Shows like Silicon Valley, Suits and The Office wouldn’t crack us up as much if there wasn’t a familiar grain of truth in each episode. While many of us pride ourselves in being coolly logical, it’s hard to escape the fact that we human beings are emotional creatures. Whether we’re at work or not, our feelings drive much of what we do.

No matter how much you’ve touted the company’s core values and the culture you want to build, chances are that interactions between the people who work for you will get messy from time to time—or that someone may step seriously out of bounds. And like it or not, as the business owner, you’re ultimately the one who is responsible for keeping the emotional temperature in the office to a comfortable level for all.

So how do you manage all of the personalities around you without losing focus on what you’re really there to do—grow a business? Here are some strategies to use.

Model the behavior you want to see.

No matter how small your company, you’re the public face of the business. As the leader, how you express your emotions day to day will set the tone for the entire organization. If you’re usually upbeat and positive, you’ll bring an emotional energy to the group that others will mirror.

You don’t have to adopt a guarded, “corporate” personality to do this but it is important to train yourself to think before you speak, choose your words carefully and consider your tone. What you say to your team has a tremendous impact on everyone who works for you.

Put it in writing.

Before any problems take place, considering hiring a consultant to draft a simple code of conduct that makes clear what type of behavior is acceptable at your business and what the consequences will be if someone violates it. Your consultant can advise you on how best to distribute it, so everyone is aware of the rules. As your business grows, you may also want to offer training on subjects such as avoiding sexual harassment or other areas where there are frequent misunderstandings.

Turn the pressure down.

Employees will be less likely to overreact to the normal frustrations of the workplace if they are putting in reasonable and predictable hours. While there may be some periods during the year when you’re all under the gun, you can prevent too much pressure from getting to your team by making an effort to keep their schedules consistent. Planning allows your team to coordinate outside responsibilities like childcare—giving them adequate time to recharge after work, socialize and stay fit.

If you’re in a crunch that will last more than a couple of days, consider bringing in temps or contractors to alleviate some of the burden. Even if you’re paying your people overtime, they aren’t likely to bring their best selves to work if they are working to exhaustion for weeks on end. In the end, it’ll probably save you money on overtime, anyhow.

Step away from your computer.

Set aside 30-60 minutes a day for “management by walking around”—in which you stop by team members’ work stations and ask—“What’s on your mind?” The more you keep the lines of communication open, the more likely you’ll be able to find out about any problems that are simmering before they reach crisis proportions.

Train employees to solve problems themselves.

Taking time to chat with employees doesn’t mean you have to listen to rambling complaints or negative comments about their colleagues. If someone has a minor problem with the guy or gal in the next cubicle, offer coaching on how they might solve it without directly intervening. The time you take to mentor less experienced employees on how to develop “soft skills” like conflict resolution will pay off in a more harmonious culture.

Know when to intervene.

There are times when, as a business owner, you can’t simply ask employees to work things out. If someone’s behavior impinges on the rights, safety or security of anyone on your team, you may have to intervene immediately. Behavior that’s out-of-bounds can hurt your culture and potentially lead to lawsuits—or even violence.

Unfortunately, such behavior is more common than many of us are aware. Nearly one-fifth of workers say they face a hostile or threatening environment at work, according to a recent survey by the Rand Corp., Harvard Medical School and the University of California at Los Angeles. With the past month, 12.8% of respondents said they had experienced verbal abuse or threats, 9% reported experiencing humiliating behavior, 2.7% said they had been the target of unwanted sexual attention, and 1.6% said they had been subject to physical violence.

None of these types of behaviors should be ignored. If you are getting complaints that someone is creating a hostile or threatening environment for others, take it seriously and get legal advice immediately. Also know what you would do if, for instance, a disgruntled former employee came into your workplace and started threatening people.

In most cases, you’ll never have to deal with a situation like this. But once you’re prepared, you’ll be able to come into work every day knowing that you can handle virtually any situation that comes along.

Starting a business takes guts, mental toughness and confidence. No one knew that better than Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple computer, who passed away in October 2011 and remains a beloved figure who embodies the spirit of innovation.

As entrepreneurship transforms the global economy, many people have revisited his insights, seeking understanding and inspiration. Here are five Steve Jobs quotes to educate and inspire you.

“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” – PBM February 1985

Jobs was only 29 when he said this but it reflected his overall approach to life. If you devote your life to activities that bring you joy and fulfillment, and understand how precious your time on earth is, you will be surprised at the impact you can have.

“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. – Smithsonian Institution Oral History Interview, April 20, 1995

A non-quitting spirit is essential to success as an entrepreneur. Each small business owner faces obstacles—loved ones who don’t “get” what they’re doing, bankers who won’t lend them money, competition from bigger fish, to name a few—but Jobs innately understood that refusing to give up was a powerful advantage.

