loves what they’re building, it comes through. When an event feels genuinely welcoming and enjoyable, people remember how they felt when they were there. When a founder isn’t afraid to show some personality, it gives everyone else permission to relax a little too.
And I don’t think that means becoming relentlessly cheerful or pretending everything is wonderful. That would be exhausting.
It’s more about allowing some warmth, humour and humanity into the business. Because people are drawn to that. They want to be around people who make them feel good.
They want to be part of communities where they feel welcome. They want to buy from businesses that feel like they have a real person behind them.
And perhaps they also want a little permission to have more fun themselves.
This is exactly what I want my events to feel like
I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy creating events so much. Because yes, networking has a practical purpose. You might meet your next client. You might find someone to collaborate with. You might finally meet the person you’ve been following online for months. You might hear about an opportunity you didn’t know existed. They are all fantastic reasons to build your business community.
But I don’t want the events I create to feel like you have to walk into a room, deliver your elevator pitch and aggressively hand out seventeen business cards before you’re allowed to go home. I want people to have a nice time, to have conversations they weren’t expecting, to laugh, to meet someone interesting, to leave feeling a little more connected to the people running businesses around them.
Particularly here in rural North Yorkshire, I think those opportunities to come together matter because running a small business can sometimes feel quite isolating. You can spend a surprising amount of time sitting at a kitchen table talking to yourself.
So creating spaces where people can meet, connect and actually enjoy each other’s company feels important. And if useful business relationships come from that?
Even better!
Maybe small businesses have an advantage here
One thing I really believe is that small businesses don’t need to behave like miniature versions of huge corporations. We can be more human than that. We can change our minds. We can try things. We can know our customers by name. We can collaborate with the business down the road. We can host something because we think our community would enjoy it. We can put our personalities into what we do. I think there is something incredibly powerful in that.
Your size isn’t necessarily a disadvantage. Sometimes being small means you can create something much more personal. Much more connected. And, dare I say it, much more room for fun. Isn’t that wonderful?
So yes, I’m officially adding “have more fun” to the business plan
It’s something I want to keep asking myself… “Where is the joy in this?”
- What work am I excited about?
- Who do I enjoy working with?
- What ideas keep making me smile when I think about them?
- What could I do differently simply because it might make the day a little more enjoyable?
Because running a business is hard enough without deliberately making every part of it feel serious.
There will still be difficult days. There will still be boring admin (in my eyes). There will still be things that don’t work. There will probably still be days where I fantasise about someone else being responsible for absolutely everything.
But I also want plenty of laughter, interesting conversations, slightly ridiculous ideas that make me question things, people I really like working with, events that feel good to be at.
And the occasional skipping walk.
Because if we’ve gone to all the trouble of building our own businesses, surely we’re allowed to enjoy them too?
And perhaps when we openly embrace a little more joy and whimsy, we create something other people want to be part of as well.
So thank you, Dharma & Greg, for the reminder.
If you’re feeling nostalgic and want something light, silly and very 90s to watch, I can highly recommend it.
And feel free to blame me if you find yourself skipping down the road afterwards… and enjoying it!
FAQs
Why is joy important when running a small business?
Running a small business can involve pressure, uncertainty and a lot of responsibility. Making room for joy, creativity and meaningful relationships can help make business ownership feel more rewarding and sustainable.
Can personality help a small business stand out?
Yes. Small businesses often have the advantage of being able to feel more personal and human than larger organisations. Showing personality, warmth and genuine enthusiasm can help customers connect with the people behind a business.
Why is community important for rural business owners?
Rural business owners can sometimes have fewer opportunities to meet other founders and professionals in person. Local networking groups, business socials and collaborative events can help people build relationships, share ideas and create new opportunities.
What is the Ripon Women Business Network?
The Ripon Women Business Network brings women in business together in and around Ripon, North Yorkshire. It is designed to create supportive, informal opportunities to meet other local business owners and professionals, build relationships and strengthen the local business community.
