As a business owner, have you ever asked yourself this question…
“Why the hell am I still doing this?”
For nearly 18 years as coaches and mentors, we’ve quite often heard our business-owner clients ask “why the hell am I still doing this?” Typically, it’s the song of the owner at his/her wit’s end. Nothing is going right. They can’t get their team to do what they are supposed to do; they’re not making the money they want from the business; they’re always in trouble from their partner or children for spending so much time at the business away from them; they’re always arguing with their partner about what’s happening and so on.
So, whilst it may, on the surface, appear as though it’s simply the rhetorical refrain of the over-worked and over-burdened business owner, “Why the hell am I still doing this?” is, actually, a really great question for all of us to ask.
Full disclosure – even Rob and I have asked ourselves that question. And not in a reflective way, but in the way a frustrated business owner at the end of their rope asks that question. I guess the, really, the only thing Rob and I did differently to the majority of business owners is this…
When we heard ourselves asking that question, we stopped, got real with ourselves and answered it.
For that, I’m eternally grateful. Because when we actually went deep on why the hell were we still doing this – why on earth, after everything we’d been through were we still turning up day after day – we’ve been able to uncover the ONE and only reason why we continue to do what we do AND I’m able to write this blog today – not from a point of theory, but from our very real experience in working through this very question.
Very simply put, you’re still here because you have a compelling reason WHY this business should exist. This reason is, actually, nothing new AT ALL. The whole basis of what Kaibizzen does with our clients is uncovering this compelling WHY.
As a business owner, you are looking to align your two ‘Why’s. The first is the ‘why’ of your marketplace and the other is your personal ‘why’.
1. The why of our marketplace
You will certainly not have a compelling why if your business is not meeting a need in the marketplace.
One of the exercises Rob and I went through when we found ourselves asking this question is “What are the gifts, knowledge and experience that Rob and I have?” “What sort of people need those gifts, knowledge and experience?” “What’s the best and simplest way for Rob and I to use those gifts, knowledge and experience?”
Rob and I both know we have so much to offer people. Even the “difficult” experiences we’ve had in business have, in fact, become an integral part of the gifts, knowledge and experience we bring to the table.
2. My own why
At Kaibizzen our philosophy is your business is the tool to give you the lifestyle you truly want. When we work with our clients we use a clearly defined process for them to determine their own why:
1. Clearly determine what your position of choice lifestyle looks like. Not the position of choice of lifestyle that is about keeping up with the Jones. It’s the position of choice lifestyle that is in line with what is TRULY important to you.
2. Work with other professionals to determine what your investment portfolio needs to look like to achieve that position of choice lifestyle
3. Reverse engineer what size your business needs to be to enable you to firstly live your current lifestyle plus how much you need to grow your investment portfolio.
Once your compelling why is linked to what is truly important to you, your goals will be achieved. The effort you invest initially in the process means achieving what you want really is as simple as that.
It’s only because we say we want things that aren’t actually important to us, that we don’t achieve some goals. Stop beating yourself up. Find out what truly is important and then you’ll succeed. It doesn’t mean your path will be suddenly free from challenges, far from it. A clear and compelling ‘Why’ will make you feel more inspired to keep on keeping on.
Once you know your own compelling ‘Why’, you can accurately answer the question, “why the hell am I still doing this?”
In fact, not only will you know the answer, but you’ll also have the internal commitment to do whatever it takes to achieve it.
It was our own answers to this question which renewed Rob’s and my inspiration and passion for our business. We know we still aren’t ready to give it away. In fact, we quite often jokingly say “while we’ve got our marbles, we’ll keeping do what we do”.
Rob and I don’t see ourselves retiring – yet. We don’t want to stop doing what we do. The only thing we have chosen to stop doing is taking on clients who aren’t prepared to do the work. Those looking for the
silver bullet, or the easy route, will be politely passed on. Why? Because we know achieving the life you want takes work – and most of it is working on yourself.
You too can be truly inspired and passionate about why you’re doing what you do.
When you have your ‘Why’ you’ll find it so much easier to do the ‘how’ of your business, even when things are “tough”.
So if you’re tired of wondering why the hell you’re still doing this, it’s time to reach out. We’re here to work alongside you, to achieve the business and lifestyle you’ve always wanted for yourself and your family.
What does it take to actually remove yourself from the day-to-day grind of business? Learn from our panel of Business Owners who've Been There, Done That.
