Why Finding the Why Will Drive Your Business to New Heights

If you’re like me, you can binge-watch TED talks until the early light. And any time spent scrolling through these great presentations, you will have—no doubt—come across Simon Sinek’s famous Why video.

But what does that 2009 video have to do with my small business today?

Simon draws what he calls the golden circle on a flip-chart, during his talk, with three concentric circles. In the center circle is the word ‘Why’, in the next is ‘How’, and the outer ring is ‘What’. He goes on to say that the majority of companies out there today start selling what they do, and may eventually get to how they do it. But only the greatest businesses sell the why.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”. –Simon Sinek, 2009

What Simon fell upon with this discovery is the fundamental reason people purchase a product or service—belief. They believe in your small business’s ability to provide a solution to their needs. It mirrors the old sales adage that “people buy off emotion”.

How do I get people to be emotional about my small business?

The power within Simon’s simple truth is that emotions can be grounded in something tangible. By marketing the beliefs about what your small business can do or provide to the masses, you can create a following of people who share those ideals.

By speaking out the things your company stands for, those loyal to that concept will find you. And the beauty of that group of customers is that they will spread your message even further—and with more validity—than what you could ever do with your marketing budget.

So, how do I find the why for my small business?

Every business is in the market to make a profit, right? And no one ever really purchases a product to give that business money. You may love your Grande Mochiato, but you aren’t clamoring to give Starbucks more profit. So, it’s safe to say that reason won’t work as your Why.

The answer to this question is as individual as your EIN number. You have to look at the greater picture of what made you start that business in the first place. The fact is, you could have done anything to make a living, so why do what you do, specifically? Is it the vision of a better world? Or, perhaps, the ability to help those in certain circumstances. Maybe you started your small business to offer a new way to access some service, like we do here with insurance.

Whatever the reason you started—and keep working at—your small business, being able to articulate that to the masses will help you garner the kind of following that creates long-term profitability.

Is the end-game with sharing my beliefs just to make more money?

Sharing why you do the business you do is for so much more than just fattening your wallet. Of course, higher profitability is a good thing when what you believe in is met with enthusiasm—it means you can do even more of what you believe. But there are several reasons to drive to the why of what you do:

• People know where your small business stands – they don’t have to wonder anymore
• Your business knows where it stands – you can make tough decisions easier
• It brings the right people to your HR department, too – you can hire the right people more quickly and easily
• Your business is people, not profit – it reminds all of us that relationships are the most important thing in business

Profitability is just one tiny reason to be able to articulate why your small business operates, but if you can sell people, hire people, and capture people who believe what you believe, you can do great things with your small business.

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This post was written by SMB Insurance