“I’m as proud of many of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying no to a thousand things.” – World Wide Developers Conference, May 1997

When you’re running your own business, there are always more opportunities to pursue, than you have time to devote. If you had unlimited time, you could attend every networking meeting, read every business best seller, and call a few more prospects, but since none of us has more than 24 hours a day, take a cue from Jobs: Focus your time on the most important activities to support what you really want to accomplish in life.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” – Stanford University Commencement Speech, 2005

Many of us spend more time at work than on any other activity. If you find that you are only working in your business to pay the bills, start asking questions: Are there new products or services you could introduce that will give you new inspiration? Could you outsource tasks you don’t like to someone else, so you can focus on work that you love? Is it time to close your business and start a new one that you’ll really love? There’s nothing wrong with pivoting, as Jobs well knew, so don’t put off making needed changes.

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘no’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” – Stanford University Commencement Speech, 2005

What matters to you today may not be as important next year or in five or 10 years. As Jobs well understood, it’s important to do frequent litmus tests to make sure that you’re living each day in touch with your priorities—and course correct if you’re not.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. – Stanford University Commencement Speech, 2005

The world is full of conformity, but the most important innovations in every field have come from people who dared to think differently and had the courage to stick with their convictions. Stay open to your own best ideas and ignore the naysayers. You’ll be amazed at the power you unlock by listening to your inner voice.  

A guest post by Elaine Pofeldt, author of The Million-Dollar One-Person Business.

Most people who start one-person businesses don’t expect to bring in $1 million in revenue or more. But a growing group of entrepreneurs are proving it is possible. There were 35,584 “non-employer” firms—meaning those that don’t employ anyone but the owners—that brought in $1 million to $2.49 million in annual revenue in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number has grown 33% since 2011.

These numbers are still small—there are nearly 23 million non-employer firms and most don’t bring in $1 million or more—but the success of these firms hint at the tremendous untapped potential that even the tiniest businesses have to generate revenue. As I began reporting on these solo stars in my journalism work and heard from many readers who wanted to know more, my research morphed into a book called The Million-Dollar One-Person Business, which Random House will release on January 2.

Not everyone needs to bring in $1 million in revenue, but if you live in a high-tax state and have substantial overhead, $1 million in revenue will probably translate to a mid-six-figure income. Given the lack of a safety net for free agents in today’s economy, earning more can give you some insulation against situations such as unemployment and skyrocketing health insurance premiums. And it can help make it possible to do other things that elude many free agents, such as saving for retirement, donating as much as they’d like to their favorite charities, taking a nice vacation every year and, for those with kids, socking away enough money for college.

So who are these Olympic athletes of solo entrepreneurship who are hitting and breaking $1 million? They work in fields that include ecommerce, professional services, personal services, informational marketing and many others.

While many have unique business ideas, what truly separates them from other entrepreneurs who earn less, I found, is how they think about their businesses. To scale their revenues without adding a big payroll, they have looked for creative ways to extend what one person can do. In some cases, they have built a fantastic team of reliable contractors; in others, they have found ways to automate routine tasks, such as managing email contacts with customers, so they can focus on what they do best. For those in service businesses, sometimes they do fantastic work that allows them to charge premium prices. Often, they have used a combination approaches—along with others that are unique to what they do.

Among the high-revenue non-employer business owners I interviewed were:

Laszlo Nadler, a father of two from New Jersey who brings in more than $2 million per year in revenue at Tools4Widsom, a one-person business where he sells planners for people hoping to focus their daily activities on what really matters to them.

• Rebecca Krones and her husband Luis Zevallos, who run Tropical Traders Specialty Foods, a business in Oakland, Calif., that has broken $1 million selling organic honey through their website and various channels
• Sol Orwell, a Toronto resident whose business, Examine.com, sells eBooks on nutritional supplements, bringing in seven-figure revenue.
• Harry Ein, whose Walnut Creek, Calif.-based business Perfection Promo brings in $3.5-$4 million a year selling swag, like T-shirts printed with a company’s logo.
• Cory Binsfield, who started out investing in duplex apartments in Duluth, Minn., and now owns 116 units, bringing in more than $1 million in annual revenue from them.

Some of the entrepreneurs I interviewed loved the simplicity of operating with no employees and are committed to keeping their businesses solo operations. Others saw their businesses take off so quickly that eventually they decided to hire employees. For instance, Joey Healy, who runs Joey Healy Eyebrow Studio in New York City, broke $1 million as a freelance eyebrow stylist working serving well-heeled Manhattanites but eventually decided to expand his staff to five other people. Now he runs a fast-growing shop.

No doubt by the time the book comes out on January 2, some of the entrepreneurs in the book will have moved ahead with exciting new plans and may have grown beyond being non-employer businesses. The nice thing about running a high revenue one-person business is it gives you plenty of options—and we can all use more of those.

AUTHOR BIO

Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist who specializes in small business, entrepreneurship and careers. Her work has appeared in FORTUNE, Money, CNBC, Inc., Forbes, Crain’s New York Business and many other business publications and she is a contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit. She is the author of The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, a look at how entrepreneurs are hitting seven-figure revenue in businesses where they are the only employees, tapping automation and other technology to scale their efforts (Random House, 2018).

As a senior editor at FORTUNE Small Business, where she worked for eight years, Elaine was twice nominated for the National Magazine Award for her features and ran the magazine’s annual business plan completion. During her time at FSB, she ran the magazine’s website, fsb.com, for four years, building its traffic from two to five million page views a month.