The Five Elements Of Business Success - Element 1: An Inspiring Purpose.

Most businesses consist of more than one person, and even a one person business has many indirectly interested parties. If your business has a way of binding its people together in a motivating way, then it can greatly increase its level of success. I refer to this binding aspect of a business as its inspiring purpose.

There are at least four interested parties that your purpose needs to inspire in order to maximize its power. Let’s take a look at those four and why they are important.

1. The Purpose Must Inspire The Owner Of The Business

Does your business truly inspire you?

The primary purpose of a business is to make a profit for the owner but which business you choose as your profit vehicle should be heavily based around an inspiring purpose.

If the business owner is totally passionate about the business and the direction it is going in then it is much easier to inspire the other interested parties.

2. The Purpose Must Inspire The Management Of The Business

Does your management team feel that it is part of something special? Something greater than just a commercial enterprise?

A business reflects the attitudes of its management. If the management is not inspired by your purpose then it is unrealistic to think that anyone else will be inspired by it.

You can appoint a manager but you cannot appoint a leader. Leadership has to be won. People follow leaders because those leaders inspire them in some way. To be a strong leader of a business the manager needs to be inspired by the business and in turn generate passion in the rest of the staff.

3. The Purpose Must Enroll The Staff To Become Disciples Of The Business.

Do your staff members work for your business solely as a means of earning an income or are they inspired to help the business prosper? Do they feel that they are on an inspiring mission that they are privileged to be a part of?

Most employees in most businesses are simply there to earn a living. They have no special attachment to the business and they have no feeling of purpose. Inspiration spreads from the top down. To inspire your staff you need to have inspired leaders preaching a purpose that the staff can relate to on a personal level.

Staff are unlikely to be inspired by the business owner’s profit goals. You have to find a purpose that will fully engage the passion of your staff such that profit becomes a by-product of following the passion.

If you look at the mission statements of most businesses they mean nothing to the staff. Staff need a purpose that they can picture themselves being part of, something that will make them feel that they are achieving something really worthwhile in their life.

If your staff are inspired enough they will automatically become disciples for your business; they will think, talk and live the business and they will spread that passion to your clients.

4. The Purpose Must Inspire Your Clients To Become Raving Fans Of The Business

I am borrowing the term “raving fans” from the book of the same name (if you haven’t read it I highly recommend that you grab a copy).

Imagine the fans of a “top of the charts” rock group. Think of how crazy they go just to be at a concert or even simply to be near the group members. They flock to buy CD’s, DVD’s, and concert tickets. They passionately recruit their friends to be fans as well. Some fans even make the group the focal point of their life. They are obsessed by the group and they idolize it.

Now imagine if your customers felt like that about your business and its products and services.

The rock group doesn’t achieve such stardom simply because of the music. The music and the group itself represent some inspiring theme that the fans can relate to their own personal life and to their goals and dreams.

The inspiring purpose of your business needs to capture clients in the same way that the superstar rock group captures fans. Buying your products and services needs to be more than a commercial transaction. Your clients need to consciously or subconsciously feel that buying your products puts them into a special group and thereby makes them part of something bigger than themselves.

Wrapping It Up.

Your inspiring purpose needs to ignite passion in all levels of your business from owner through to client. Passion spreads from the top down and apathy can only be cured by increasing passion in the level above the apathy. Passion produces profits and it does so as a by-product of being part of the inspiring purpose.

This article is number one in a series on the five elements of a successful business. If you wish to read the full set they are published on my blog at http://www.successblog.jamesdelrojo.com in the December 2006 postings.

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James Delrojo would like to help you by giving you his ebook "Unleash the Success Power of Your Mind" (valued at $27) completely FREE. Go to www.YourSuccessMind.com

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