When it comes to your business knowing the “WHY” will help you stay committed to your dream and help others get on board, too.
Let’s jump right into it- why did you start your own business? Most people will tell you it’s because they were tired of working for other people and decided it was time to be their own boss. While yes, this is true to some extent. The reality is, that this was actually the catalyst that pushed them to start their own business. There are many reasons why people become entrepreneurs- at the core, it’s all about freedom. The freedom to make the changes you want and do business differently.
As the owner of your company, you set your own targets and standards. The initial thought of not having anyone standing in your way can be invigorating, but with that also comes the stress of knowing you’re solely responsible for the failures. This is where your “WHY” steps in.
Ok, so on to the next question, what do you do? “I’m a photographer”, “I do consulting”, “I’m a developer”, etc… whatever it is, you get the point. It’s not the reason WHY you’re in business.The “why” comes from your experience, the reason you even decided to be in a particular industry, the problem you solve, and how you make people feel when they work with you or buy your product. This is your WHY! This is the key to growing a long-term profitable and sustainable business.
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” - Maya Angelou
In this article, I share a couple of reasons why it is crucial to know YOUR WHY and embrace it as a guide to reaching your goals and building your vision.
It Adds Credibility: This is probably one of the most important reasons.
- When you’re fired up about why you’re in business and do what you do, it fires others up for you to lead their jobs.
For example…
Scenario 1.
Imagine you’re standing in an elevator with someone who could be a potential client/customer, and when they ask what you do, you reply with “we do digital advertising”.
The way this statement is currently positioned shows little enthusiasm, and doesn’t differentiate you from others that are doing the same thing. However, if you know and believe in your “why”, there’s the potential to inspire.
Scenario 2.
Here’s the same scenario but with a different reply “we believe businesses should look the best they can in the digital world”.
Do you see the difference? You’ve created purpose, a need, and have their attention. You’ve differentiated yourself from the others as someone with a mission and the person in the elevator with you believes in your mission (by letting you run their digital advertising).
Direction for Growth: Understanding your why doesn’t just help you close deals. It also helps you grow your business from the inside.
- By effectively communicating why you do what you do, you motivate others to join you, giving them a crucial part to play in a greater purpose. It turns employees from tools of labor that simply make the business function, into crusaders in helping you achieve a greater goal, who want to see the business grow because they believe in its purpose.
Creating this kind of environment, understanding and communicating your why clearly will also attract more talent aligned with the mission making your ever growing business better and better with each hire.
It’s all about perspective. When business is going great you aren’t going to care about your ‘why’. You are just going to be happy that your business is succeeding! Knowing your ‘why’ is going to be crucial when things go wrong and get messy. Knowing the why helps in the decision making for almost every facet of your business. When you build your brand and reputation around your WHY, deviating from that in any way can alienate your customers and lose you business. Knowing the “why’ kind of seems like a no brainer.