We can be so busy running our businesses, that we can sometimes run adrift from the reasons we set them up in the first place.
Can you remember what those reasons were, have they changed, have you changed?
Every so often it’s worth reconnecting with your business. Asking yourself; what did you start it for? And where are you going now?
Maybe you didn’t even have a set of reasons, perhaps parenthood, redundancy or health made the decision for you and you stumbled into the path of self-employment, with only a solid notion that you had to make money doing what you could.
However, you started your business, whether you had a concrete set of notions of values, or whether you have just been flying by the seat of you pants; I’m inviting you to take 20 minutes and re-calibrate.
What are your values
Do you know what your values are? What are the things you know to be true, expect of yourself and of others?
Here’s some values that you might feel an affinity to:
· Trust
· Integrity
· Community
· Love
· Authenticity
· Balance
· Pleasure
· Service
· Loyalty
· Leadership
· Creativity
There are obviously many more!
Have a think about 3 core values that reflect you, your business and your work ethic.
These core values can act as an anchor as your business grows & changes. If you have an opportunity that you’re not sure about, ask yourself, does it fit in with my values?
This also works with social media and promoting yourself on line. Your business is only as good as people say it is when you’re not in the room. What values do you want people to feel about you?
Coming up with 3 core values will help you to create content. Ask yourself, does this content add to my brand values?
If your core values are honesty, integrity and community and you’re thinking about sharing something about how much you dislike the Conservative manifesto, this may tick the honest and integrity box, but how about community? If you offend members of your community, are you upholding your values? Obviously, this is your business, so you make the decisions.
Once you’ve nailed down your values, have a think about your why.
What is your why?
Your why is the reason you do what you do, your quest, your guiding reason for existing.
Why do you do what you do?
Not what you do or how you do it, but why.
So, here’s my example to make sense of this.
My Why is to support people to live happy independent live
My What is to give clarity & confidence to women in business to work smarter with social media.
My How is by providing one to one coaching looking at all online communication and creating a strategy.
Once you know you why, this can provide the lynchpin to all your marketing. It’s why you exist and why you do what you do.
As well as your values, knowing your why will help you in tricky times, when you are given opportunities that you can’t make sense of. Revert back to your why – does this action help you achieve your goal.
Having a why and knowing what it is will also help you to create an authentic brand. It’s a mission to create, build, do whatever you are on this earth to do.
I love helping women reconnect with their business, discover their values and their why and look at ways to use these to help build content to be shared on social media.
It’s really boring and difficult to keep talking about your products or services all the time. You’re your potential customers want is a connection to you. And what you need is to feel authentic and valued. Knowing your why and your values is part of the whole puzzle of promoting yourself online with authenticity!
