1. Getting to the why

You might have a great idea, but have you asked yourself why you should be the one to work on it - and why now? Before you start building your business, take the time to get to the heart of what drives you.

Ask yourself “Why?” 3 times to get to the heart of what drives you.
you’ll be surprised at what you find.

Here’s an example of how the conversation went with myself:

Your company Zabinet, What is it?
We’re a customer referral tool for fitness studios. We enable clients to recommend their experience in 1-click.

Cool story. Why (1x) are you building it?
Cause there isn’t a service today that easily facilitates trusted recommendations.

I mean Why (2x) are YOU building it.
I’m scratching my own itch. I guess I find it difficult to share things I like or discover things my friends like.

OK. WHY (3x) do YOU care enough to build a company around solving recommendations?
My favorite thing in the world is when I can help make someones life easier/better/more efficient. This can range from anything like helping first-time entrepreneurs avoid mistakes, to recommending cool spots for dinner, to helping project manage an event. I suppose I view recommendations as a vehicle to help people lead more efficient, happier lives.

I had this conversation with myself later than I would have liked, but it changed my perspective on everything. Now I feel much more clear about what I’m doing:

My Mission as an Entrepreneur:
To create tools that help people lead more efficient lives.

LESSONS LEARNED

When you’re building something, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day. It’s important to intermittently come up for air and re-center yourself on the “why” so you can stay motivated and moving in the right direction.

Getting to the root of WHY you do something will help inform the product you build, shape the leader you become, and will ultimately be the reason customers use your product.

RELATED

• Ask yourself “why?” 3x to get to the heart of what drives you.
  Based on a theory from Sakichi Toyoda
• People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.