Why every business owner must have a mission!

Why every business owner must have a mission!

Having now worked with 100’s of business owners the one recurring pattern I see is that when they come to me they feel like a mouse running around a wheel and cant get off.

The first question I ask is “What’s your mission? What’s your purpose?” Almost all the time the business owner will say “I don’t know”.

Until we have a mission or purpose for ourselves and our business we will continue to feel like we are going round in circles. We get bogged down in the ‘doing’ and loose sight of the dream that perhaps we once had when we started the business.

Simon Senik says “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. Take time to read this quote a few times until it really sinks in. Anyone in the market can do ‘what’ you do, growth and success and loyalty comes when people engage and want to buy from you when they know ‘why’ you do it.

I have always said that the lowest and most dangerous competitive advantage from a business perspective is to compete on price – then it becomes merely a transactional business. Have a look at some of the businesses and companies you may buy from, regardless of price. Why do you do it? Invariably it will be because you like them , you like what they stand for.

I’ll give you an example, I travel around Australia with my business and I prefer wherever possible to fly Virgin. At times I am paying a bit more but I don’t care. I like what they stand for and I have bought into their mission – their why. As a result I am a loyal and raving fan.

So think about it. As a business owner and leader, what is your why? What is your purpose? What is your Mission? Once you are clear on that it is then you can build a loyal, raving fan community.