We are wrapping our fifth calendar year as a business and in pursuit of our mission to liberate business owners from the chaos of working IN their business so they can build a business on purpose and leverage their business AS their mission in life.
Why We Are Doing This Work
E.F. Schumacher says there are three purposes to work:
To us, our work is a display of our faith. Faith is the conviction of something that does not exist, and work is the creation of that thing that we see only in our minds that would be useful to others.
When we coach, plan, prepare, market, support, encourage, and research we are doing so to create something useful to others and to ourselves.
As to our mission, we have an enemy that hastles our dear business owners. Chaos.
Chaos has set the ground work for many of our beloved, heroic business owners (those we work with and those we do not) to be distracted from their purposed work. It is our work to help liberate them from the stubborn and filthy grips of chaos and instead guide them into the diligent world of healthy and fruitful work so they themselves can fulfill each of Schumacher’s three purposes of their own work.
When they enter this world of what Schumacker calls “Good Work” then we have the joy of knowing our work was useful.
2019: The year of “Aha”
Looking back I am compelled to see 2019 as the year we arrived at the peak of a very small mountain.
Of course this mountain seemed unscalable in March of 2015 but now is a source of incredible joy when we think about the business owners who have been able to climb their own mountains with our encouragement, coaching and support.
Between the one-on-one coaching, our new LIVE/LOCAL group coaching, the BOP Roadmap, and Architect’s Coaching program, we have had the honor and responsibility of directly impacting a powerful numbers of owners and key leaders in just this year. To our best estimate, at least…
443 Families!
...this does not include subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers.
2020: A little nervous...a LOT EXCITED!
I’ve got loads of clarity both for our Business On Purpose business and for our heroic business owners and their key leaders in 2020.
I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous about two things. Greed and Complacency.
In 2019 a critical mass of our business owners really figured out how to recognize real cash profit thanks to the a) multi-bank account structure, the b) level two dashboard, c) financial barn, and d) a lot of discipline. It worked! The profit accounts started filling up and will continue to do so in 2020.
If we’re not careful it can lead to a mindset of coasting, or even worse...greed.
To push beyond that, our word for 2020 is REINVEST, and I am A LOT EXCITED about that.
We are going to be relentless with our heroic business owners to REINVEST in vision, mission, values, systems, and process.
REINVEST in identifying purpose.
REINVEST in team meetings.
REINVEST in processes and process roadmaps.
REINVEST in knowing our team through roles, org charts, and personality profiles.
REINVEST in knowing your numbers through our accounts, dashboards, financial barns, budget, etc.
REINVEST in owners connecting with other owners and key leaders connecting with each other.
REINVEST in our 12 week plan LIVE event.
REINVEST in our common goal and responsibility of building a business on purpose.
I’ll use Business On Purpose as an example. Our major internal business focus is broken down into three tracks…
In March of 2020 we will celebrate five years of liberating business owners from chaos. Over the next five years, we WILL see overwhelming waves of liberation among existing and new businesses and their owners that will lead to a bona fide movement of purpose, generosity, and progress in marriages, families, and communities. This WILL happen and we want you to be a part.
You can begin to REINVEST in your own business by joining us for our next powerful, free webinar “Stop Hiring The Wrong People”, where I will build a hiring process from scratch right in front of your eyes!
You can register for free here at BOPWebinar.com.
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.
Michael Beaumont was doing a masterful job yesterday of teaching about the priority and necessity of vision. I was in my happy place. There were friends who I could here in our small church meeting space snickering and chuckling as Michael talked about vision, as if to say, “Scott must be lapping this stuff up!!”
Michael then shared a story about Matthew Emmons that made me immediately think of you, the business owner.
Emmons is University trained in finance and management and moonlights as one of the world’s premier rifle marksman having won multiple Olympic medals.
Emmons was competing in Athens, Greece during the 2004 Olympics and was on his way to winning a gold medal. It was time for the three positions competition where competitors “fire .22 caliber smallbore rifles from the prone, standing, and kneeling positions at targets 50 meters downrange. The bullseye is 10.4 millimeters in diameter, smaller than a dime” (Washington Post).
It was time for his final shot and he drilled it. A bullseye.
The official score was posted and Emmons was confused. It read “0”.
Zero.
What happened? It was a bullseye.
Emmons was aiming at the target in the next lane over. Zero. He would not earn the gold medal.
Sometimes we have vision but find we are aiming at the wrong thing. The Independent later reported Emmons admitting, “I didn't look at the number above the target before the last shot...I usually always look [through the scope] at the number first and then drop down to the target. I was just working on calming myself down and getting a good shot off. I should have looked.”
