Whenever I meet with someone new to discuss their business, and to help them figure out what their next step toward success needs to be, I always find myself coming back to one question. “Do you know your ‘why’?” Sometimes I feel like I sound like a broken record.
Some of you may know that I run our local Vegas TuesdaysTogether group, the local version of the Rising Tide Society, where we meet to discuss various business topics. Regardless of whatever topic we’re covering for the month, whether it be SEO or Content Marketing, or even Workflow Organization, I constantly find myself asking my audience, “What is your ‘why’ behind what you’re doing?”
Seriously, I ask it so much I feel like my regular attendees are probably sick of hearing me say it. Well, dear readers, if you’re sick of hearing me ask you about your ‘why’, this is not the article for you.
I remember the first time the concept of knowing my ‘why’ came to my attention. Up to that point, I had a vague idea of why I do what I do, but I’d never been intentional about sitting down and asking myself my ‘why’ and so I’d never gone deeply into why I love photography and want to do it professionally. The concept was totally foreign to me. I think its because we as humans think we know ourselves, but as I get older, I’m constantly reminded that I don’t know myself at all, and I often surprise myself.
I have a dear friend, who I consider to be a life mentor, who’s been a musician her entire life. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, she had become quite successful being signed to a major record label and touring. She’d recorded several albums and met quite a few influential figures at the time. In the midst of all of her success, she felt like something was off. It wasn’t until she took time to sit back and consider her life, and ask herself why she loved music in the first place that she realized something literally life changing. She felt off because the aspect that she loved about music was that it has the power to bring people together. It transcends language and culture, and can touch people in a way nothing else can. She’d gotten into music to help people and to bring them together.
She’d asked herself, “Why do I do music?” And her answer was quite different from what she was doing with music at the time. Thats when she walked away from the music industry. Now, all these years later, she’s still using music in the way that her ‘why’ intended. She travels the world and connects with other cultures through music, and she’d have it no other way. I’m so thankful that she asked herself “What is my why?” Simply asking ourselves ‘why?’ is such an important thing to do, without that simple three-letter word, we wouldn’t have a very good compass to lead us through life.
The Most Foundational Question
So I’ll get to what I want to say today: If you don’t know your “WHY” behind your business, you won’t have a clear vision for your brand, your future, and you’re ideal clientele.
You may think you know exactly what you’re doing, but unless you’ve been super intentional about sitting down and deeply exploring why you do what you do, you’re missing out on some potentially life changing revelations.
Building a solid business is completely dependent upon how strong the foundation is that you build your business upon. If you don’t have a strong foundation, like a shaky building, your business will eventually crumble. You’ll either burn-out, lose passion, or get discouraged and want to give up.
Who, What, Where, When, Why and How?
Alright, when thinking about business, the five W’s are your foundation – and knowing the ‘Why’ will help you answer all the other W questions. Still with me? Let me explain. Knowing your ‘why’ will help you know your:
Who – Your ‘Who’ is your ideal client
What – Your ‘ What’ is your niche
Where – Your ‘Where’ is knowing where your ideal client is
When – Your ‘When’ is your 1 year, 5 year, and 10 year business goals
How – Your ‘How’ is your business plan
I want to help you build a strong foundation for your business. And because of that, I’m starting a Foundational Series. I’m going to go through the five W’s with you, to help you discover your ‘how’ – your business plan, starting with discovering your ‘Why’. You ready?
Discovering Your Why
If you’re feeling completely lost or overwhelmed, don’t worry. Asking yourself ‘why’ seems like such a simple task, but its really not. It requires some intentional thinking time (and maybe some wine). But no fear, I’m here to help set you up for success.
I’ve prepared a handy worksheet to help you discover your ‘why’. So, you have a little bit of homework. Sit down, chill out, pop open the wine, and get to answering a few questions. Even if you already know your ‘why’, this will be a good time to expound on what you already know, or to see how your passions may have shifted a bit over time!
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for Chapter 2 in the Foundational Series: Discovering Your Ideal Client
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