Believe in Why
“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Everything starts with a question. Being naturally inquisitive is a trait that the truest innovators, leading entrepreneurs and thought leaders all have in common. At some point they all asked the question why? Why they do what they do and why others should believe in it too? In simple terms they set their vision on their unmovable purpose and the reason why they get up in the morning.
In today’s world we see so many people set up and want to grow their business idea because of a pursuit of money. Their purpose is to make money and that is success.
To me, money is not a purpose, it’s a by-product or result of perusing a vision that you can clearly communicate, create a following and bring others along on the journey with you on.
You see to me, money in business is like putting fuel in a car. You need it to get to a destination but it is not the destination itself. If it was all you would do is drive from the petrol station home again and then back to the petrol station as you have used fuel to get home… and so on and so on.
When I say you need purpose, you need to know why you do what you do and not what you do. You need to define what you are trying to achieve with your service or new product and It has to be more than just offering a better quality, cheaper version of something that someone else does. Even if you do have a unique product that nobody else has, if you can’t bring people with you on a journey that they believe in then it won’t be a bigger success at it could be.
You have to ask yourself why we are making this, why we do what we do.
To prove a point, ask any social enterprise or Charity why they do what they do and their whole existence is based on a purpose. It is what they do without thinking about it, in fact they can only exist by bringing people along with them on a journey.
Imagine if like a social enterprise, your commercial business idea or product could have that clear and passionate purpose that you and others could really believe in. A vision that can engages the passions of early adopters and starts to challenge perceptions of your customers or target market. Apple did it, Dyson did it and so did Richard Branson with Virgin. All came from a firm vision and purpose that endured to achieve something that transcended money and inspired a new way of thinking. They made their brands count for something that had purpose.
When they started in their business, people in their organisations weren’t the best qualified at what they did or where the best equipped in the world. They didn’t necessarily have a unique product at the time that changed the world, but what they did have was a real belief in a purpose that drove them forward and they knew others would follow. They truly had a vision and a message that was more than just a mission statement but they captured people’s imagination, redefined desires and set a trend by challenging the status quo and showing people not what they want, but showing them why they should want it.
People don’t know, what they don’t know and customers are no different. They may know what they want but sometimes we have to show them what’s possible. That’s how we set a standard, define a generation and create a new market.
In my business, Swarm was born from desire develop a new generation of commercially aware apprentices. A real vision of what could be achieved if we could develop young professional minds to understand the bigger picture in their business, apply entrepreneurial skills in their roles and inspire them to deliver the greatest measurable impact and return, both commercially and indeed socially.
We don’t just want to “do” apprenticeships, we want to re define them and maybe change the world in the process.
In business the saying goes, people buy people. But they follow dreams. Find some early adopters, get them to follow your dream, and make it their reality and believe in it. And the money will come.
“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”-Muhammad Ali
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