It Starts With You!
In today's episode, I'll be sharing with you how I believe that everything to do with small business starts with you, the business owner. I'll be discussing the importance of having an inside-out approach to building your business. Building those solid foundations to ultimately Future Proof Your Business.
Please do get in touch and let me know what you think!
Here are the highlights from this episode:
(00:57) An inside out approach
(02:55) Future proofing your business has to start with you.
(06:39) What makes or breaks building a business.
(09:21 A tummy on fire, your mojo, your why
(13:36) What gets me up in the morning!
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Welcome to this week's episode of the Future Proof Business podcast.
This week I want to talk about how I believe that everything to do with small business starts with you, the business owner, and how I believe that it's really important to have an inside out approach to building your business, to building those solid foundations and ultimately future proofing your business.
As I'm recording this, it's the 25th August and it's kind of coming to the end of the school holidays.
It's coming to the end of the summer break. The kids are getting geared back up to going back to school.
We're thinking about school uniform, but also in my mind I'm thinking about how I can really take advantage and make sure I'm making the most of that time off with my kids, with my husband.
How can I really make sure that I'm enjoying the summer holidays as much as I can and really trying to make myself live and enjoy the present?
Because I think it's so easy to get caught up on this roller coaster ride that is running and managing a small business.
And sometimes we can get so caught up in spinning those plates that we forget to stop and to actually enjoy the life that we've built or to enjoy the people around us.
And I think even more so, it's really important that we do find that time to switch off.
I know for me, I absolutely love what I do and I could genuinely probably work on it every day, every hour, just because it's a real passion of mine.
But I think it's really important that we do kind of consider how we make sure we find that balance because it's really important if we're going to make this sustainable and we're going to enjoy what we do.
For me, it's a complete no brainer that if we want to future proof our business, it has to start with you. And what do I mean by that? So from a personal perspective, I think it's about understanding and recognising the fact that it's actually not easy.
I think from the outside looking in, it can seem glamorous, it can seem rosy, it can seem what a wonderful, wonderful life it must be, the freedom that comes with it, etc.
And I think to start with, I want to recognise the fact that actually it's really hard and it actually takes a lot of grit and determination and hard work to keep going to kind of deal with all the things that you have to deal with on a day to day basis, when sometimes, if we'll be really honest, sometimes we just want to throw the towel in.
So I've had quite a few conversations with some of my clients over the last few weeks, particularly since the beginning of the school holidays, where it's been that juggle of looking after the kids, running the business, managing everybody and all the other things that go with it.
And there seems to be this kind of two pronged debate going on, where we hear a lot from coaches or from the gurus and experts telling us that it's a hustle and you have to keep going, you have to slog, you have to work really hard, you have to push, push, push. And then the other side of that is almost kind of just be intentional, just put it out there and it shouldn't be hard work, it should just come with the flow, etc.
And I think this can create quite a lot of confusion or not really knowing which way or what we should be doing.
I know I've had a coach who was literally pushing me to keep working hour after hour to sell, to do, to pull out the next thing, to keep going and there was just no rest, there was no time to actually enjoy what I was doing. And on the other side of that, I'm a massive believer that it is hard work and that you do reap the rewards of the effort that you put in.
For me, it's finding that balance. So I don't believe that we have to necessarily get bigger and scale up to be successful. And I believe that successful is a term that you decide, that you, as the business owner, decide what that means for you.
And for me that means that you're building a business that works for you and that feels good for you and that, yes, it's incredibly hard work and yes, it takes a lot to build it, but ultimately it should be enjoyable. If you're starting to resent it or if you're starting to get poorly or not be in a good place, then for me that means it's not worth it either.
I think the thing that really kind of makes or breaks building a business and makes or breaks the fact that you can build something that's sustainable is actually it takes persistence, determination, perseverance, consistency, drive and actually grit.
And these are the main elements that if you spoke to any other small business owner, I bet we'd all agree, is that these are the key things that it takes to build something successful and to keep going.
And you'll notice that I haven't even talked about actually having a specific talent or a skill yet because, yes, of course, that's important. Of course, you need to be an expert in what you're doing. Of course, you need to be doing good things. Of course, you need to be delivering.
But actually, the thing that sets you apart, for me, the key to success and staying on that roller coaster ride is what drives you and what keeps you going. This is what I mean by the fact that it has to start with you.
It has to start with your why, it has to start with what it is that gets you up in the morning.
What is it that keeps you going, that's driving you, and that makes it all worth it? And ultimately, what I mean by that is, what's your purpose?
For me, it's something that I think is incredibly important. It's the thing that on this rollercoaster ride, will keep you going.
What do I mean by purpose? Lots of people talk about this, and some people kind of delve into it and can make it kind of sound almost a little bit wooey, and that's okay. But I think ultimately, for me, it's really simple. It's the thing that gives you the tummy flips. It's the things that make you feel like you're alive. It's what gets you buzzing. It's what makes you tick.
An example of this is coming out of a meeting or having a success with a client or launching a new product or doing something, whatever it is that you're doing when you're feeling alive and excited and you've just got this massive smile on your face and you're thinking, this is it. This is what I'm doing. It's almost kind of aligned with your purpose.
