Hey there, Freedom Seeker! Welcome to the exhilarating big sky of small business entrepreneurship! I wrote a book for you. This book reveals the Unbiased Small Business Research Formula developed from decades in the trenches of American Main Street and online business as a small business entrepreneur and a coach. Its objective is to help you become the successful creator of the new life you envision by objectively guiding you in researching and choosing the right business. In the next weeks, I’ll share free sections of the book with you before it’s released for publication and available for purchase. “Meaningfulness” is what the various jobs you have had most likely lacked or lost, begging you to question if there can be more to life than a daily toil that only pays the bills. Yet, not every business owner finds meaning and purpose in their business. Beware of the risk of leaving a job you hate -because it is pointless to you- only to start a business and realize that you haven’t found substance in it either. As I mentioned earlier, I had a “good” business that provided me with freedom, income, and flexibility. Yet, because it did not align with my life purpose, eventually, I literally got sick of running it day to day to the point of physical and mental burnout. A business that might pay the bills but lacks significance can be worse than a dissatisfying job. When you are personally and financially responsible for that “job” of running your business, and you are even more stuck than when all you needed to get out was to give your boss two weeks’ notice. You’re the boss, and you can’t give yourself two weeks’ notice! You want to avoid this risk of landing in a random business at all costs! Consider the in-depth business research and validation advocated here. It is worth your time and effort. Now you might be wondering… A purpose-driven small business doesn’t have to save the world. Use your highest values to guide you. For example, if your highest value is family and spending quality time with your spouse and your children is a priority, then choose a business that can deliver your LIFE+, and that also makes a positive impact on the lives of your customers. Your purpose might still be connected to your business, in the form of the + milestones in your LIFE+, for example, with charities or projects. The key is to intentionally choose your ideal business today so that you avoid accidentally ending up with the wrong one. It will be challenging to grow your business to breakeven and profitability points if you are not motivated. As a small business leader, your mindset can be a great asset, or it can also be a liability. Consider the graph below of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Where do you currently stand on the left side of the pyramid? What are the levels above where you stand? Do you want a business to take you there? Now look at the right side. Identify where you would like to be with a business you own. What does it look like in your day-to-day life beyond survival and just paying the bill at level 5? Is safety (level 4) enough? Or is your LIFE+ (level 3) your most pressing objective right now? Or perhaps you are shooting for the stars with the burning mission of having a purpose-driven business. There are four fundamental steps to uncovering your life purpose. Begin with an assessment of the following and write them in your journal or a notepad. You likely will add and update your reflection over time as new insights show up. 1. History of significant life events. Beginning with your youth, list all the joyous and traumatic events you experienced. The strong feelings you had when these events occurred. The reactions you had and the resulting decisions you made later in life. Can they explain why you do the things you do? Highlight the keywords or phrases that trigger strong emotions- to notice recurring themes that will guide you toward your purpose. These past events define who you are today. 2. Your values. Look for high-consciousness values such as love, integrity, honesty, trust, respect, peace, family, and freedom. Our lower values are ego-driven, such as looks, fame, money, and social status, and are not purpose-driven. We might appreciate them as a measurement of our business success, but they are not considered higher values since they just serve us. 3. What motivates you? What is your muse? A good clue is to recognize what you engage in for hours while losing track of time. It is something that inspires you and that you want to share with others. 4. Your genius zone: what you can do well and what comes naturally. It can be activities you have engaged in within a job or a paid or unpaid responsibility in which you excelled. Once you pinpoint your life purpose, the next step will be to identify the business that your life purpose can drive. A business that can be the vehicle concretizing your life purpose will result in a business for which you spring out of bed in the morning to run it, grow it, and create for it. In the next section of this chapter, the external research, we will discuss how to harness your life purpose to identify the right business for you. Starting a business by following your life purpose adds a tremendous dimension to a life well-lived. I wish you the great fortune of picking a business that can be the HOW to your WHY. Once you’ve clarity on your WHY and Purpose, you can move on to the next step of the internal research: the life you envision. How I (finally) gained clarity on my life purpose. For the longest time, my life’s purpose wasn’t immediately clear. It unraveled over time. Only when I looked back and traced the pivotal moments, it fell into place. As the eldest of three siblings, I took on the role of the responsible ‘big sister.’ But when my mother, trapped in her mental abyss, passed away after a long struggle with depression, I felt helpless. A significant event came when at 11 years old, I attended an all-girls boarding school. The barred windows of the school had an uncanny resemblance to a prison. At 16, the earliest age to drive a car in France was 18, so I bought a motorcycle with money saved from babysitting and summer jobs. I loved that bike because it gave me mobility and freedom to explore. At 19, I moved to the cosmopolitan city of Paris. At 22, I left my mundane bank job in search of new experiences through travel and spent a year in the US. At 25, I left the life of a corporate worker-bee in Paris to reside permanently in the US. Driven by a sense of self-reliance and the need to survive in my new home, I bootstrapped a business and discovered my vocation: small business ownership. My 1st business allowed me to create the life I wanted. It gave me the flexibility to prioritize who and what mattered to me. It gave me freedom and unlimited personal growth while I honed my skills as a business owner. Even though it facilitated a life I enjoyed, once the business was successful, I increasingly felt stuck and bored. I didn’t know what, but I knew I wanted more. While looking for a business career direction, I discovered my muse; small business ownership. Personal growth, freedom, and independence are among my highest values. Today, with OPEN FOR BUSINESS LAB, my life purpose, my “why”, is actualized while guiding others in gaining their freedom with a business they own. I didn’t make these decisions consciously. A deep-seated yearning for freedom, one of my highest high values, was born out of life experiences that ultimately led me to purpose. Combined with what inspires me, small business, today I help other freedom seekers start a company as an instrument to create or reinvent the life they envision. Identifying one’s purpose is significant work that can change the story of your life. If you need help in identifying your life purpose, please reach out. I am here to support you: https://www.rightbusinessrightlife.com/discovery Would you like early access to your copy of the book as soon as it is released and receive a bonus book companion coaching session? During the private coaching session, I’ll guide you through the exercises and templates in the book. Available to the first 20 VIPs who purchase the book. To join the VIP waitlist, click here. Getting started If this is you…[Free Book Preview #12] What if your business turns out to be another dreadful J O B?
What if I can’t find my true life purpose?
Steps to Identifying Your Life Purpose.
Love the problem: How to align your life purpose with an economically viable business idea.
Joining the VIP Waitlist
Do you want greater freedom & income
from a business you own?
If so, you probably have a question or two about
starting a business from an idea or buying one.
A critical step is to build a business foundation for
success BEFORE you invest greatly.
Click here to book a no-cost consultation.
