A Business without True Purpose and Passion Isn't

A Business won’t get very far without true purpose and passion – a ‘why’.

As a business owner, you must be clear on why you are in business and what it is that you want your business to stand for. You need to have something that gets you out of bed in the morning and excited to tell everyone about your business.

This is often easier at the start of a business, when you are excited to launch and start something new, but you need to able to maintain this feeling of purpose or you may become frustrated at the very thing you are trying to create.

Once you are clear on the ‘why’ for your business, make sure it aligns with your own personal values and passions. Businesses that are not aligned with the business owners own values tend to have more difficulty being successful as they lack clarity and conviction in their mission. Having alignment between personal values and your business will keep you personally and professionally motivated.

The mission and purpose of a business can be felt in every aspect of business. It guides every decision and gives clarity, direction and focus to the business.

With a truly invested business owner, the business mission and values can be easily communicated to team members and customers. A business owner who is enthusiastic and inspired by their mission will motivate others to be invested in the success of the business.

Having clarity on the purpose and future of the business, you can then create a mission statement. A mission statement is a clear and concise explanation for why the business exits.

For example, a furniture manufacturer in Sydney, Nicholas Dattner, created his business based on the following mission statement:

“The World’s Most Beautiful Tables”

At the time of creating this mission statement, Nicholas was creating his own tables and selling what he made through a retail outlet. Today, Nicholas, spends his time however he wants. The business he created and has now retired from creating the life he always dreamed of.

This is the impact of such a simple, yet powerful, mission statement. A statement that can not only create focus for your employees, but also setting the company apart from the competition in the eyes of your customer.

It may take some time to work on your own mission statement, especially to make it this concise and simple. Many business owners start with something much longer and eventually manage to condense it down to one sentence.

The next step is to create some Guiding Principles to define the behaviors and decisions that will be needed to achieve the business mission and purpose. A set of guidelines to bridge the gap between the mission and strategy, setting the standard for team culture and behavior. They can help with decision making in the day-to-day operation of your business and help you priorities the important values of your business.

With all of these things in place, your bigger picture ‘why’ or purpose can be communicated effectively and your business can start to achieve the results you want. A mission and Guiding principles will help you inspire and motivate people beyond their weekly pay slip.