Is Your Why Strong Enough?

Why did you start your business?

You must have a very strong reason for being in business. A why that will keep you going in the face of fear, and keep you motivated during the trying times in your business. The more powerful your why, the more of a motivating factor it will be.

Many times, I hear people say, “I started my business because I love doing this – it’s fun.” Yes, your business is probably a lot of fun. But is that enough to keep you going? In other words, will it be fun when you are up until the wee hours of the morning finishing a project? To some people that might be the epitome of fun! But, if “fun” is your why, you need to make sure that every single aspect of the business is fun for you.

Your why should be very personal, and something that will inspire you to build your business and keep it going no matter what.

When I started, my why was “because I want to help business owners be empowered.”

The problem with that was, my why was for someone else. I was doing this all for someone else. With my why being external, there was still always a reason to give up, or procrastinate. After all, I wasn’t doing this for me, I was doing it so that other business owners could benefit. Now, empowering others is my passion, but I needed a stronger, more personal why.

I had to do this for a reason that I held dear to my heart. My why for being in business is that I want to have a flexible schedule so that I can spend time with my daughter whenever I want. I don’t want to miss out on anything while she is growing up, and being in business for myself is the only way for me to do that. She is a very strong why for me. Whenever I get discouraged, or see a long night coming, or fear the next step in my business, I think about why I’m doing this, and it inspires me to keep going.

Your why should do the same for you. In the face of frustration, stress, and fatigue, your why should pull you through and help give you the strength to keep going. If you find you’re giving up too easily, or your constantly procrastinating and making excuses, maybe you need to revamp your why.

Let me clarify something; I find helping women extremely fulfilling. I am very passionate about it. I get an incredible thrill when I help someone overcome fear, or set a goal and achieve it. Those things are inspiring to me, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s my purpose in life to teach and help women in this manner. However, I could find a way to do that while holding down a corporate job. I am choosing to do it through my own business. My daughter is my why for working for myself. Why you want to be in business for yourself, and your purpose in life may be two different things just as I have described.

Exercise: Finding your why If you already have a strong why for being in business, this exercise can still help you visualize a future for your business.

Take out a piece of paper and pen, or open a new document in your word processing program. Through these exploratory questions, you are digging deep to find a strong reason to propel your business forward.

Ask yourself these questions and write down the answers: Why did I decide to start this business? Is this a strong enough reason to remain in business? Will this reason keep me going when times are tough?

If you find that this reason isn’t strong enough for you, ask yourself these questions: Do I love this work enough to keep building a business for myself? Can I see myself doing this in 5 years? Am I truly passionate about the work I’m doing?

If you answered yes to those questions, answer these: Why is it that I felt I should start a business? What gave you the spark of the idea that you should start your business, and what made you take the plunge and say “I’m going to start a business!”