Have you ever wondered how to run your business from your head when you run a heart centered business?
Seems counterintuitive, right?
I mean, how can you run a logical, strategy centered business and not even lose a little bit of the heart you’ve worked so hard to infuse into it?
I get it! A lot of us struggle with the same things.
Fear of turning into the corporate run businesses we’ve left. Fear of growing hardened and losing touch with the very reason you started your business.
Fear of being so heart centered you are not business smart. Fear of being too emotional to make good decisions. Fear of trusting yourself and being wrong.
The list goes on and on.
And every one of these fears makes sense.
I mean, you started this so you could be different. So you didn’t become the corporate talking head that makes promises and doesn’t fulfill.
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”
So, enough yammering about what the problem is. Ready to get to the solution?
Cool, me too.
There are 5 things you can do to ensure you are running a smart business and keeping your heart fully engaged:
- Use data
- Stay connected to your purpose
- Keep your profit structure in mind
- Staying focused on the impact you’re making
- Add value whenever possible
Ok, let’s take a deeper look at each of these.
Data driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, 6 times as likely to retain customers and 19 times more likely to be profitable! (McKinsey & Company)
Use Data
It is really common for people who want to run a heart centered business to think that they can’t use data and they don’t have a head for math. So often times they will assume they can’t benefit from it and just won’t even try.
Don’t believe this!
This is a common limiting belief entrepreneurs have (sadly this is true of more women than men) and it’s just that…a limiting belief.
Look, I understand that not everyone is cut out to be a mathematician. And I get that even the word “analytics” can cause hives in the unsuspecting.
But there are simple ways to get around this and run a data driven business, in spite of the nerves and nausea that numbers can spark.
The first thing is to find someone who loves numbers. Preferably someone who geeks out on numbers and can help you put it all in perspective.
In a perfect world you can find someone who will consolidate all your numbers, track all your activities (revenue, marketing, attrition, etc) and provide you with easy to consume reports on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Believe it or not, this person is not a unicorn. There are more and more out there who do this for a living and absolutely love it.
And they are looking for people like you to partner with to help you broaden your impact.
“Don’t believe everything you think.”
Stay connected to your purpose
There are so many parts to running a business it is easy to get caught up in the minutiae of running your business and to become disconnected from your outcome. Your purpose.
When this happens the sad result is often losing passion for your business, feeling the “grind” of running a business, and ultimately, often, giving up on the business altogether.
It is heartbreaking to think of all the impact, all the difference that could have been made if heart centered business owners were able to stay connected to their purpose and not get disillusioned by all the day to day requirements of running a business.
So how do you stay connected to your purpose in spite of all the daily tasks that must get done?
I recommend a daily practice of connecting to your purpose. There are several ways you can do this.
- Set aside 5-15 minutes daily to read through customer emails, testimonials, praise in social media.
- Calendar time daily to visit social media groups where your ideal client hangs out. Read through their posts. Remind yourself of how they need you and how you can help them.
- Set a weekly call with a colleague and/or mentor to connect, talk through your purpose and keep your impact top of mind.
- Review your goals weekly to remind yourself of what you are working toward, how you can achieve it, and why your service matters.
These are 4 small things you can do to stay connected to your purpose, to remind yourself of why you do what you do, and to motivate yourself when the “business” of running a business starts to feel like you’re walking through quicksand.
88% of companies have used data to improve their understanding of each consumer. (PointerPro)
Keep your profit structure in mind
While staying connected to your purpose you’ll also want to keep your profit structure in mind. After all, your purpose is to make an impact and to make a profit. That’s why you started a business. So you can generate enough income to allow you to devote all of your productive work time to impacting your audience.
For some reason many of us think that wanting to generate a profit is bad. I disagree. It is only through profit that you can support your family, donate to causes that are important to you, help those in need and leave a legacy for future generations.
And knowing who you are, and what you want to do with your profit will make it easier for you to keep that in mind when making decisions about your business and your profit structure.
Be aware of how and where you make a profit. Make sure that, while making an impact, you continue to make a profit. Be clear on your expenses, payroll, software costs. And make sure you structure your business and offers to make a profit so you can continue to run your business for the years ahead.
Stay focused on the impact you’re making
Similar to staying connected to your purpose it’s critical that you maintain your focus on the impact you are making in the world.
By focusing on the impact you are making you will continue to energize yourself, even on the hardest of days.
When looking at your metrics each week (I do hope you are looking at these weekly) make sure you are measuring your impact. The growth of this number is what will motivate you and get you fired up on the coldest of days.
Whether you are measuring impact by number of clients served, revenue generated for your cause, families helped through your charitable activities or something else, all impact can be measured in some sort of numerical way.
As the saying goes, what is measured improves. And impact is no different. Measuring, and paying attention, to your impact on a regular, weekly basis will help you keep your focus on that. It will add some passion to your weekly dashboard and keep you working hard to move the needle in the area that got you to start your business in the first place.
Add value whenever possible
There is a lot of buzz around content creation, social media vanity metrics (likes, comments, etc) and email publishing.
And these are all very important activities.
But what often gets missed in the conversation is why these activities are important. At their core these activities are critical to the growth of your business because they allow you to do two very important things.
Build relationships and add value.
The most successful companies I have worked with in the last 30+ years have been the companies whose primary focus was adding value.
When they created a new product or service the discussions were led by “How can we add even more value?”
When they were creating their content and publication calendar the scheduling was led by “How can we provide more value for free than most would give in a paid program?”
Every conversation, every strategic decision, every development conversation centered around how more value could be added, how more lives could be changed, and how more questions could be answered.
Leading with value has never produced subpar results that I’m aware of.
If you follow these five steps you will be able to build a strong and successful business, stay true to your vision of a high impact heart centered business, and make decisions based on data without losing your mind.
