If you are a small business owner, it’s almost inevitable that at some point you will need to lead your business through uncertainty.

Unlike larger companies, small businesses can feel the impact of change particularly keenly, facing issues like smaller teams, limited resources and reliance on key suppliers and customers.

Whether you face issues related to the cost-of-living crisis, changes in technology such as AI or personal situations in your own life, challenges will unfortunately come to us all, and it’s key that you know how to lead your business through uncertainty so that you’re prepared when it comes.

When the path ahead is unclear, knowing your business purpose will provide a clear direction.

Knowing your Why won’t remove the uncertainties that you face, but it will definitely help you to make the right decisions moving forward so that you can navigate your business through the challenges ahead.

What is your business purpose? Finding your Why


I love to help business owners to reconnect with their Why, as it brings so much clarity to everything they do.

That’s why I’ve created The Reality Check, a free mini audio series to help people just like you to find their Why and realign their business accordingly.

If you’re interested in a deep-dive on the topic, take a look at the blogs on my Resources page, where I’ve covered:

– How to find your Why

– The purpose of knowing your Why

– How to make sure your Why is reaching your audience

If you’d like the key headline, the main principle is that your Why is the fundamental reason that your business exists beyond making money.

What problem are you trying to solve, or what niche are you hoping to fill?

Is there a demographic you would like to serve or a personal need you’d like to see fulfilled?

What would be missing if your business didn’t exist?

The answers to these questions are your Why – the purpose that will help you to lead your business through uncertainty.

Using your Why as a decision-making filter

This is where your purpose becomes really practical.

When we’re faced with uncertainty, one of the many difficult things is that there are lots of possible responses, and we don’t know which to choose.

But knowing your Why will help you lead your business through uncertainty because it will give you a filter by which to decide which opportunities, changes and compromises are a good fit.

With your Why in mind, when you’re faced with the choices that come out of uncertain times, you’ll be able to answer questions like:

  • Does this decision support our customers and the difference we want to make?
  • Does this choice reflect the values we want to be known for?
  • Will this strategy strengthen our ability to solve the problem we want to resolve?

Your Why doesn’t need to dictate every single decision in your business, but it can certainly act as a very useful compass when you’re not sure of the best way forward.

Your Why will provide stability without creating rigidity

Sometimes people are worried about the idea of sticking too tightly to their purpose because it could prevent their business from adapting and evolving to change.

But in fact, knowing your Why will help you lead your business through uncertainty because purpose provides stability, rather than meaning doing the same things forever.

You can keep your Why at the heart of everything you do, even whilst changing your products, pricing, technology used, target markets and operational strategies.

An independent shop whose purpose is to supply the local community with high-quality foods could decide to move from having physical premises into e-commerce, which may seem like an entirely different business model, but their Why has remained consistent even though their ‘how’ has changed.

Rather than thinking ‘shall we take this opportunity?’, reframe the question by asking yourself, ‘how could taking this opportunity help us to fulfil our Why’?

This transforms the idea of the change from being one with unknown outcomes, into something to evaluate, assess, and make decisions about – and this is the heart of how your Why enables you to lead your business through uncertainty.

Your Why is your anchor when the future is unclear

As I’m sure you’re aware, your small business is subject to the changes in the world around us.

We can’t control economic conditions, customer behaviour, technological advances or unexpected disruptions.

But what we can control is our response, and this can – and should – be shaped by the purpose that drives what we do.

Having a clear Why will allow you to lead your business through uncertainty by helping you to distinguish between distractions and opportunities worth pursuing. Not only this but it will enable you to communicate confidently during those difficult periods and adapt and evolve your business without losing its identity.

If uncertainty forced you to make a major decision about your business tomorrow, would you know what principles should guide you and inform your process going forward?

If the answer isn’t clear, now may be the right time to revisit your purpose and find your Why.

 

Ask Zoe about how to lead your business through uncertainty

I love helping small business owners to rediscover their purpose, because I know how valuable it is in the good times as well as the bad.

You can’t always predict what’s coming next, but when you know why your business exists, you can walk into the uncertainty with greater clarity, confidence and resilience.

If you’d like to discover your Why, adapt your business in line with it, or talk about how your Why can help you to make decisions moving forwards you are in the right place.

The Reality Check is a great starting point for all of this – sign up to register your interest in the mini audio series that I’m producing.

And if you’d like some tailored support then I would love to chat to you; use my Calendly link to book a free 30-minute discovery call where we can chat about your business Why and how it can enable you to lead your business through uncertainty.