Why Are You Here?

Why Are You Here?

New business, meet your new owner. You may think you know each other, but you really don’t…at least, not yet.

I go through this exercise with all Start-Up School clients, because asking about the origins of the idea that the client is exploring as well as why he/she thinks that starting a business is the right thing to do are very important. Those questions form the foundation for all the recommendations, business advice, and tax mitigation strategies that we suggest.

Actions taken today have consequences.

Actions taken today have their beginnings somewhere in your past. 

You are pushed into action because of something that happened to you.

Business owners are no exception.

What prompted you to start your business?

I bet the reason very closely mirrors one of the following:

• You worked for an unthankful employer. He/she dumped on you and expected you to do everything after you showed that you could do the work.  You were taken for granted, and one day you said to yourself “I can do this for myself.  I’m done working for this person.”
• You worked for a great employer who recognized all of your talent, and you found yourself at the top of the organization with nowhere else to go. You decided to leave and start your own business to further your growth.
• You worked for someone at a job you liked a little, but weren’t crazy about. One day you decided you just wanted to do something else, so you left and acted on your idea.

What do all of these reasons have in common?

They all focus on the technician in you.  Technicians are important, in fact critical, to any business. Without the technician, the “nose to the grindstone” work wouldn’t get done.

But what about the manager?  What about the entrepreneur?

If you’ve ever read “The E-Myth” by Michael Gerber, you already know that if you’re to be successful, you have to be all three of those people.  Your personality must include elements of all three characters.  That’s a tough realization, one that I didn’t have until MUCH later in my career.

Entrepreneur = visionary

Technician = worker bee

Manager = well, a manager…of people and of processes

At this point, I need to emphasize a few things to you…

• If you started your business to play golf every Friday, get over it (unless you are in the business of playing golf, that is).
• If you started your business to work 20 hours a week because you’ve “paid your dues,” you’re going to be broke pretty soon and very disappointed.
• If you started your business to earn $60,000 right out of the gate, you could very well be setting yourself up for failure.

So, after a dose of truth, I have to ask again…

Are you setting out to change the lives of your clients?

Have you identified a problem to which you have a great solution?

Can you fill all three roles identified above?

Why are you here?

Written by

Jonathan Godwin