I was reading an article on Facebook's upcoming public stock offering. Mark
Zuckerberg is quoted as having said "We don't build services to make money; we
make money to build better services.... These days, I think more and more people
want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply
maximizing profits." That's a good message to remind yourself about once in a while.
Then, I got an email about the release of a new business
book called "Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest
Companies" by Jim Stengel. I'm also now enrolled in Amanda Aitken's "Girls Guide to Web
Design" Jetsetters' class (now you really know why I haven't been blogging
lately!). One of the first exercises that Amanda has you do is fill out a
three-page questionnaire on how you want your website to look, but it's really
so much more than that. Her questions are getting at the heart of what you want
your company (and, in some ways, yourself) to look like.
All of these
sources and exercises are getting at the same thing, something that Mr. Stengel has dubbed
"brand ideal." What is it that your company, and you, stand for? What
are you trying to accomplish (and if your only answer is "making money," try
again!)? We all know that any business enterprise is trying to make money, but,
these days, it really does have to be about so much more.
Some describe it as "finding one's passion in life." It's
funny, I got rejected by a date way back when because, at the time, I didn't
really have a passion I was pursuing. Oh, sure, I enjoyed my job very much, and
I enjoyed going to movies, eating out with friends, and so on, but I didn't have
a particular activity I was engaged in with the level of passion this guy had
with playing the piano. He described how he'd rush home after work in order to
be able to play, learn new songs, and spend hours at it. I remember thinking at
the time that I couldn't imagine pouring over something with such focus and
dedication. Fast forward, and here I am, often spending hours each night
working on some aspect of Many Creative Gifts -- the crocheting (and knitting
:-) itself, the patterns, the website, the blog, and on and on. And, most
importantly, loving every minute of it. You have to -- it's a lot of hard work
to achieve that level of focus and dedication, to hone your craft to the point
where it's not just a hobby, but frankly is worth sharing with others and, if
you so choose, turning it into a potential business.
So, do some hard thinking on this for yourself. We only get
24 hours a day, at least 8 of which I hope you are spending sleeping, so how are
you spending your time? Are you spending it on things you enjoy doing? I know
that there are things that we all have to do that we don't like doing, but
putting all of that aside, what is your passion? And, what are you going to do
about it?! If you have a passion and just want to do it for yourself, then
that's awesome because there is always the danger of trying to monetize your
passion and, instead, losing your love of the activity. But, if you want to
turn your passion into a business enterprise, there are a lot of ways to go
about doing so, and one of the ways I hope to help you through this blog is by
curating some of the resources I've come across that I think have been helpful
to me in pursuing my passion. And, Steve, by any chance if you are reading
this, I only have one thing to say -- thank you!
