The obvious answer is to make a living, and there is nothing inherently wrong with building a business to make money. Life requires money—everyone needs it to live. But money shouldn't be the only reason you want to grow your business.
Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor. His book Man's Search for Meaning is one of the greatest books in modern history. His conviction was that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. In Man's Search for Meaning, he states, "Sometimes the frustrated will to meaning is vicariously compensated for by a will to power, including the most primitive form of the will to power, the will to money."
If you set as your purpose something truly meaningful, something bigger than yourself, you will likely make a lot of money along the way. Most of the truly successful entrepreneurs (people that had it all, money, family, and quality of life) didn't set out just to make money; they set out to meet a need and serve a higher purpose.
Your higher purpose doesn't have to be philanthropic or world-changing. It can be as simple as creating the best product you can and genuinely caring for your customers. The reason you show up to work every day should be to make the lives of other people better and thereby create a meaningful business. Value-driven businesses are obsessed with creating value for customers, partners, and employees because that's what drives real growth.
We need to be clear on your purpose now because it will help shape every part of your growth strategy. It's almost impossible to build a value-driven business without clarifying your meaningful purpose.
If you have a "Why Statement" or "Purpose Statement" that is compelling and meaningful, then go ahead and write it in the space on the Vision Statement PDF.
Here are some examples of purpose statements:
Stanford University: To enhance and disseminate knowledge that improves humankind.
Pinterest: Bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.
Giro Sports Design: Giro exists to make people's lives better through innovative, high-quality products.
Patagonia: To be a role model and tool for social change.
I highly recommend you watch this Ted Talk by Simon Sinek, where he introduced the world to the power of "why." He discovered that the most inspirational leaders and the most enduring successful companies all have one thing in common.
The obvious answer is to make a living, and there is nothing inherently wrong with building a business to make money. Life requires money—everyone needs it to live. But money shouldn't be the only reason you want to grow your business.
Victor Frankl was a psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor. His book Man's Search for Meaning is one of the greatest books in modern history. His conviction was that the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. In Man's Search for Meaning, he states, "Sometimes the frustrated will to meaning is vicariously compensated for by a will to power, including the most primitive form of the will to power, the will to money."
If you set as your purpose something truly meaningful, something bigger than yourself, you will likely make a lot of money along the way. Most of the truly successful entrepreneurs (people that had it all, money, family, and quality of life) didn't set out just to make money; they set out to meet a need and serve a higher purpose.
Your higher purpose doesn't have to be philanthropic or world-changing. It can be as simple as creating the best product you can and genuinely caring for your customers. The reason you show up to work every day should be to make the lives of other people better and thereby create a meaningful business. Value-driven businesses are obsessed with creating value for customers, partners, and employees because that's what drives real growth.
We need to be clear on your purpose now because it will help shape every part of your growth strategy. It's almost impossible to build a value-driven business without clarifying your meaningful purpose.
If you have a "Why Statement" or "Purpose Statement" that is compelling and meaningful, then go ahead and write it in the space on the Vision Statement PDF.
Here are some examples of purpose statements:
Stanford University: To enhance and disseminate knowledge that improves humankind.
Pinterest: Bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.
Giro Sports Design: Giro exists to make people's lives better through innovative, high-quality products.
Patagonia: To be a role model and tool for social change.
I highly recommend you watch this Ted Talk by Simon Sinek, where he introduced the world to the power of "why." He discovered that the most inspirational leaders and the most enduring successful companies all have one thing in common.