The following post by Fairy Godmother Kim Flynn offers a great exercise. In my experience many of us just jump into business because we are excited about an idea and haven’t really thought about the “whys” (or the “hows”), I encourage you to take a moment to reflect your motivations and define your purpose, it’ll be time well spent.
The business books are all wrong. The first thing you need to decide when you start a business is not whether it is an LLC or an S Corp; it is not your business location or name. The very first thing you need to decide is your WHY for going into business.
Here is the traditional reason to open a business: you want to make money, lots of money. When I started my tutoring company ten years ago, I got fired up by reading all the rah-rah business books. My goal was to open up 3 locations in five years and my husband could retire at age 32. I felt like a cartoon character, “I will rule the world!”
I was telling my good friend Connie about all of my lofty plans, knowing full well that I really could achieve them if that was what I wanted, and she simply said to me, “Does your husband want to retire in five years?”
To tell the truth, I hadn’t actually ever asked him. When I did, I found out that no, he actually liked being the breadwinner. He wanted to support our family and would feel kind of useless if he didn’t. Oh.
And then I looked at myself. Did I actually want to sacrifice substantial time away from my kids so I could build a business with the sole purpose of just proving to myself that I could do it? Did I want to have the responsibility of providing for my family while I was raising a young family? Was that my purpose?
I struggled with my business WHY’s for a long time, and didn’t get peace about it until I got honest with myself and defined my WHY’s. Here they are: I love business. I love organizing. I love dreaming. I love brainstorming solutions to problems. I love working with people. I love feeling stretched when I go through a tough lesson. I love business because I love doing it.
I realized that my WHY’s were very similar for hobbies that I enjoy: I love scrapbooking. I love organizing my supplies. I love creating new ideas. I love scrapbooking with my sister. I love scrapbooking because I love doing it.
Wait a sec—that makes my business the same as my hobby. My business IS a hobby!
And when I realized that my business was my hobby it changed everything. All of the mental stress, all of the anxious nights, all of the constant worry suddenly vanish when you give yourself the gentle reminder, “This is my hobby.” Here are some of my frequent stresses that creep up on me, and how I talk myself through them:
- What if I don’t make any money this month? I don’t make money scrapbooking, do I?
- How do I balance my business and my family? I better get out of the office more often than not—my kidlets are more important than a hobby!
- What if I lose money this month? I have dumped quite a few dollars into scrapbooking and it has never bothered me!
- What if customer x is unhappy with my service? I am in this to grow & learn. I’ll figure it out.
- What if I have to fire an employee? I am in this to grow & learn. I’ll figure it out.
- Everything isn’t as planned out as the business books tell me it should be! I don’t scrapbook as well as the experts do, either. I still love doing it.
And on and on . . .
If you’re like me and you have the luxury of defining your business as a hobby business, your perspective will permanently shift from feeling the inner drive to “grow, grow, grow!” and “I must make more money!” to relaxing into your business, knowing that you are growing, learning, and enjoying every minute of it.
Exercise: Sit down for a brainstorming session. Get out a piece of paper and list all of your WHY’s. Be honest with yourself. If you do need income, you will run your business differently than if you don’t. Align your business practices with your real WHY’s, and find the peace that comes from finding the purpose of business in your life.
© Kim Flynn 2009
Kim Flynn lives in Cedar Hills, Utah and is a stay-at-home mama of four. She is the founder of 3 active businesses: Tutoring Connection, Brenson Property Management, and Fabulous Living. She has received business recognition as “Woman of the Year” and has been featured in Utah Valley Magazine, on the radio program “Ask a Woman,” and the upcoming television program “Standing Up.”
Hey Kim – Thanks for this article. Well said! Funny how things come up all at the same time. I’m getting ready for baby #2 and trying to figure out where my business ventures fit into my life and how much time I need to spend on them. The “whys” for doing my business keep running through my head and I’m trying to figure out what really motivates me to grow it (them). I’m no closer to making decisions, yet, but I appreciated the exercise and look forward to finding peace in my “whys” soon.
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hey Kim, good insight for someone who’s not looking for financial gain as the main business incentive, which is probably a small percentage. I would also add that not all hobbies should become businesses because it can ruin the fun.
I very much enjoyed this blog, and it echoes much of what I have thought in the past. I am not a business owner but I am in business and I have had this conversation with some of our grads. I have heard pretty much everything from wanting to make millions in a few years right up to not knowing what else to do.
I would always advise someone to do work experience in business first wherever possible. It probably won’t give you an insight into owning a business but it’ll teach you a bit about the industry, Then if you find it isn’t for you, you won’t have wasted money on business training that you’re not going to use.
You’re right, there’s no point in making yourself miserable chasing something that your heart is not in. It will definitely have an impact on your chances of success.