Remember Your Why
Running your own business comes with a lot of pressure: pressure on your time and energy, pressure to perform a certain way, pressure to keep up the appearance of success.
As the Owner & Founder of your company you have many hats and responsibilities: accounting, finance management, networking, marketing and advertising endeavours, social media and website management, maybe management of your team members. With all this endless pressure, it’s easy to lose track of your why.
Why did you start your business in the first place?
Why do you want to do this everyday?
Why are you passionate about helping people in just this way?
Reconnect with Your Heart
March is Music Therapy Month in Canada. At this time of year, I like to reconnect to the heart of why I chose to be a business owner and entrepreneur. Why is music therapy something I’m passionate about? What inspires me to continue to run my business and provide service to my community?
For me, one of my big whys is being of service in community to foster deep ease, inclusiveness, hope, and love. Music Therapy has served for many as an accessible space to experience healing, storytelling, sharing, and processing. I continue to feel grateful that Find Your Voice Music Therapy is able to serve so many clients through the leadership of a beautiful team of therapists.
Heart Centred Business Roots
Holding onto conscious awareness of these roots in heart centered business can be a challenge. However, when you create purpose-driven systems based on your why, the process allows you to continually check in with the dreams, the drive, the passion, the roots of your company.
As part of that process, you create your intention, focus, and motivation to guide your company forward and maintain the health of your organization.
Here are some processes that have helped me stay rooted in my why as a business owner and entrepreneur:
Client Check-ins - In a service-based profession, client satisfaction is the main reason why we’re in business. Schedule regular check-ins with clients through monthly updates, sending progress notes/ documentation, or through customer satisfaction questionnaires to ensure their needs are met. Provide space for them to answer open-ended questions and just talk about their experience. If they are happy, then you as the owner know you are serving your why well.
Team Feedback- Team members implement your processes and have regular contact with clients. They can provide alternative perspectives and on-the-ground insights into the strengths and growth areas of your company. Let your team know that you want to hear their voices. Make space to listen. Feeling valued empowers your team to contribute to the brand. A collaborative environment improves the health of your organization and provides a holistic view that supports long term planning and achievement.
Financial Awareness - The financial trends of a company provide factual and concrete evidence about the growth of your company. Although it can be stressful, especially during startup, maintain awareness of your overall finances. Keep up to date with your profit and loss statements as navigation tools to move forward and plan for the future. It’s been especially helpful to have Find Your Voice Music Therapy’s Financial Strategist and Accounts Manager to analyze the numbers when business (or world) shifts are involved. When it feels like it’s out of your wheelhouse- ask for support from your community!
Giving Your Heart Wings
From those solid, heart-centred roots, grounded in the reality of the present, you can feel confident in creating dreams for the future based on your why, where you can soar on the wings you’ve care-fully crafted in your business.
This past year, I’ve become part of Costron + Co., which means that I am not only serving clients with my music therapy business, but helping other business owners to serve their clients as well. This expands my business impact, creating a place for me to dream bigger and step more fully into my why.
When you need inspiration for those big picture dreams, remind yourself of past achievements. Every time I’ve received a positive note from a client, facility, team member, community member, colleague I’ve saved these notes. They continue to support my mindset when I am feeling low, foggy, or down. When those lanterns from my community bring me back the light, my light, I can soar in my why.
I would love to hear from you fellow business owners. How do you stay grounded in your why of business?
