What’s your ‘Why’? How to find purpose in your business.

There is so much uncertainty in today’s business world, and in times of such uncertainty it can reveal what type of leader you really are. 

What type of leader are you?

The Panicker
They put their business on hold, they stop doing anything proactive or they run around like a headless chicken frantically looking how to fix the short term problems.

The Passive leader
Continuing to do what they have always done despite the changing circumstances. They put their head in the sand and go through the motions with their business without trying to change or adapt.

The Purpose-driven leader
They understand the changing environment and look for new opportunities. They actively find ways to adapt and seek new ways of doing business.

What makes a Purpose-driven leader?
The common factor amongst Purpose-driven leaders is a consistency in giving. They recognise that we’re all at our best when we are giving. By having this purpose or goal at the heart of their business and their life, it is what sets them apart.

Isn’t it about giving money, it is about helping people and offering support. Offering to get a neighbour shopping if they can’t get out or returning a lost wallet. You are always at your best when you are giving. 

So how do you put that into your business?

Great business leaders understand that a purpose that is driven by giving means they are constantly looking at what they can do for their customers, their suppliers, their society, their staff, their team. This allows them to evolve their business when they need to adapt and therefore survive changes in the economy, technology and demand.

Don’t just get your business back on track

Getting back on track means carrying on from where you left off, and doing what you have always done. Instead it is time to think differently, seek to evolve and identify how you can become driven by a real purpose which is focused on giving. 

There is no better time than now to get started…Now is your time to rise

So how do you do that? 

The first thing that you need to understand is your ‘WHY?’ 

What is your purpose?

Simon Sinek’s book ‘Start with Why’ is a great read and explains that when you understand your ‘Why’, your business becomes a force for good. You then have that purpose in yourself and your business meaning you can break through barriers and achieve so much more.

In his book, Simon talks about the fact that true purpose is always ‘human’. It’s not about market share or profit.

So what does ‘human’ look like? 

For us at Better Never Stops, our purpose is to enable ambitious entrepreneurs to enjoy their journey, live their dream, and leave them feeling inspired and empowered to grow sustainable, successful businesses that make a positive impact on their local community.

We don’t exist to purely be the biggest or the best, we are  about the human connection. True purpose is always human.

How do I find my ‘why’?

One easy place to start is the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development created by the United Nations and great business leaders of the World.

17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development 

There is a very important message that accompanied these goals, which was that while you perceive it’s about governments and politicians who are at the forefront of all this, and they’re the ones that are driving sustainable goals, that is really not that case at all. Their message to the world was that it’s actually entrepreneurs, business leaders, business owners that have the biggest influence to actually make these global goals happen. So it’s almost our obligation to make all these things happen and to use our businesses as a force for good and drive through these global goals.  

Now, choosing one of these goals as your purpose is only a suggestion and good starting point, you may have your own ideas of your purpose. 

So what does ‘giving’ mean for you and your business? 
For us, it is about inspiring ordinary people to live extraordinary lives.  

How do we do that at Better Never Stops?  
We do it through B1G1 (Buy 1 Give 1), an  organisation that enables businesses to give back, each act of giving back is called an ‘Impact’. We have made over 10,200 impacts to date, which include providing 349 days of business training and bookkeeping skills to women in Malawi and 9100 days of access to reading materials to girls in Cambodia – See our Impacts to date. Our goal as a business is to have over one million impacts per year. We focus on education and income generation as that is what’s close to our hearts, but you can select impacts that are important to you. 

Everything that we do as a business is geared towards increasing the Impacts that we make, We have an Impact-giving pyramid that flows all the way down from our business, through our delivery partners and through our customers.  

There are, of course, many ways that you can make your own impact, but we find this a very useful platform to help the causes we are passionate about and empower ordinary power to live extraordinary lives. 

When you start putting these impacts at the centre of your business and at the core of what you do, you’ll see a change in what happens around you. The like-minded businesses you connect with, the suppliers you work with, the clients and employees you attract, will all make for a deeper and more enriching business. 

Contact me to request your free copy of Time to Rise by Paul Dunn and Steve Pipe

What next? 

Hopefully you feel inspired to think a bit deeper about your business. As another way to help  you, we’re also offering a copy of the book ‘Our Time to Rise’ by Steve Pipe and Paul Dunn which explains a simple path for turning your business into a force for good in the world. Simply email me to request your copy [email protected]  

Don’t forget you can catch up with our podcasts on Apple and Spotify and watch our videos on Facebook and LoveYourBusiness.TV on YouTube.