We all start businesses for different reasons and knowing that reason is crucial to your success and longevity as an entrepreneur. Knowing your ‘why’ will help you stay committed to your dream and give you the push you need to overcome the inevitable obstacles on your journey. Whether you want to change the world, have a greater sense of freedom or control in your life or simply make people smile, your ‘why’ must go beyond making money or your business will be unsustainable. Yes you need to be profitable as a business, but money alone won’t make you successful.
Why knowing your ‘why’ is important according to Entrepreneur.com:
Freedom
Some of us love being employees and others crave the freedom of entrepreneurship. Neither preference is right or wrong, but knowing which is the best fit for you will help you determine if owning a business is worth it for you.
More than money
Since most businesses aren’t profitable right away, you’ll need more than money to fuel your daily grind.
Passion is infectious
If you are passionate about something, you’ll attract those “needing what you’re selling”. While not all passions are potential businesses, if you decide to turn your passion into a business that fire will be an asset.
That’s just a short synopsis of “Why Discovering Your ‘Why” Is the No.1 Business Move”, I suggest heading over to the article to read the rest.
The 5 Whys Method
Whether you are trying to clarify the ‘why’ for owning your business, figuring out ‘why’ something didn’t work as planned, or ‘why’ you did or need something the 5 Whys Method is here to help. Essentially you are taking “the thing” and asking a series of 5 ‘why’ questions. As you continue to ask why the problem and solution will become more clear. Check out the example below:
#1 Why didn’t we get a fully booked event?
We didn’t get enough exposure for the event.
#2 Why didn’t we get enough exposure for the event?
We didn’t acquire enough new leads prior to the event?
#3 Why didn’t we acquire enough new leads?
We didn’t market our lead generator effectively.
#4 Why didn’t we market our lead generator effectively?
We focused more heavily on marketing the main event.
#5 Why did we focus more heavily on marketing the main event?
We were more concerned with filling the main event and lost sight of the importance of customer acquisition which created too small a pool for conversion.
Solution: Invest marketing efforts in acquisition and focus on acquiring more leads in order to boost enrollment of events.
This method works for all areas of life and can really help you stay focused on solutions and growth. If you need a reminder of ‘why’ you started your business or you need to figure out ‘why’ you experienced a difficulty try this method. And be sure to get your whole team involved to help improve the process and your solutions.
Need Support?
Check out this article for more details on the 5 Whys process and reach out to one of our Business Advisors for help running through the process.
Moral of the story, get clear on your ‘why’!
