Finding your own Why in your business (and how to do it)

If you don’t stand for something, such as your Why, you can easily fall victim to taking on clients that don’t align with your values, making bad hires, and worst of all, you’ll spend most of your time miserably plodding along in your own business wondering why you bother taking on all the stress of being a business owner...

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There are so many aspects of business. What is the right thing to focus on and how do you know you are making the right call on the many decisions confronting you on a regular basis? So many people focus on What. What they are selling and what it can do. There is a deeper question to address though, the question that started this whole production into motion. The question is Why. Why have you created this? Why does it matter to you?

Your Why simplifies the chaos of business and brings everything you do back to a strong central focus.

The question of Why is powerful because it connects every aspect of your business into one common goal. When you know your Why you can focus on achieving this outcome, which will help you make financial decisions, help clarify your marketing direction, assist you in knowing which risks to take and know when to refuse an offer that doesn’t fit with what you are striving to achieve.

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In this blog, we’re going to be expanding on the importance of knowing your why, and help you to discover how to find yours.

The power of Why

Your Why is your purpose. Every business has a Why, although it’s such a core part of our reasoning that it becomes all too easy to overlook it. As intrinsic as they may seem, it’s important to go back and question our business foundations. 

Going back and realising your business purpose adds incredible power to your brand and allows you to clearly see the goals ahead.

Your Why is also your key connection to your audience. This genuine and powerful purpose will be what will attract your clients or customers. It’s the part of your business they can connect to and engage with. It’s also the key part of satisfying their wants and needs. 

So how does your Why work to make your business stronger?

There are a number of ways bringing attention to your Why is beneficial to your brand:

  1. Having a clear purpose allows for quick decision making
  2. It brings focused direction to the whole company
  3. It provides crystal clear clarity on what your business stands for and produces
  4. Your unique point of difference
  5. You build trust through authenticity and consistency
  6. Your customers or clients can relate to you on a deeper level
  7. Your staff are aligned with your business goals and motivated to succeed

When it comes to attracting, satisfying and keeping your customers (and indeed your business partners and employees), focus, clarity and connection are essential business factors. Your Why satisfies all these needs by bringing an overarching goal and purpose to what you have created.

When you have focused direction you can channel your energy and resources into the assets that matter most to your business success. 

There was probably some burning drive that motivated you to start your business. It might be the frustration of not being able to find an existing product that fits you, or maybe a terrible experience with a competitor’s sales rep that had you vowing to provide better support to people in need. 

It might even be more personal, maybe someone told you you can’t be successful so you decided to prove them wrong. Or maybe you have a deep passion for something or a vast knowledge base you wanted to share with the world. 

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe”

SIMON SINEK
the power of why

Clarity

There is only one thing you need for an effective marketing campaign. Clarity. When you are connected to your Why your reason becomes crystal clear to everyone around you. It enables you to talk about what you do and share it with the world in the simplest and most engaging/convincing way.  

Point of Difference

In the crush of so many businesses all demanding attention, you need to stand out. You need to show people that you offer something unique, something different, something valuable. Your WHY is your difference. This is your authenticity. It’s a direct link to a real and genuine person underneath the 1s and 0s. No two Why’s will ever be the same, which is why broadcasting yours will be sure to get some attention.

Connection

Emotion: That is what people will connect and respond to. Other people will resonate and be loyal to your purpose, your passion and that emotional drive that launched your business. And not just your customers either. Employee engagement will be higher and you will be more likely to attract the right staff with the right mindset who will gain job satisfaction from succeeding in making your dream a reality. This is so much more rewarding than just picking up a paycheque.

Authenticity

In order to gain your customer’s trust, you need to stay true to your values and be consistent with your brand’s message. Your Why gives you an anchor that holds you firmly to your original delivery promise and sees you consistently act on your values.

Your Why is the very foundation of your brand. Your customers will feel more confident with their purchase. 

Grit

As mentioned earlier, getting in touch with your Why will also increase your resilience. Every business goes through changes and challenges. You need to have something strong to steer you through this, stronger than just wanting money or power or status. All these things can be reached through multiple means, so at the first sign of trouble, it’s tempting to jump ship and chase after your goals on a different path. For a business to be successful, you have to stick with it even in tougher times.

Your Why is the big picture, the biggest there is. That means you can rely on it to keep you motivated even if the chips are down. 

It’s the ultimate golden carrot dangling in front of you. You can put in the enormous effort for little pay, which will be the foundation of a multimillion-dollar business down the line. 

If you are driven by money, fame, social status you will be leapfrogging from path to path, product to product or business to business trying to catch it. Your why is your life passion, you do it because it compels you. There is no other path to take. 

Risk assessment

In business, you need to take certain risks to make gains. Knowing which risks are worthwhile and where to invest are confronting decisions for business owners. When your why is crystal clear it becomes easy to see when an offer or change is beneficial and worthwhile and it means you can step into those risks with confidence. With this concrete understanding of which direction to take, you can make better, more effective decisions for your business.

how to uncover your why

How to uncover your Why

Finding your Why is a simple matter of asking the right questions and being completely honest with your answers. Your Why will be made up of your talents, life experience, passions, values and skills.

Here are four key areas to get thinking about

  1. Your skills: What life experience or skills do you have? These may be gained through blood, sweat and tears, or they may be a deep inner strength like patience, loyalty or an incredible talent. 
  2. Passion: What about your business excites you and ignites your passion. What about running your business do you love? If you can’t find a passion within your business, it may be a passion in your life that inspired you to get your business in motion.
  3. Outcomes: What problems does your business help solve? For your business to be successful you will have a client base who come to you for a purpose. What do they need from you and what is the ultimate outcome you want them to achieve?
  4. Emotion: What is the emotional experience that motivated you to launch your business. What purpose did you set out to achieve?

Why you need to find your Why

You may have heard the saying ‘if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything and this couldn’t be more true in business. 

If you don’t stand for something, such as your Why, you can easily fall victim to taking on clients that don’t align with your values, making bad hires, and worst of all, you’ll spend most of your time miserably plodding along in your own business wondering why you bother taking on all the stress of being a business owner. 

When you know your Why, you’ll be inspired to take on challenges that push you to grow, which is one of the best things about growing your own small business. If you need help finding or rediscovering your why, contact us today and let’s have a chat.

Jarrod Partridge seated looking away from his MacBook

Jarrod Partridge

Jarrod is our digital marketing expert, who specialises in written content and Search Engine Optimisation. When he isn't going down the rabbit hole of SEO, you will find him watching Formula 1 or at an Indonesian football match. He also has a strange hobby of relaxing by watching car detailing videos.