If you’ve ever worked with a business coach or channeled your inner Simon Sinek, you’ve heard the question, “What’s your WHY?” And the answer, typically, is the reason we went into business in the first place. It’s what drives us to get up every day and work the crazy hours that we do. It’s what keeps us going when we’re frustrated because you’ve had a slow week.
You may be working a day job that you can’t wait to quit, so you spend your evenings and weekends plugging away at your side hustle.
Or maybe you take on projects that you’d rather say “no” to because you know they’ll be a great stepping-stone for what you want to do next.
Whatever your reason for being in business, there’s likely a deep-seeded reason why you decided to go into business in the first place.
- I wanted to be home for my kids.
- I wanted more control over my hours and my income.
- I was sick and couldn’t work anymore, but I had to do something.
- I was in a difficult situation and I felt the need to help others.
- Working with my hands keeps me busy and takes my mind off of other things.
And your why may be something totally different.
The point is this: Telling others why you went into business might be difficult to do, but it’s necessary. It’s part of your story.
If you already know your why, kudos to you! But is it the same why you started your business with? I started my own business for one reason (because I needed a side hustle to my teaching job so I could make ends meet). But I haven’t had a “day job” in well over three years now. So my why has shifted and changed to meet my ever-growing goals and dreams.
I encourage you to spend some time on a regular basis, looking at where you’ve come—and where you aspire to be. I think you’ll find that doing this will help you to be uber-clear on your why.
I created my Finding Your Why worksheet to help you dive into why you do what you do. And knowing that will help you identify your business values (on the blog next week!) and really get to know who you want to work with and why. You’ll also learn how to turn what you know about your audience into statements you can use as you get crystal clear on who you want to work with and why.
