The Importance of Your Purpose to Your Business

Have you ever been in the audience in a seminar and the speaker says what is your WHY? 

I have been in that audience so many times and I never really understood what they meant by what is your why. 

I want a million dollars, more vacations, bigger home, etc. We realized everyone had the same things on their list, and the speaker would say, “that’s not it, dig deeper”. What did that actually mean, dig deeper?

I later realized that all of those things were the benefits of your why or what I call your purpose.  

It’s the part of your business that was your starting point. Something that was missing from your life or in the market that you needed or wanted and could not find it. A product, a service. So, you decided to create it or make it better. It’s the part of your dream that kick-started everything. 

It states what the purpose of your company is and what service or product you will be providing your clients and how it will change their lives.

It also provides a competitive advantage over companies without one.

It is the part of your vision that keeps you grounded and in tune with why you started your business and who you wanted to help.

It keeps you connected and, on the path, so you can make your dream a reality.

It’s not just business - its personal.  Starting a business is personal, it's your why.

This was the ground floor of where it all began. The idea, the conversation, the strategy session that triggered the reason you started your business. What was it that made you take that leap of faith and start your business?  

• Did you want to show people how to do something in a way that made life easier?
• Did you want to create a product that did not exist or exist in a way that worked well?
• Was something missing in the market that you needed so you created it?
• What was your real reason for starting your business?

Purpose is about losing yourself – in something bigger than you. Let me explain.

It is about wanting to make a difference and doing it for others – to help, to give, to serve. It is the legacy you are going to leave behind.

This is very different from your passion. Passion is about finding yourself, following your interests.  Something we fulfill our lives with, our hobbies. Now, in some cases our purpose can become our passion. The most important thing is to love what you do or at least really really like it.

3 Steps to Reconnect With Your Purpose

1. Ask yourself these questions – Why did you start your business? What was the initial reason? Was something missing in the market that you needed, or something you wanted to improve upon?

2. Identify, or clarify, what is the value you have to offer your potential clients? How will change the lives of those who will buy it? Your purpose, your why, clarifies the value you have to offer. You started your business to solve a problem. Possibly a problem you had and needed a solution for, so you created one, whether it is a product or service it does not really matter.    

3. Communicating your purpose to your target market. Communication is a huge part of everything we do in business and in life. Being able to clearly communicate your purpose and vision to your target market, your team, potential partners and so on, is vital for the success of your company. Having said that, if you do not have a clear purpose and vision you will not be able to communicate it clearly and to the right people and you will not find the clients that will pay you what you are really worth.

Know your value, what you really have to offer. Your purpose clarifies your value and why people would want to buy what you have to offer.

Some of you may say it was for the money. Okay but what purpose does your product or service provide?  

Being clear on your purpose will help you in every aspect of your business, especially with your marketing.  So, spend the time to do a little digging and figure it out, it will really help your business. 

If you need any help with this feel free to schedule a complimentary 30 min zoom call with Carolyn and she would be happy to help you with this.

Stay tuned next we will provide you with some tips to help you with your target market.