When I used to live in France, and obviously I speak French, there's an expression in France, in the French language that's j’ai la niaque, which there isn't really an equivalent in English, but if we were to translate it, it would mean, I've got a tummy on fire. I've got my mojo, I've got the thing.
And it's that feeling when you're on it, you're motivated, you're doing it, and you know why you're doing it, and you're going to make a difference and an impact. And I think this, for me, is the bit that I want to encourage you to tap into.
And this is the bit that, for me, is the key to your success, really, is understanding what that is, why you're doing what you're doing, and honing in on that, getting really clear on that, so that wherever you're going and whatever happens, whatever you get confronted with in your business on a day to day basis, you can come back to this why. To this purpose, it'll just help you to get over that hurdle, to keep going and to make sure that you keep going.
When I was working in the steel industry, which I did for gosh, 10 or 15 years, this was something that we used to help us to create a safe culture.
So we worked hard with the guys and the people on the shop floor, where ultimately, we had to create this safe space, we had to stop the accidents, we had to get them to really recognise and understand the importance of being safe, of respecting the safety guidelines, of implementing all the different aspects of the safety policies and the different things that we wanted them to do. And the way that we managed to do that was to help them or encourage them to tap into their why, to recognise why it was that they did what they did and why they got up in the morning.
And ultimately, the majority of the time, this was about looking after their family, providing for their children.It was about looking after their colleagues and making sure, ultimately, that at the end of every day, they went home in the same way that they came to work. So going home safely, it really makes a difference.
It really helps people to understand why something is important and why they should be doing something when you can really understand why it is that you do what you do.
One of my clients this week, again, was describing her last few weeks of h*** as she and her husband had battled to juggle some issues that had happened in her business.
They'd had people leaving, they'd had some HR issues. It was school holidays and there was just so much going on. And I know for this person, it was incredibly difficult. Half the time, all she and her husband wanted to do was throw the towel in. But what kept her going was her children. It was about spending time with them and actually building a future for them. And it was so good this week to hear back from her and how she actually managed to get through that. She sorted it all out, she'd got the people in place that she needed to do and she was now able to spend the last week or so of the school holidays doing what she loved.
And that was because she tapped back into why she was doing what she was doing and ultimately what her vision was for the future, which is building a family business that's going to provide resources, but also opportunities and security for her kids and her family.
I suppose for me, what gets me up in the morning is making a difference, it's doing what I love. And I suppose it's working with all the different small business owners that I work with every day, every week, and ultimately then providing for my family. And, yeah, creating opportunities and doing ultimately what I love.
So, firstly, that's why it's really important is to really kind of recognise why you do what you do for you on a personal level, so that you can tap into it, so that you can remind yourself on those difficult days, so that you can keep going when times are feeling a bit rough and you can remember the goals and the vision that you're doing.
But secondly, the other side of this is it's from the outside looking in. So whether that's your customers.Your suppliers. Your team.Your partners. Whoever it is, looking into your business, so looking at you, your brand and what you're doing. Ultimately, if they can understand why you do what you do. If they can see what motivates you. What drives you. And ultimately what makes you get up every morning. That's going to really help with building trust. With building those relationships and creating that engagement that you want to be doing.As the brilliant Simon Sinek says. He always says, “people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.
And again, I'm a massive believer in this and it's something that I'm always working with my clients to discover and to really refine it onto the outside world or explaining or telling that story to your audience of why you do what you do. And you can see it, can't you? Very often we can be talking to somebody and they're saying, oh, yeah, we do this or this product or service.
And it's a bit boring,it's kind of quite bland. And they're just going through the notions of telling us what they do, what they've been up to. But then if we kind of get them to really tap into or tell me the story of why they started, or tell me an example of what makes them have a tummy flip moment or a success story of when they've really kind of made an impact, we can see the difference in somebody straight away.
We see their eyes light up, we see a smile on their face, we see the passion that comes across and it's emotional. We can feel that feeling that comes across from that. And that's something that immediately allows us, as people, to understand and to relate to and to tap into. So it's extremely important to think about this and to remember that people don't buy what you do, but they buy why you do it.
And so, if we go back, I don't know if you listened to last week's episode, but if you haven't, go back and listen to it. I was talking about how the world is changing and people are expecting different things from brands, from businesses, people are expecting more. People are looking to see what they stand for; they're looking to see who the people are behind the brand. They're looking for that backstory, they're looking for the meaning behind why you're doing something. And for me, being able to really describe and express what that is, is going to be the key to your success.
Firstly, from the inside looking out, so from you, but also from the outside looking in terms of people buying into what you do and understanding what you stand for and making those decisions based on that. So my challenge for you this week is to think about your why. It's to have a go at capturing your own story if you can do it on video and share it with your audience, your team or your family.
And I'd love to be tagged in on that video if you want to share it on Instagram or Facebook or whatever you're hanging out, or just simply send me a copy or send me some details of what it is that you do and why you do what you do. Because I'd love to learn more about you and understand what it is that makes you tick.
And so, yeah, if you've enjoyed this episode then I'd love you to subscribe and get in touch, let me know what you think, and I'll see you next week when we're going to be talking more about your vision and who you want to help and serve and provide value to.
Take care.
Have a good week.
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