Know Your Why!
If you’re serious about starting any business, especially marketing, you’ve got to know “why” you’re doing it! I know this sounds obvious or perhaps simplistic. I can tell you from experience, that I’ve seen talented entrepreneurs who don’t have a clear, concise and powerful reason why they’re doing what they’re doing, who eventually quit in frustration!
You may have heard this before and maybe you’ve done it or maybe you haven’t – “write down your goals.” In any business that you have a series of strong and firm “whys”, your “whys” will keep you in the game!
You need to write them down and put them someplace where you will see them on a daily basis. Once a week, move them to a new location, so that it doesn’t blend in with your daily life and you don’t look right through them. This place can be private, such as your day planner or even your sock drawer. This place can be where anyone can see it, the decision is your.
Any business will have ups and downs! It’s the “downs” that sometimes have us doubting ourselves; asking ourselves, “Why the heck am I doing this?”
When this question or doubt creeps into your mind, it’s time to review your “whys!” Look at them! Say them out loud to yourself while looking in the mirror! Let your “whys” remind you “why” you’re doing this business! If your “whys” are big enough and strong enough, anything that comes your way, good or bad, won’t matter. You’ll know exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing and you’ll stay in the game!
What are your whys? For most of you it’s certainly money, but it goes deeper than that. What will you do with the money once you earn it? How will it change your life and the lives of the people around you? Do you want to reward yourself with something? Whys can be complex and whys can be simple. Your whys will change with age, wisdom and over time.
Twenty five years ago, I hired my brother to work for me. He was just a kid and didn’t have much in the way of entrepreneurial goals, but he did want a brand new BMW. He started his “whys” with a blank piece of poster board. Today, this would be a version of a dream board (we didn’t have a name for it years ago). He cut out a picture of a BMW and then cut the picture into many pieces (the wheels, windows, door handles, head lights, doors, etc.) As the weeks went by, with every commission earned he built his car, piece by piece a wheel at time and part by part. He pasted the pieces of the car onto the board until he had it built and sure enough when he completed his board, he bought his car and then he set a new goal and created a new “why”. By the way, he did go on and make a million dollars within a couple of years.
No one is going to analyze or criticize your why. It’s also not cast in stone, you can change it anytime. So just do it!
“When you set goals, something inside of you starts saying, ‘Let’s go, let’s go,’ and ceilings start to move up.” Zig Ziglar
