Your why * your vision
What is Your Why?
As a business owner, you are juggling a lot of things. You’re likely in the weeds and haven’t given your WHY a second thought. After all, driving revenue is top of mind. Just keep this in mind as you worry about your bottom line - People don't buy what you do. They buy why you do it.
TOO many business owners focus on what they sell. If you post what you sell on social media without talking about your WHY, it will lead you in ONE direction; customers will leave you for the cheaper option every single time. If you spend time sharing your WHY, you’ll create loyal customers who support you even if you have the highest prices in town.
Identify and call out your business purpose & you will drive true loyalty and engagement.
Finding Your Why
What - Your what is what your company does (products and services you sell)
How - Your how is how your company does it (these are things that make you special and the systems/processes of which you deliver your products and services.
Why - Your why is why your company exists. What is its purpose, cause or belief?
YOUR WHY IS THE PURPOSE BEHIND WHAT YOU DO!
If you own a clothing store, perhaps your WHY is to make your customers feel good about themselves, but can you dig deeper than that? What if you built a community behind your company? What if you made it known that once a year you donated all of the clothes that did not sell to the local battered women’s shelter. Stand behind this and let your customers know how important this is to you. Perhaps you could offer a purse swap program and donate purses too.
Did you know there is a National Denim Month? Yep! NDM raises awareness of Sexual Assault. You could ask customers to bring in an old pair of jeans in return for a discount on a new pair. You can donate all of the jeans that you collect to that same battered women’s shelter.
The goal is to create a WHY that is bigger than YOU! It will not only make a big difference in your community but your WHY is now to make a difference in the lives of women who would likely never walk into your store.
Once you figure out your WHY, create your BIG PICTURE VISION and share it with everyone! Hang it up, talk about it in meetings, use it to create your strategic plan.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION?
Spend time doing what you love. I love hiking! After a successful hiking trip, I always journal and spend time on my Big Picture Vision.
I remember on this trip to Park City Utah, I added a section in my Big Picture Vision. WHAT DO WE LOVE TO DO OUTSIDE OF WORK?
Your vision is a snap shot of what your company looks and feels like years from now. Imagine hiking up your favorite mountain and reaching the summit. Do you see your company, team, customers? Can you visualize what it looks like years from now? Write out what you see. It is vital that you share your vision on a regular basis. Post it, hang it up in the break room, talk about it in team meetings, interviews and in your on-boarding process.
WHY? Your team has to know where they are headed. They have to know the purpose of your company and the goals that you want to achieve!
Your VISION does not include your sales goals! Nope! Your sales goals are on your strategic plan. I got your attention didn’t I?
A lot of business owners skip this important part and this is a HUGE mistake! Just like you don’t plan a trip without knowing where you are going, you can’t possibly know what to pack, how to get there and what fun things are waiting for you UNLESS YOU HAVE VISION ON WHERE YOU ARE GOING!
what to include in your vision
THIS IS WHAT MY COMPANY WILL LOOK LIKE 3 YEARS FROM NOW:
Who are we? Include your what, how and WHY!
What makes our company special? What separates you from the rest?
Why do we do what we do? Elaborate on your WHY!
Our signature process (You may not have a special process, but if you do talk about it)
Who are our clients?
What are our service standards, core values?
What does our team look like? Talk about your culture!
Meet our team. Include their names, photo, hobbies, favorites.
As CEO what is your focus? Talk about who you are.
Our community - what does community mean to you?
HOW TO SHARE YOUR VISION
Make it cute in Canva and print it out, post it, share it with everyone!
Include it in on boarding packets
Talk about it during interviews
Post on social media
Talk about it in meetings with your team
Use your big picture vision to collaborate on new ideas!
“YOU MIGHT GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO WITHOUT SEEING IT FIRST, BUT IT’S GOING TO TAKE YOU A LOT LONGER!” - Kristi Brocato
