Your life’s purpose matters in your business.
Now before you think I've gone too "woo woo" on you, let me explain why knowing, communicating, and incorporating your life's purpose is critical in your business...and more specifically to your profits.
But first, let me give you the 3 steps on how to successfully weave your life’s purpose into your business:
step 1: YOU GOTTA KNOW YOUR PURPOSE.
If you know your purpose, skip this step and go to #2.
Or maybe you sort of know your purpose, but you don’t know how to articulate it. That’s OK. Put it in a single sentence and go with it. For example, mine is on the homepage of my website:
“My Purpose is to educate and cultivate powerful women entrepreneurs who are committed to making a positive difference in the world.”
If you don’t know what you were put on this earth to do yet...do the work and find out why. I’m not a life coach, but I do have a book recommendation to help you get clear on your WHY called “Start With Why.”
Regardless, don’t get caught up on your purpose being absolutely perfect...pick what feels good to you right now and go with it. It will evolve more over time.
sTEP 2: NOW, COMMUNICATE YOUR PURPOSE.
Once you KNOW your purpose, it’s time to tell everyone about it.
Why? Well...human beings are amazing and they actually WANT to help others fulfill their life’s purpose.
You’ll build a tribe of people who will support you in making your purpose happen.
Tell people when you are networking, write about it, share it on social media...spread the word.
You are the best voice to get the word out about your life’s purpose.
STEP 3: FINALLY, WEAVE YOUR PURPOSE INTO YOUR BUSINESS SYSTEMS.
Now, figure out a way to make your purpose align with your business.
I know this may feel hard at first, but keep reading and I’ll give you some great examples of how you can make that work in your business.
A word of warning...
I can give you all the step-by-step business systems in the world, but if you don't have clarity on your life's purpose and what you want to accomplish in the world through your work...chances are...you will self-sabotage.
How do I know this? Well, because I self-sabotaged in my first few years of having my own business. I thought I was all alone in my self-sabotaging ways but now I realize it’s a huge issue for entrepreneurs.
But first, what does self-sabotage look like in business?
- Not being consistent and strategic in your marketing and sales because you are stuck playing the "comparison game" with other people who have been in business longer than you
- Doing busy work so that you don't have to "sell" (because selling feels 'icky')
- Stalling a launch because you aren't confident that your new product/service will sell the way you expect
- Taking on waaaaay too much work so that you feel stalled and do nothing
- You are spending more to run your business than you are making (not making profit on purpose)
- Continuous self-development and spending too much time/money on training programs
- Shiny-Object Syndrome and getting "bored" with doing the same things over and over
- Making excuses for not taking advantage of perfect opportunities to grow your business
If you want to read more about self-sabotaging behavior and how it may be impacting your business growth, check out this article on the Huffington Post.
So, why do entrepreneurs self-sabotage their business growth?
No one does it on purpose, but rather it's sub-conscience.
(Side Note: I'm not a psychologist or anything but I've learned from my own personal development work with Diana Rinkoff. You can find out more about her work at DianaRinkoff.com)
If your life’s purpose is not in alignment with how you are running your business...you don't have great odds for success.
Trust me on this...If you are a self-sabotager, do the work to clear that up. Your business bank account will thank you.
When you are making money and have systems in place to help free up your time, you get to do more of your purposeful work.
This is one of the main reasons that ridiculously successful entrepreneurs who make tons and tons of money end up creating (or partnering with) a non-profit Foundation associated with their life’s purpose.
And what do those ridiculously successful entrepreneurs do when they have free time?
They focus on serving and raising funds for their chosen Foundation.
Why? Because it feels GOOD to make a difference in the world.
Yes, there may be tax advantages to giving back but those are minimal compared to how making a difference in the world feels inside your soul.
SHOUT YOUR PURPOSE TO THE WORLD. (Yes, I just used screaming ALL CAPS)
Want to know why? It will help you connect with people who have a similar purpose in the world.
Money, fame, and success don’t matter much when you aren’t doing something to leave an impact on the world.
Your life's PURPOSE is foundational to your ultimate business success.
Your life’s purpose is the compass that points you toward the right path when you feel lost or at a crossroads at which path to take in your business.
Once you are clear on your life's purpose, to stay in alignment and motivated to grow your business, all you gotta do is weave your purpose into your business systems.
So...let’s just fast-track your ultimate success right now by integrating your life’s purpose right away into your business systems.
It works no matter what your life’s purpose is. I’ve never met anyone who I couldn’t help integrate their life’s purpose into their business systems.
For example, if you want to help rescue all the adorable dogs in your city who are in need of great homes, you can integrate that into your business marketing.
Here's how:
Goal: I want to help find homes for 100 dogs this year. (Make your goal super specific)
How: Get involved at the board level of the most impactful, local dog shelter in your hometown. Have your business sponsor an "Adopt-a-Dog" day. Spread the word. Your business will get the spotlight, you’ll meet great people who share your purpose and help find homes for the dogs, too.
Here's another example that you can tie into your sales system:
Goal: I want to build a school in Africa this year. (This one is my personal goal)
How: Donate a specific percentage of your revenue to raise the money to fund the school. Connect with others who have built a school. Share your goal with your community to help make it happen.
You are already working hard in your business, right?
Doesn’t it make sense that all that hard work you are doing will move you closer to your life’s purpose? It puts a little more hustle in you make more profit.
And...the more profit you make...the more money and time you have to spend serving your life’s purpose. There it is...your BIG WHY!
