I asked for a show of hands from the 150 delegates - "How many of you want to grow your business?" Around 95% raised their hands.
Twenty minutes later, when I asked the same question, fewer than 20% raised their hands.
In the minutes between the two straw polls, I told them the story of a client of mine. I won't tell you precisely what he did because it was so specialised that it would hint at his identity, but it was related to the production of a specialised food item. He had a passion for what he did, was internationally recognised for it (although he had a staff of just eight people) and had won more than 80 awards for excellence in his field. He was very hands-on in his chosen field and loved nothing more than getting up at 5:00 every morning to collect the ingredients for his product and go back to his small kitchen to create this wonder food.
Trade was good, he was making a very comfortable living and able to pay his staff well.
I asked him about his plans for the following financial year. He said he wanted to grow the business - double his staff, move into larger premises, open a showroom/museum devoted to his wonder product and double his revenues.
I asked what that would mean in practical terms, and as he began to think it through, his face fell and he began to realise that as the business grew, it would take him further and further away from the very thing he was passionate about - the very thing which had encouraged him to start the business. In the space of 20 minutes he had talked himself out of growing the business.
We spent the rest of the session talking about sustainability - what he would have to do to ensure that he was well equipped internally to cope with external changes so that the business continued at the same levels as before. I left him a happy man.
Hearing this story, many of those at the conference started to re-examine their real drivers, to think about what it was that gave them a buzz about running their own businesses. Sure, by the time they had reached the £10m mark, many had already moved away from a hands-on approach but most were still sufficiently close to the business to remember what inspired them to start it in the first place.
I wasn't invited back to the conference the following year.
As a business owner, where is your passion? What makes you want to get up in the morning? How can you reignite that fire at the start of a new year? How can you sustain that interest and momentum in the future?
David
Email: david@wize-up.co.uk
Web: www.wize-up.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/wizeupltd
T: 44 (0)161 929 4145
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So true! I spent the latter part of last year bemoaning the fact that I had very few sales, until I realised that I don't want to become a factory!! I'm an artist at heart, not a production line, so all I need to do really, is look at art-licensing and outsourcing so I can remain creative AND sell!! It may have taken a while, but realisation did finally dawn!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good story, David! It comes back to the - often unanswered - question about Purpose: what is my life's purpose, what is my business purpose. Even large corporations are often not sure about it.
ReplyDeleteRosie, Karsten,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comments.
I do a good deal of work helping organisations to define their business strategy and it's remarkable how often the leaders don't understand what the word "strategy" means. On a smaller scale, as much as anything, it's about purpose, and the purpose may have nothing to do with business growth.
If you are naturally creative, that's the thing to concentrate on. The creativity will ultimately sell itself. If selling is not your forte, don't worry - if the work is good, your reputation will grow on the basis of your quality. If you know your purpose, business life becomes so much easier!
Happy new year!
David