Finding your Why: what is it?

Put simply, your Why is the reason that your business exists.

Why did you start your business, and what drives it forward?

Perhaps you have a vision to create something which your city really needs. Maybe you wanted to build a legacy for your family. Or maybe you’ve always dreamed of becoming the business owner that you now are.

This is your Why – the reason for your business’s existence and the driver behind it all.

If you’re interested in reading more on the purpose of finding your Why, head over to my blog on the topic.

The problem of your Why …

The problem that many business owners face, which is why I saw the need to launch The Reality Check, is that it’s all too easy to let your Why slip.

As businesses grow, your founding vision can be crowded out by urgent tasks, exciting projects which don’t necessarily fit the original goal of the company, or simply forgetfulness which clouds our original ideas of why we began in the first place.

If this sounds like you, then you you’re in the right place, as The Reality Check is all about making sure your Why stays central in all that you do, as well as being clearly communicated at all levels.

But as well as making sure your original purpose stays central, this month we’re also thinking about when it’s appropriate to evolve your business purpose.

Sometimes your perspective or circumstances can shift, and that’s when you might need to enhance your Why.

Enhancing your Why is transformational

The third episode of The Reality Check is all about enhancing your Why.

This can be controversial; some people would argue that if your business purpose shifts, then you’ve lost sight of your vision, which is exactly the opposite of what a business owner should be aiming for.

And in some ways, they’re right – because the whole idea of The Reality Check is to prevent business owners from losing their Why.

But the crucial difference here is what it means to enhance your Why, not lose it.

You’re not moving away from your Why or simply forgetting about it, you’re going to evolve your business purpose to better suit the needs of the business now.

This enhancement is about bringing your Why up to speed with the changes in your business, as well as the ways that you’ve grown since its inception, and then shaping your Why to adapt with these factors.

What does it look like to enhance your Why?

In Episode 3 of The Reality Check you’ll hear that ‘to enhance your Why is to strengthen it, refine it and elevate it’.

If you want to evolve your business purpose, it’s all about taking the initial reason that your business began, and adding depth, clarity and vision.

Here are some examples to put some flesh on the bones:

• Perhaps your businesses Why was that you were looking for success. Enhancing this Why could mean that you want your business to create an impact in the community as well as in your household.
• If your Why was to meet a need for a certain product, enhancing this could mean tailoring it to a certain demographic or expanding it to a new market.
• If your Why was to provide security for you, perhaps your enhancement could widen this vision out to enabling freedom for you and your loved ones.

Enhancing your Why enables your purpose to grow.

Your Why stops being about thinking small and starts to become something which doesn’t just serve your immediate needs but shapes a legacy looking into the future.

Enhance your Why to keep you moving

If you feel your business has become a little stagnant and that even being conscious of your Why hasn’t helped you to refresh business operations, that’s a sign that it might be time to evolve your business purpose.

Take some time to think:

• Does my Why still feel relevant?
• If it does, why is that? If it doesn’t, why not?
• How has my life changed since my business purpose was first established?
• How has my audience changed since those early days of the business?
• How can my Why adapt to better suit these changes?

Enhancing your Why will help you to keep moving and pull you towards your true mission again, but his time with renewed energy, purpose and passion.

Get in contact to find out more about how to evolve your business purpose

If you’re ready to dig deeper into your Why by reshaping it, then it’s time to talk.

I’ve helped countless business owners to rediscover the vision of their company and realign its operations with that original purpose.

Now, it might be time to enhance your Why, adapting it to strengthen it, which will help you to live it out.

If you’d like tailored support to get the wheels in motion, you’re in exactly the right place.

The Reality Check is the perfect resource for business owners to focus on their Why, and it’s been really exciting to see a group coming together of like-minded people who have registered their interest in finding out more.

If that sounds like you, sign up here for updates on The Reality Check to be the first to hear when it’s launched.

Alternatively, if you’d like some one-to-one support from me, I’d love to hear all about your business to help you to rediscover your Why and evolve your business purpose – just follow the link below to book a free 30-minute discovery call.