If I were to ask you what your passion was for your business, how would you answer that question?
Before we go any further, let me share how I define “passion for your business.”
Passion for business means that you remain committed and excited to what you are working on regardless of whether you are hitting your goals or not.
Why is that so important? It’s simple, if you love what you do and are PASSIONATE about it, it doesn’t matter if you hear one hundred NO’s, you’ll still be JUST as committed and excited to wake up and do the work every single day.
I often see people step into a career or start a business in an area that they’re not passionate, simply because it’s safe, and feels secure. But, what happens the first time you hear a NO in a business that you’re not in love with? You’ll likely get bored and be ready to quit!
Let’s nip that the bud RIGHT NOW! Let’s find out how we can focus on our passions and turn them into the values for our business!
Take the Time to Explore Your Interests
If you’ve just graduated college there’s a good chance that you haven’t actually taken the time to really explore your interests. Of course, you’ve gotten your degree in an area that seems like something you might enjoy doing, but are you SURE that it’s something that you want to do for the rest of your life?
Shelby Zitelman, a guest on Success Unfiltered, graduated from The Wharton School with a degree in entrepreneurial management. She was certain that she wanted a consulting position at Accenture. She applied and received an interview almost immediately.
Shelby shared that the interview was difficult, it was a case study format, where they wanted to see how her brain processed the answers. She answered the questions, and felt like she’d truly built a connection with the people at the table. Shelby felt confident that she had secured the job.
Accenture is a global consulting firm that works with some incredible clients, so when Shelby received the rejection letter she was completely devastated, but she did learn some things from the whole process.
-
- Manage expectations – Employers are looking for so many different things, and they don’t always translate into an offer.
- Approach the workforce with a sense of humility. When Shelby came out of college, she didn’t know half as much as SHE THOUGHT SHE knew.
- Hindsight is 20/20. Shelby is very thankful that she didn’t receive the job because it ended up sending her on an amazing path of exploring her entrepreneurial interests.
When Shelby eventually started going out on interviews, 3 or 4 months after this Accenture turned her down for a position, she began using each interview as a learning opportunity. She was a college graduate with youth on her side, so she’d ask a lot of questions and since people loved to share about their jobs, she was able to do a lot of learning.
So, take some time to do some learning, go out on informational job interviews, find your PASSION and then pursue that, don’t get stuck doing something that doesn’t truly light you up!
Once You Settle on Your Values Never Turn Away from Them
It might seem far-fetched but having a determined solid set of values for your business can actually help with your sales revenue. However, before we jump into what your values are, you need to determine how your passions feed your values.
Your values typically describe the things that make you feel good about yourself or about the work you do. So, if you’re passions are the things that you are excited and committed to work on, no matter what, then you need these to spill into your values.
For me, I am passionate about leaving a legacy of everything I’ve learned in my 20 years of business experience, and my values are tied to helping salespeople sell without feeling sleazy. My values around selling authentically, sharing my gifts, and truly helping others achieve their goals is what drives my passions.
They tie together so neatly and they speak directly into the kind of business that I wanted to create. Which is a sales education business that teaches other solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and business owners that are selling high priced services how to really transform their sales conversations to benefit their clients and their top line revenues.
It also has made it so easy to attract the right audience, and pitch to the right customers because I know where I need to direct my attention.
Shelby and her company, Soom foods, were working with a salad chain, Chopped that they believed fit quite well with their company’s values, but after attempting to work with another salad company, Chopped decided to pull out of their contract with Soom foods. There had never been in any sort of exclusivity agreement, so Shelby and her sisters (the co-founders) were surprised by their decision. Ultimately they had to decide what was in the best interest of their company, and moving over to Sweet Green (another salad chain), was the better option for them.
When you have a clear passion, or mission for your business it is easy for you to know what is best for you and more importantly, what is best for your customer.
The Mission of the Company Helps it Stand Out
We’re all familiar with the fact that as salespeople and entrepreneurs we’re part of a 24/7 sales job, but when you have a clear mission that is deeply tied to your values and passions, it becomes very easy to make you and your company STAND OUT!
For Shelby and her sisters, their company values were transparency, family, discovery, connectivity and philanthropy– these all infuse themselves into everything they do.
Shelby and her sisters have found that if they take the time to build authentic relationships with their customers, providing them TOP NOTCH service, and including their own five values, they are standing out from other companies who may make the same food.
Soom food stands out from the crowd because when people purchase it, they are not just buying a product, they are buying an experience.
In Conclusion
Passions, values and missions are all so tightly wound together, and the most important thing for you to remember is that it all comes down to FOCUS.
Focusing on the ONE MISSION that you are truly passionate about, that you can make an incredible difference in your life and the lives of your customers and clients.
Does your business have a mission statement? Please tell me in the comments below!
