Workload getting you down? Clarify your Why.
We can get so caught up in the daily life of running a business, it's easy to miss the forest for the trees. While this might keep the business pumping out sales in the short term, your engine can’t be expected to last without a strong understanding of your end game - that is, why are you even doing this to begin with?
You're probably 24/7 in the operational side of the business, and its ability to function is largely dependent on your input. This can leave you feeling trapped. Bills still need to be paid, food still needs to go on the table, and your original job as business owner that you knew so well has since turned into 12 different roles, with work that’s always screaming to be done.
You're low on energy, slumping into your beer at the end of another long day, knowing that the business is well on its way to sucking the life out of you.
Will you make it to the finish line of stepping back and passing on the operational side of the business to your staff, or to selling it for a sizable gain?
This is where purpose comes into play.
Step back from the tree and consider the entire forest.
Timothee Gallway, in his book The Inner Game of Work, poses a brillant approach to getting to the root of your why. As humans, we are often torn between an individual internal struggle between getting results (career, goals, savings) and living a life that is humanly satisfying (eating good food, buying nice things, leisure time). These two drives are codependent. In order to have more of one, you usually need more of the other.
In most cases, you can’t have more time to spend as you please eating good food and enjoying life, without working hard in some other area of your life. But, you need to determine what the ideal outcome looks like for you in the context of your business, and what you’re willing to do to get there.
Simon Sinek has an entire book dedicated to the topic of purpose (Start With Why). He states that ‘why’ should always be followed by the ‘how’ and the ‘what,’ not the other way around! That’s because in many cases your customers don’t just buy what you’re doing, they’re buying the why behind it, too.
What’s more, if you know why you’re doing what you are, then you can help unify your employees and foster greater loyalty.
Nike doesn’t sell activewear, they sell performance. Apple doesn’t sell hardware, they sell productivity and good design. Ethique doesn’t sell shampoo bars, they sell a more sustainable future.
Here are some questions you can ask to get yourself started on your quest to find why:
What does my ideal timeline look like for my business? How many more years do I want to be running it before handing it over to staff, or selling it?
What do I want my business to afford me more of in the long term? More free time? More money to spend? More travel?
Do I feel connected to my business? How can I feel more connected to what I’m doing?
Is there a positive impact I want my business to make? Environment? Social?
If you want to understand the value you bring from the perspective of a customer, start asking for feedback. Get them to indicate how likely they are to recommend you to a friend and why. Learn how what you’re selling makes the lives of your customers better. Remind yourself that your business is bringing value and tie it back to how it's going to return that value to you in the long term.
Tying it all together, having an end goal, a purpose, or both, can help you through the tough times and allow you to think more strategically about what you’re doing in the business.
Find your why and put it on a post-it note on your desk - it works wonders.
If you’re ready to discover how you can operationalise your why, then let’s take this discussion further by booking in a 45 minute discovery call together.