Are You Trapped In A Loveless Business?

Do you ever feel trapped in your business? Perhaps it was all nice and rosy when you started. You loved going to work everyday because it meant exploring new territory and discovering new things. Everything was fantastic and even though it was hard work, it was worth it because you watched your business grow and blossom into a glorious enterprise that you are immensely proud of. The money is good, your staff are great and you feel like you are on top of the world.

Fast forward a few years and things are a bit different now.

You are no longer excited about going to work. You feel bogged down by all the operations, sales, admin and general running of the business. You’ve hired staff, but they all seem to be under-performing. You are barely able to cover costs every month and you’ve lost all the love you have for the once glorious enterprise.

The good news is, you might be able to rescue yourself from this mess.

Here are 3 steps to rekindling the love for your business.

1. Figure out your WHY – Watch this inspiring TED talk by Simon Sinek on the principal behind successful businesses and people: The Question of WHY. If you can’t figure out what your WHY is, it may be worth doing this online course on his website that takes between 7 to 10 hours and costs USD$129. He recommends individuals do it even if you are working in a job and are not a business owner.

2. Share your WHY with your team – Your team is a critical part of this process. They can only perform at their best if they believe in your vision and mission. Up until this point, you may not have not communicated your WHY to them. In fact, you probably weren’t aware of your WHY in the first place. Share this new revelation and see if your team is on board with it – if you find that some of them are not in agreement with your WHY, perhaps it is time you went your separate ways.

3. Align your business messaging – Now that you and your team know and understand the WHY, this is a great time to rebrand your business to accurately reflect your WHY. Once you get the message out there, your new and existing clients will better understand the value your products and services offer because they believe in your WHY. It will no longer be about what you are offering and how you are offering it, but rather it will be all about WHY you are offering it.

By implementing these 3 steps, you should start feeling the love for your business again and no longer feel trapped.

With thanks to Paul Dunn of B1G1 for introducing the concept of WHY to me.