Do You Know Your Business Purpose?

As human beings, we are hard-wired to search for meaning in our lives. One popular name for that search is life purpose.

You only have to glance at the internet or the shelves in your local bookstore to find myriads of books, websites, coaching programs and more designed for just that…to help you find your life purpose.

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But most of us not only long to find purpose in our personal lives, we also search for purpose in our businesses. And for those of us who are small business owners; coaches, consultants, trainers, authors and other service professionals, this search for meaning and purpose almost certainly extends to the reasons we stepped out of the fairly predictable nine-to-five and into the sometimes chaotic world of entrepreneurship in the first place.

So just what is meant by “business purpose” and how do you go about finding it?

The dry and formal definition of business purpose is found in the traditional business plan and consists of a statement that strives to combine the vision and mission of a company in a succinct way. Apparently, at least according to the advice given out by those touting the wisdom of writing such a plan, this can be useful if you are trying to attract investors and will also help you to stay organized and forward-looking.

But chances are, as a small business owner or solo-entrepreneur, you are not terribly interested in spending weeks researching and writing up a formal, multi-component business plan to attract investors. And in my opinion, there are much easier ways to get organized and remain future oriented.

So in thinking about the concept of business purpose, I took a long look at what my own business purpose might be. At first glance, this seemed like no big task, as I already had a clear focus as an online marketing mentor for women entrepreneurs.

Then I went deeper. Women entrepreneurs, particularly coaches, consultants, trainers and service professionals are my target market and helping them develop their online marketing skills through coaching and consulting is how I serve them.

But was this really the ultimate purpose of my business? My intuition told me there was more…much more.

So I began to think about the deeper purpose of my business. Immediately, I got a flashback from freshman college psychology and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid diagram, with survival needs like air, food, water and shelter at the base and something called self-actualization at the very top.

Of course, my business purpose includes satisfying those basic needs, with income that provides a house to live in and puts food on the table as well. And, as my business has grown, thankfully it has also provided for more than just the basics. But what about those upper levels of Maslow’s pyramid?

I did some more research and found that the highest level, the concept known as self-actualization, was actually introduced, not by Maslow, but by Kurt Goldstein, a psychiatrist who held that self-actualization, the drive to realize one’s full potential, is the “master motive.” As I continued to think about my business purpose, I had a sudden insight. My mind leapt to the top of Maslow’s pyramid.

And then I grasped it…the true purpose of my business, and your business, is to provide a vehicle for nothing less than self-actualization and to enable me, and you, to assist in the self-actualization of our clients, our customers, our support staff and anyone else with whom we have the opportunity and privilege to interact.

I have come to realize that being in business…not just going through the motions, but being fully engaged with all of the opportunities and challenges running a business provides…is to be enrolled in the most powerful, effective and exhilarating personal development program that ever existed. Life purpose and business purpose all wrapped up in one delicious package.

When you view your business this way, every action you take, from simply responding to an email to orchestrating a live event, now has its singular part to play on the path to fulfillment. What could be more thrilling or more profound? And what could be more simple?

Welcome to the journey!