Tweet

The Soul of Business Part One

Written by: Kim Castle

Article Overview: Soul and business. Business and ... soul. You don’t often see these two words in the same sentence — especially over the last "make-it-until-you-drop-I don’t care who’s in my way” 60 years.

The Soul of Business Part One

The Soul of Business™: Part One
The Guiding Light of Business — Branding

[NOTE: Some words in this article may have been disguised to avoid triggering sp*m filters.]

Soul and business. Business and ... soul. You don’t often see these two words in the same sentence — especially over the last "make-it-until-you-drop-I don’t care who’s in my way” 60 years.

If you have "it", you understand the concept without skipping a beat.

If you’re looking for "it”, you feel a longing with every step you take in your business — even if it’s just the unspoken tug of unknowing.

If the concept of soul and business in the same breath incites you to... uncomfortable levels... well... that’s a whole different article.

To understand the concept of the soul of business, you have to consider what soul means. The challenge is — it has a different meaning for each individual. The context is flexible. It’s in the beholder.

This is also where the fun and the power of business is... IF you know how to tap into it.

Soul Defining

Defining the meaning of soul is like defining the concept of reality — you make it up. The real power resides in your meaning of soul, its application to your business and your unwavering command of that power.

The dictionary defines soul as:

the complex of human attributes that manifests as consciousness, thought, feeling, and will,
somebody’s emotional and moral nature,
the deepest and truest nature of a people or a nation,
what gives somebody or something a distinctive character
These definitions come close, but lack that mysterious unspoken essence of something that is far bigger. It’s that space that you fill up with... experience.

If you apply this unspoken power to business, both large and small, you will arrive at the very core of what makes a business tick — from why it was created to why it continues to exist.

Unfortunately, the problem is most small entrepreneurial business owners focus their initial business efforts "outside" of their business, on marketing, on sales, on... proof.

Then, if they are able to hold on enough to stay in the game, layer after external layer begins to form which solidify with tactical approaches to continue to market, to sell, to prove.

Eventually, this outer layer becomes heavy and can cause a business to implode if the core of the business isn’t established and maintained. Or it could lose its way altogether if the wrong kind of funding is thrown it’s way.

Remembering the Future™

Over the past eighty years the way business is done has come full circle from the days of yore when you brought your soap from the general store, which was at the front of the grocers house, through the industrial revolution of mass production and distribution, to the return of the human to human connection — through the internet.

Unfortunately the way business has been communicated hasn’t kept up with this change.

The old industrial model of advertising, of "sell the sizzle", or as I refer to it , "chasing the flash", is no longer enough for people.

Consumers have the power of choice and they can feel if there’s "something" behind the flash or... not.

Brand communication, including marketing and advertising, is on the cusp to a whole new way of consumer communication. A communication that has behind it a greater reason — beyond the mo*ney for product exchange. A communication that is fueled by the soul of a business.

The New Biz Buzz Word

If you polled a hundred people 25-55 about what they were missing in their lives and you were able to drill down to the core of their answer they would say, in one form or another, an authentic connection.

Even large brands, like Starbucks, Nike and even Apple, are starting to toss around words like real and authentic.

Howard Schultz, the CEO and mastermind behind Starbucks, one of the most successful and often admired brands today, says, "Our rapid growth has led to the watering down of the Starbucks experience. Our company’s soul is dripping away."

In The New Marketing Marketing Manifesto, author John Grant notes, "Authenticity is the benchmark against which all brands are n*ow judged."

The dictionary defines authentic as:

genuine and original,
shown to be true and trustworthy
not a copy, real
Where does this realness reside? In that mysterious space of the soul.

Your Guiding Light Through the Unknown

As a business owner you no longer have to be at the mercy of the unspoken unknown of what is at the core of your business.

Taking your business idea through a process to define that soul shines a guiding light on everything your business is to be and every step you take to make it so.

This process is creating a brand. Branding, when done right, gives you and your business the soul of your business. Once it’s in place, it never burns out.

For the past several years, I’ve been saying there’s a global return to the soul. It’s never been so true in business today.

As a small business entrepreneur you actually have the edge over b*ig brands on the authentic playing field. You haven’t lost your business soul yet. Then again... you may have not yet connected to it.

The exciting thing is, the process to connect to the soul of your business is now at your fingertips. But first you have to put down the tactics.

You can always pick them back up... later.

This article is part of a continuing series exploring the Soul of Business. Stay tuned for more.

© Castle Montone, Limited

Related Articles
  Happiness
  What Mask Are You Wearing?
  What Are You Looking For - A Miracle?
  More Sales Coaching Leads to Accelerated Growth
  Conscience

Article Tags: beholder, business business, business efforts, business owners, consciousness, definitions, dictionary, different meaning, distinctive character, entrepreneurial business, guiding light, human attributes, initial business, longing, manifests, moral nature, tick, tug



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Business Coaching Internship Review - I joined in during the first phase of the internship and at this point we are committed to doing research and development of RSC Business Group operating in Toronto. RSC Business Group already has products and services in Coaching Small businesses in Los Angeles but we didn't want to assume that the same products were wanted and needed in the Toronto market. Our goal at this point is to commit to interviewing 1000 business owners to capture this data. Through the teleconference internship I've been involved in we've been focusing on Communication Skills and on active listening which are practiced when we conduct our interviews and Coach our clients when they come on board. This is a lot harder than it sounds! Part of the internship is also creating the Toronto RSC Business Group's departments, job descriptions, Marketing and Communication plans etc that a business owner would create for their own company. This trains us in the way we would coach a company as well. The internship is phased in two parts and there is compensation plan involved as well for the clients you personally bring in. These clients are coached directly by Robert Chun as you begin but you are given a chance to learn his techniques. I haven't gone through this experience yet though. It's hard to explain Robert Chun's method of Coaching as it happens at a psychological level in his ability to listen and question the person being coached into the next steps they need to take. The Teleconferences are 2 hours long but it's very interactive. If you have a desire to explore this area of Business I'd recommend contacting Vwodek listed above and get invited to a Coaching Conference call. You can decided then if it's for you. Note: it is a commitment but the skills you walk away with whether you plan on working with RSC Business Group or not is invaluable.
Patent information - I'm also interested in Part 2. Thanks.
Patent Process - Interesting to hear your experiences with the patent process - what's Part 2?
Exclusive: Interview with Results - Hi Forum Members, I'm helping start up a Business Coaching and Consulting company here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (a Subsidiary of RSC Business in Los Angeles). As a Research and Development Intern I am required to practice my listening and interview skills by surveying Small and Medium Businesses on thier Business. This Survey is designed by RSC Business to also assist the Business being interviewed more insight into their own business. I am looking to interview about 30 businesses across North America over the span of 3 months. At the end of these interviews I will be publishing a report of the results and they will be made available for free to the Interviewees. The Report data will include responses from a minimum of 100 interviews. I would like to extend this opportunity to members of the Forum. If you would like to have this short 20-30 minute interview conducted on your Business and you reside in North America please send me an email or PM. Please contact me at andy[at]jvprosperity[dot]com to arrange our interview and to get free access to the results when they are published.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

The Death of the Sales Magazine

Sales Flubs

20 MORE Must-Have Search Engine Marketing Tools

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.