My neighbor Mark is a highly successful entrepreneur who owns and runs a multi-million dollar cleaning business in a unique and profitable niche. He started the business in college and has consistently grown, systematized and improved his business. He has truly adopted a strategic mindset over the years and is always thinking about his business, customers and employees. He and I get along very well and enjoy discussing business and entrepreneurship quite often, sometimes over a few beers. I help him reflect on effective mindsets and habits and he allows me to pick his brain on blog topics.
Recently, Mark revealed a ritual he does I never knew about. Believe me, this guy has lots of rituals, most of them would exhaust ordinary humans like me. However, this one made real sense. About once a month, he gets out a blank piece of paper and writes down "The Top 5 Five Reasons Why His Business Exists or Matters." Keep in mind, his business is 17 years old. Maybe this monthly ritual has been a crucial element to keep him and his business vibrant, fresh and constantly evolving. How would you answer such a question? Why does your business exist or matter? Or, another way of asking it is, what would be lost in the world if your business DID NOT exist?
While all businesses exist to provide value to customers and make a profit, it makes sense to dig even deeper. Such an on-going exercise will help you think deeply about your business, practice the attitude of gratitude, focus you on the big picture, continually align yourself and your company with its purpose and meaning, and focus you on the needs and wants of your customers, employees and vendors/suppliers, not just yourself as the owner. Why wouldn't you take the time each month to reignite the fire and passion for your business? Don't worry, if you don't like your answers, this ritual provides you with the motivation to reinvent the business, innovate, and create more value for others. If you find you continue to struggle with your answers, you may need some business coaching, give up the leadership reins, or sell the business.
Mark's passion for this monthly ritual motivated me to go through the exercise. I sat down the other morning with a cup of coffee and jotted down "The Top 5 Reasons Why The Growth Coach Exists and Matters", in no particular order. Here are my quick and honest answers:
- Growth Coach is helping to improve North America one community at a time by improving the business owners in those communities. The immense and positive ripple effect of helping an owner is to indirectly help his/her managers, employees, customers, vendors and more.
- The Growth Coach is helping thousands of entrepreneurs each year discover better ways to run their businesses and lives. We help them to achieve greater success and balance in their lives; to work less, earn more and enjoy richer lives. There is no reason small business owners need to be overworked, overwhelmed and feel like prisoners to their business. Our work changes lives and is unbelievably rewarding and fulfilling.
- We are providing the marketing and coaching systems and on-going support to our Growth Coach franchise owners in over 150 markets as they strive to create a financially rewarding business coaching company and achieve the flexibility and fulfilling lifestyle they desire. Helping to launch and support franchise entrepreneurs is an awesome responsibility and improves both the lives of our franchisees and the business owners they serve.
- All those associated with The Growth Coach, especially me, are blessed to have a very fulfilling and meaningful professional life in service to others. We are also provided with a rare and deeply satisfying work environment where we can continually contribute, create, innovate and express ourselves.
- We have 15 employees and dozens of vendors, suppliers and advisers who contribute value to our company and in turn derive income from our company. Over the years, as our payroll continued to swell and more vendors supported our growth, more and more folks derive an emotional and financial benefit from their association with The Growth Coach.
While that was not easy, it felt great and helped me to re-focus on what is most important. Now it's your turn. What are the top 5 reasons your business exists or matters?
Daniel M. Murphy
The Growth Coach
Business Coaching Franchise System