WHY

What drives you matters

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Y’all know I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” (ps affiliate link). His philosophy states that people don’t buy what you do or how you do it, they buy based on WHY you do what you do.  That WHY is what creates brand evangelists, followers, groupies – they drank the proverbial Kool-Aid of you and your brand. It’s kind of magical on so many levels.  #gamechanger

Here’s the thing, what motivates you to act matters.  When your WHY motivates you, you have a sense of thrill, a sense of pride, and a sense of calm about your actions even about the unknown.  I’m not suggesting it isn’t scary at times, but your deep seeded emotional motivations will carry you in an amazing way IF you remember WHY you started on the course you did.  Kind of sounds like marriage therapy – doesn’t it?  When couples are at a rough patch, therapists will often ask them to remember WHY they were drawn to each other in the beginning? Why did they fall in love?  What do they love about each other?  The WHY motivation is no different.  What drives you should not only inspire you, it should inspire others.

It’s the same thing when it comes to everything else in life – business, friendships, marriages, hobbies – it doesn’t matter.  What drives you DOES matter.

Compare the WHY scenario  to a fight or flight motivation.  You do something, you take action because you have to, because you are afraid of the consequences or perhaps because you are being forced.  There is no positive emotional connection to the action, it doesn’t bring you joy – the end result, nor the journey

When it comes to being an entrepreneur, I can promise you this is by far one of the most important things to grasp.  You MUST be emotionally and deeply connected to what you are doing if you want long term success.  You must believe in your WHY, so that others will believe it and more importantly so that passion will carry you through the rough patches.

When you don’t love Mondays ( beyond Simon this is my other favorite topic to rant on and on about) – you are in the wrong career, in the wrong space.  If you own a business and dread Mondays you are not driven by your WHY you are driven by a fight or flight.  I’m not talking one bad Monday, I’m talking “Sunday 2pm OMG tomorrow it all starts over type of I hate Mondays”.

What drives you to succeed matters, and it should never be about money. #gamechanger (TWEET THIS)

Money is a fight or flight motivator.  You fear not having enough.  You take actions based on how much you will earn or how much it will cost.  You aren’t driven by your WHY.  Think about that for a minute, I mean really think it through.  How are you motivated?

Sit down and make a list of 10 things that bring you joy, 10 things that you are really great at and 10 things that you want to accomplish in the next 5 years.  If less than 50% of them align with what you are doing right now career wise – consider the possibility that you are not in the right space and that you are driven by some motivations that aren’t aligning with your WHY.

If money is on the joy list – think about why and consider a rethink. What about money brings you joy?  Is it the security?  If so – change the word to security 🙂  just a little mindfulness tip.

This stuff matters, don’t brush it off.  When you grasp this and practice it – it’s a big time #gamechanger

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Side Hustle Nation – Take the Leap!

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In our program the Business Success Network, we love working with Side Hustlers – people who are working their dream gig on the side while holding down a full-time gig that they greatly dislike. (Trying to avoid words like Hate – they just don’t serve me)

If you are SERIOUS about making your Side Hustle the Full Time Hustle – then here are the steps we take our clients through.  I need to them to know the following:

  1. Be crystal clear on your WHY. What is your purpose – personally, and does it align with your business model.  If the side hustle is just a way to make a buck and you aren’t passionate about it – your business will never be truly successful. You will get burned and give up when the going gets tough – and it will, get tough that is.
  2. Ensure you have a viable business. Just because it’s a great idea, does not mean it’s a viable business model.  Perhaps your market is too small or too saturated, you can’t differentiate yourself enough from the competition or you have a time sensitive thing whose time is almost up.  You need to crunch the numbers and do some market research.
  3. That you need to be a risk taker. I don’t know one business owner who is risk adverse.
  4. That you need to have a success mindset. You must focus on the long haul and not get hung up on the bumps in the road.  You have to BELIEVE you will be successful.
  5. You have capital enough to survive without a paycheck for a while – because most of your $$ has to go back into the company – typically.
  6. You need to deeply understand your customer and their journey – how they will get to you, what you will do once they find you and how you will nurture them. What will their customer experience be like?
  7. Chief Cook & Bottle washer – If you don’t have the capital to pay for help, do you have the talent, will and drive to do it all?
  8. Are you open to coaching and learning? If you have a know it all attitude – you are setting yourself up for failure. Trust me – I’ve been there and it wasn’t pretty.
  9. Are you willing to fail – but more importantly, do you have the mindset that failure is simply an opportunity to learn and grow.
  10. That you need to spend just as much time working on your business in the beginning as in it.
  11. You need to be able to sell or have a process that sells your product for you – i.e. online platforms etc.
  12. Progress NOT Perfection. You need the minimum viable product to launch – it doesn’t need to be perfect, you can always adjust, fix and change as you go. Besides you need feedback from real life buyers!

 Side Hustlers, you can make the transition, and the time is really up to you. If you are focused on the end game, that transition will be far less painful than if you look at ALL you need to do and it will go a lot quicker.

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10 reasons businesses fail

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I’ve owned a few businesses in my day. Some have failed, some have been (and are) successful.

The failing part sucks – no doubt about it. You never enter a business thinking it’s going to not be there in a year or two – kind of like a marriage.  But it happens.

Here’s what I’ve learned from my own failed ventures and from the myriad of business owners I’ve worked with over the years.

  1. Business Partners. When they work it’s beautiful. When they don’t, it can be an ugly divorce in the making.  Just like a marriage, you need a partner who has the same core values, the same vision, yet you need to complement each other.  There must be trust, transparency, and all partners need to be on the same page when it comes to running the business.  Have a partnership agreement that details who is doing what and how everyone is getting compensated.  Trust me on this one.  Many businesses fail because the partnerships fail.
  2. Capital. You need money to survive.  Cash is still King.  If you are thinking of going out on your own, you need to have cash in the bank for at least a year and/or some VC money to infuse into the business.  Without capital, it’s hard to grow.
  3. 3 P’s. Policies, Process & Procedures.  You can’t wing it.  Have a process. Adjust as needed.
  4. Cabinet. Lawyer, Accountant, Tax Advisor & Insurance Broker.  Don’t ever skimp on these – Ever.  Don’t think DIY is a smart idea – it never is.
  5. Clear WHY. You have to be crystal clear on your vision – your WHY. What are you bringing to the market? Why should someone buy from you?  What is your unique value prop?
  6. It has to be a viable business. Not all great ideas are viable businesses. Do the market research and test.
  7. The need for perfection. Go to market. It will never be perfect.  Do 1-6 – that’s just smart business, but go to market even if things aren’t perfect.  Your website doesn’t have to be the grand vision you have – it can be 1 page.  You don’t need a staff of 100 – start with 1, etc.
  8. Hire the RIGHT people. They need to fit into your culture and see your vision. Resumes and skills are second to their core values.
  9. You need to change with the market.  Innovate or die.
  10. Ethical. Now you’ll say there are a ton of unethical business owners who are making millions.  True, but they won’t survive the long haul.  Besides, do you really want to be that person?  Do the right thing.  Karma is real.

My first business failed miserably and cost me dearly.  The reason was #1, #4, and #10 (on my partners’ end).  It was a mess.   If you are thinking about heading out on your own. Call me first – I can save you a ton of headaches!

Cheers to us Entrepreneurs!

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