There are many elements in a successful business. You need a great product or service that fills a need in the marketplace. You need compelling marketing that connects and resonates with your ideal clients. You need a unique brand that sets you apart.
You need a website, or these days a blog. You need ways to attract prospects. You need to be able to sell. I could go on… the list is long.
As a result, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lost in all the things you have to do to manage and market your business.
And, it’s easy to lose sight of why you got into business in the first place.
Yet, that’s the quickest way to ensure your business won’t succeed.
Here’s a simple way to get back in touch with what should be driving your business.
Ask yourself the following two questions:
- WHO can I serve?
- HOW can I best serve them?
I know they’re simple questions but they’re the cornerstone of every successful business. Far too often, business owners get out of touch with the very people they got into business to help. The business becomes all about them—getting themselves more clients, making themselves more money, making their business more successful—instead of their clients.
Successful businesses exist to make their customers’ lives better. Successful business owners know that. They know they’re in business to serve their clients first, and themselves second.
If you got into business to get rich, do what you love, follow your passion, fulfill your purpose, or any other you-centered reason, I’m here to tell you that while that’s admirable, it’s not enough to make your business successful.
Not to sound harsh, but no one really cares that you love what you do or you’re following your passion. At least not so much that they’ll take out their wallet and pay you for it.
They will pay you when what you do does something for them.
It’s easy to lose sight of this important distinction when you’re surrounded by people and messages telling you to follow your bliss and do what you love. That’s a fine place to start (it is important to enjoy your work), but if you stop there, your business may end before it even gets started.
If you want your business to succeed, you need to remember you’re in business to serve your clients. And, by asking these two important questions you can ensure that you are.
Guest Writer – Debbie LaChusa
After spending 25 years in the marketing industry, Debbie LaChusa became so frustrated with its “be more, do more, have more” mentality that she began speaking out about it. She wrote a book entitled Breaking the Spell: The Truth about Money, Success, and the Pursuit of Happiness, created The Money Success Happiness Blog, and reinvented her business as The Business Stylist®, vowing to help service professionals learn how to Package, Brand, Market, and Sell their services with integrity and without hype. Her mission is to help people wake up and stop chasing money, success, and happiness and instead discover the true path to a happy, healthy, wealthy life and business. To learn more please visit www.DebbieLaChusa.com