The prospect of being a business owner is exhilarating. You can be your own boss, have flexible work hours, make more money, do something you really like, and meet lots of new people. Yes, the dream of running your own business is always so perfect but are those things enough to help you push through during the really hard times?
The journey of entrepreneurship may not be always that smooth and many times it has a lot of twist and turn, up and down, resolving issues after issues before hitting your jackpot. Will you give up when hit by these challenges or you will swear to commit till the end?
This post will help you figure out your real “why”, and this will help you keep trying despite all of the setbacks and challenges that come with entrepreneurship. If you are running your business for the first time, dedicate time to write out your WHY statement. Run through your mind deeply and be honest to yourself. Trust me, you will come back to this statement many times.
Get out a piece of paper and a pen (or open a new document on your device), draw a line in between of the paper or draw a table with two columns. And do your best to honestly answer the questions in the exercise below.
A) Why did you want to start your business?
Let the thoughts flow and do not judge. Write down all the reasons you can think of, even the superficial ones.
For example:
– I want to have lots of money
– I can spend more time with my spouse and kid
– Sense of achievement
Tell Your Story
Now, look at each point that you listed out in the previous exercise, and dig deep past the first layer. Elaborate how will you benefit from these or why you have these thoughts. Write your story.
For example, maybe under
“I want to have lots of money”
you write “fulfil my dream to travel around with my loved one” and “freedom of choices”.
Or under
“I can spend more time with my spouse and kid”,
you write “I miss out many important occasion eg. My son’s birthday celebration, my daughter’s violin performance etc, due to heave business trip schedule, I want to be with them when they are growing up”
Refer to the example below.
B) Why did you choose your business?
Next, if you have already a business in mind, write down all of the reasons you choose your business. Same as previous exercise, write down all reasons you can think of, even the superficial ones.
For example, if I owned a graphic design business, I could list:
– I’m a good designer
– I like being creative
– I can make lots of money
– I can set my own hours
– I can have flexible work locations, so I can travel
– I like helping other people meet their goals
Tell Your Story
Now, once you have all the reasons written down, look at each reason and dig deeper. List some words that can describe the “theme” of your why.
For example, maybe under
“I’m a good designer” you write “this is your passion”
You might notice that this theme would tie into most of the other points listed.
C) If you’re still stuck, look up people you admire.
If you’re still having trouble figuring out your main motivations, look up entrepreneur’s that you admire. You may have been inspired by their stories and motivated you to start yours.
It is not uncommon for us to be unclear of our main motivations. We are bombarded with tons of information in a day and we tend to get influenced and confused. Our original motivations faded and clouded by noises. By reading the stories of those we admire can help to sort out our thoughts, push away all those noises and understand our main motivations.
Finding our “Why” isn’t “technically” necessary for starting a business and hence many has chosen to skip this process. However, knowing the deeper “why” is the Foundation to your business and in fact it is a MUST. It will help you when cash isn’t flowing or your customer’s are being ridiculous or you’re putting in long hours. The “why” will help you push through the storm and come out a proud, successful business owner.
What’s your “why”? Let’s share in the comments.