Understanding the Propose of Your Business
Understanding the Propose of Your Business
While on this amazing trip, one of the things that struck me while digging ditches and building houses was how incredibly important it is to have a strong foundation.
One of the other volunteers— an architect from Canada— explained that placing the first cornerstone is the most important step in creating a solid foundation. For placing everything after that will either be in alignment or not. When the first stone is set properly, the other stones go into place much easier. And if the stone is not set properly, the entire house will be unstable and weak, perhaps even unlivable.
And just like building a strong house, creating the business/career (or life for that matter) that you love all starts with having a solid foundation: where that cornerstone is placed. Why do you have your business? What is it you want to ultimately achieve with it? Beyond the fame and fortune. What is it that really gets you excited and out of bed in the morning?
Discovering the purpose of your business can be simple… and not so simple! It requires you to really delve deeply into the core of what it is you are all about… as an entrepreneur/intrapreneur as well as a human being.
Recently I have been promoting and working with clients building their Sustainability Blueprints. This is a map they are creating towards what their company is really all about when it comes to taking care of people, the planet all-the-while making a nice profit for themselves.
Here is a four-step process to determine your business’ (life’s) purpose:
1. Ask yourself the powerful question of “Why…” you are doing your business/career.
2. Listen for the answer. (For many, this is the most complicated step.) “Listen” for the ideas, inspiration, even knowing of why you are working towards what you are building.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until there are no more answers to “why”. Go deeper. Ask why that answer you just came up with is important to you. Keep digging until there are no more “why’s”.
4. “Check in” to make sure the answer is the answer. How does the ultimate “why” feel? Do you get excited? Inspired? Nervous?
It is important to note that it does not matter what the powerful questioning starts with, because going through this process will always lead to your ultimate answer.
For example, “Why am I building this business?” With your practiced “listening” skills you answer, “So I can make a lot of money and have financial freedom.”
Ask again, “Why do I want a lot of money and financial freedom?” And your answer may be something like, “So I can only work with the clients that inspire me.” Ask again, “Why do I want only work with clients that inspire me?” And keep going until you get to a “why…?” that can no longer be answered. An example business purpose would be to “transform the way businesses treat the planet.”
And you will know when you arrive, for you will feel it in your heart! How long this process will take you depends on how good a listener you are. Once you know what is your business’/career’s purpose, you are ready to build around it. And making business decisions becomes much clearer: Should I pursue this opportunity… partner with this person… expand into this line of products…?
And as any good bricklayer will tell you, with a solid foundation in place, laying the bricks becomes much easier in building your dream home.
Action Steps for the Week:
Build the cornerstone for your business/career. Ask “why” are you in business (or your career). Keep asking. Listen. Do not get frustrated if the answer does not come quickly.
Keep asking. It will start to flow. Write down your answers. Whether they seem silly or real, write your answers down. Keep asking. Until the “well dries up”.
Then check in on how it feels. If it feels right, sleep on it. Review it again in the morning. Still feels right… then it is probably a go. If not, keep asking “why” until you get it.
Understanding the Propose of Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Stefan Doering's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
A few years ago I came back from India, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for people living in poverty.
While on this amazing trip, one of the things that struck me while digging ditches and building houses was how incredibly important it is to have a strong foundation.
One of the other volunteers— an architect from Canada— explained that placing the first cornerstone is the most important step in creating a solid foundation. For placing everything after that will either be in alignment or not. When the first stone is set properly, the other stones go into place much easier. And if the stone is not set properly, the entire house will be unstable and weak, perhaps even unlivable.
And just like building a strong house, creating the business/career (or life for that matter) that you love all starts with having a solid foundation: where that cornerstone is placed. Why do you have your business? What is it you want to ultimately achieve with it? Beyond the fame and fortune. What is it that really gets you excited and out of bed in the morning?
Discovering the purpose of your business can be simple… and not so simple! It requires you to really delve deeply into the core of what it is you are all about… as an entrepreneur/intrapreneur as well as a human being.
Recently I have been promoting and working with clients building their Sustainability Blueprints. This is a map they are creating towards what their company is really all about when it comes to taking care of people, the planet all-the-while making a nice profit for themselves.
Here is a four-step process to determine your business’ (life’s) purpose:
1. Ask yourself the powerful question of “Why…” you are doing your business/career.
2. Listen for the answer. (For many, this is the most complicated step.) “Listen” for the ideas, inspiration, even knowing of why you are working towards what you are building.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until there are no more answers to “why”. Go deeper. Ask why that answer you just came up with is important to you. Keep digging until there are no more “why’s”.
4. “Check in” to make sure the answer is the answer. How does the ultimate “why” feel? Do you get excited? Inspired? Nervous?
It is important to note that it does not matter what the powerful questioning starts with, because going through this process will always lead to your ultimate answer.
For example, “Why am I building this business?” With your practiced “listening” skills you answer, “So I can make a lot of money and have financial freedom.”
Ask again, “Why do I want a lot of money and financial freedom?” And your answer may be something like, “So I can only work with the clients that inspire me.” Ask again, “Why do I want only work with clients that inspire me?” And keep going until you get to a “why…?” that can no longer be answered. An example business purpose would be to “transform the way businesses treat the planet.”
And you will know when you arrive, for you will feel it in your heart! How long this process will take you depends on how good a listener you are. Once you know what is your business’/career’s purpose, you are ready to build around it. And making business decisions becomes much clearer: Should I pursue this opportunity… partner with this person… expand into this line of products…?
And as any good bricklayer will tell you, with a solid foundation in place, laying the bricks becomes much easier in building your dream home.
Action Steps for the Week:
Build the cornerstone for your business/career. Ask “why” are you in business (or your career). Keep asking. Listen. Do not get frustrated if the answer does not come quickly.
Keep asking. It will start to flow. Write down your answers. Whether they seem silly or real, write your answers down. Keep asking. Until the “well dries up”.
Then check in on how it feels. If it feels right, sleep on it. Review it again in the morning. Still feels right… then it is probably a go. If not, keep asking “why” until you get it.
Understanding the Propose of Your Business - To learn more about this author, visit Stefan Doering's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Stefan's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 PIPS Power Book JV Considerations Meditation Guide How Search Engines Work Joint Ventures ebook |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs | |
 |
Top 50 Political Blogs
Top Political Blogs of 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
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 and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||