The reason I enjoy working with small businesses so much is because there's a sense of enthusiasm there that you just don't find anywhere else.
What I appreciate most about the infrastructures of small businesses is that they're horizontal and generally non-hierarchical. This means that everybody picks up the phone, speaks on a first-name basis, takes care of each other. Communication and work duties aren't guided by differences in title but rather by similarities in motivation and goals.
As CEO of a mid-sized business (and previously of large corporations), I'm keenly aware of the problems that a hands-off management approach can create, especially in regards to customer service. While your business may have excellent customer service managers and evangelists, don't use your position as an excuse to detach yourself from the customer experience. Whether you're a CEO or an intern, you're still part of your company's brand.
This philosophy is why, after all these years, I still answer customer questions and support requests via email and phone. When a customer reaches out for help on a matter that is of high importance to them, who better to assuage their concerns than the leader of the company?
Always be available to your customers. They're the reason you do what you do.
