Why Are You In Business?

This may sound like a crazy question. At the same time I’ve met more than my fair share of people who don’t know the answer to this question. Honestly, it’s not given the respect it deserves most of the time. Do you know why you are in business (or why you want to start a business if you’re just hatching your idea)?

When you started your business what was your main goal?
Does your business even remotely resemble your initial vision?
Have you achieved the quality of life you strive for?

These are really important questions to think about. People start a business, especially entrepreneurs, for a variety of reasons. For example: I started my business because I wanted to work on my own terms, I value freedom and I wanted to truly be of service. My motivation wasn’t monetary.

But, I’m going to state the obvious – you should be in business to make money. Making money alone isn’t enough to succeed. You must have a clear mission, operate on genuine values and provide a tangible solution to help people regardless of the nature of your business.

In order to truly be of service it’s imperative that you provide options and you must let people know how you can serve them (often disguised as marketing). When you share your gifts with the world, regardless of platform (radio, TV, website, brochure, direct mail and well, you get the picture) you must be very clear about what your ideal clients want, how you can help and the best way to provide your solution. Beyond being of service, you must include a call to action in all of your marketing messages.

What do you want prospective clients to do? Purchase your products? Sign up for your ezine or newsletter? Invest in your services? Send referrals your way? Then by all means, TELL them (or gently “ask” them by including your clear call to action).

While cute and clever ads with sophisticated wordplay and subtle innuendos may win advertising awards, clearly communicated offers and direct response is what delivers increased sales. Are you guiding your potential clients and customers to take action?

When was the last time you reviewed all of your marketing materials? (I suggest you do it today even if you hired a fancy ad agency to create them).