Does Your Business Reflect Your Purpose?
Let's start with why you started the business to begin with. Was it simply a way to make money? That's actually okay. In fact, if your purpose is to make money and you've created a business that makes money, you're probably finding lots of Joy in your business. Did you create the business because you have an innate talent or ability to perform a service better than anyone else? Does the execution of that talent bring you Joy? Maybe you are motivated by helping people solve a problem and have built your business around solving people's problems. If so, the more problems you solve, the more Joyful your business.
Let Your Joy Show
Authenticity is more than just a buzz word. The reality is that we live in a time when there are so many choices. Marry that with the fact that information is at our fingertips in lightning speed. Now is the time to not just be who you are, but you might as well show who you are. AI tools can you tell you just about anything you need to know about a business that you couldn't already access with a simple Google search. In other words, there are no secrets. Let your potential customers know who you are and why you do what you do. Reflect your passion through your website, storefront, or wherever you have exposure. Your authentic self is what people want and they'll appreciate you even more for your transparency.
Recruit Team Members Who Share Your Passion
There's a reason we call it recruitment or talent acquisition. We want to recruit employees who can be passionate about what they do. It all starts with attitude. You want people working in your organization that wake up every day with the mindset that they "Get To Go To Work" vs. they "Have To Go To Work." If you as the person in charge wakes up every day with the "Get To Go To Work" mindset it helps to create an atmosphere of anticipation and energy. When you're recruiting you should spend just as much time understanding your recruit's motivation and alignment with your purpose as you do in understanding their skill set.
Pursue Customers Who Appreciate What You Do
Just like recruiting the ideal employees, it's critical that you recruit the ideal customers. The Joy you have for your business can be hindered by pursuing the wrong customers. Every customer is not the right customer just because they have the capital. You want customers who can become "raving fans" instead of "raging critics". When you're clear about your purpose and your workforce and customers have that same clarity, you become that much more attractive to the customers you want and those who appreciate how you do business. When you understand and embrace your ideal customer profile it's easier to create "raving fans". Those "raving fans" help spread the word and as we all know, the best form of marketing for any thriving business is referrals.
Every Organization Needs A C.E.O.
One of the keys to ensuring your business thrives is a strong CEO - Chief Energy Officer. Well, it's not an official position, but you need people on your team who personify the Joy you want your employees to demonstrate and your customers to feel. Your CEO(s) change the atmosphere in the room when they're present. These are the employees to whom you may leak ideas to get that early buy in. These are your ambassadors, your cheerleaders. Every successful team has at least one CEO and it's your job as the leader to be able to identify who fills that role in your organization.
The Joy Of This Blog
The Joy of this blog is that there has never been a better time to find and demonstrate Joy in your business. Let the Joy show in your business. Recruit Joyful employees. Pursue customers who embrace your Joy. And identify your the CEO(s) in your organization. Pursue that Joy as you operate your business and watch your employee engagement, your customer satisfaction and yes, your profits grow.