Over the past month I had multiple conversations with people who want to start their owxn business. I asked them one simple question, “do you have anything written down?” Typically the answer is “no”.
Here are three realities to know when we choose not to take a look at the right target. Three realities of not writing your vision down on paper.
First, if you do not have a vision you will feel chaos. Do not be surprised by that feeling of restlessness, confusion, frustration, and detachment like things seem out of control. That is is the natural result of a lack of vision.
The question now becomes, “do you wish to continue living in the uncertainty of chaos?” If you do, and believe it or not some go looking for chaos, then please be a solopreneur and do not bring others into your chaos. It’s cruel and we have seen it lead to damaged relationships.
If you wish to not spend your time in chaos, then let’s move onto the second reality.
Second, if you do not write your vision down then you do not have a vision.
There is clear historical precedent in understanding vision and seeing out vision gets distributed. A Jewish story gives us insight into the priority of writing a vision down. The Jewish prophet Habakkuk is in a tense conversation with God and God responds, “write the vision down so those who read it may run” (Habakkuk 2:2).
Think of all of the visions, ideologies, convictions, instructions, and master plans in history that have been written down. You cannot imagine walking into the Pentagon to a high level meeting among four-star Generals with battle plans...in your head. “Greetings Generals, I had this idea…”
Global religions do not lean on the oral traditions along, they all have a “book”.
I heard it said, “if you do not write it down it does not exist.”
The reason we do not rush to write things down is because it is hard, and because it feels so elementary. We have got to get over both.
Hard things breed endurance and thoughtfulness. Elementary things usually remind us that life is a series of living out fundamentals.
Do the hard, elementary discipline of writing down your vision either with pen on a real piece of paper, or on a digital document that you will review regularly.
Final reality. If you do not have a written vision then no one will run with you. You will be alone.
Periodic isolation can be restorative and valuable. Continual isolation is predictably damaging and punitive in most societies.
What may be worse is perceived companionship where you think you are surrounded by like-minded people and wake up one day realizing that you are running alone.
How does that happen? Not having or communicating your written vision.
Let me encourage, motivate, and persuade you. Please...
Write your vision down so you have confidence in the target you are aiming at.
Write your vision down so your kids know what Mom or Dad’s ambitions are when you are not around to share them.
Write your vision down so you don’t live a life in the slow drain of chaos.
Write your vision down because WE WANT TO RUN WITH YOU!
You can write out your own vision by going to our website at mybusinessonpurpose.com and click “Get Your Free Vision Story Here”.
We want to help you run and liberate you from business chaos.
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.
Over the holiday break I had a chance to restructure my bookshelves and do one of my favorite things...meander through my books!
Books are NOT just for nerds like me. Books are a wise conversation with an old soul.
Hemingway said, “no friend is as loyal as a book.”
Jefferson said simply, “I cannot live without books.”
Or how about this more modern Game Of Thrones reference, “... a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
You will need to keep your edge throughout 2020 as it is an important year, and books will sharpen you.
Here are four books that I recommend you load up for 2020 and spend time re-investing in yourself (in no particular order)...
This is not a list of my top books of all time (that may come later this year)...but some powerful reads to keep you engaged in this important year of re-investment.
Re-invest in yourself...set a timer for 10 minutes per day and commit to reading.
Just read.
“But reading is boring!” Read anyway until that mindset changes:).
Be like my buddy TJ who does not consider himself a reader but realized last year the impact that reading has on his family...look closely at one of my favorite pictures...
It is a life-discipline that will TRANSFORM you.
P.s. - you can add my book Let Your Business Burn to your list, and while you’re at it register for our next free BOP Webinar in February RIGHT HERE “Start Hiring The RIGHT PEOPLE: Watch Me Build A Predictable Hiring Process Right In Front Of Your Eyes”
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.
Last month we hosted our 9th BOP 12 Week Plan LIVE Event with over 130 business owners and key leaders in the room all culminating with each person working on their next 12 week plan.
Each event we ask for feedback on what people are struggling with, it was overwhelmingly clear what the current headache is in owning a business. One owner said it this way, “I need to cut the distractions, and get a real employee to help me!”
The curse of the business owner is taking the superhero mindset into their business and setting a stage where they are the promoter, the actor, the director, the stage hand, the writer, the ticket seller, the janitor, and everything in between.
We believe that no one is equipped to help. We say things like, “I hate having to have employees.”
In reality, employees generally want to be useful and valuable to the organization that they are a part of. We tend to be the missing link.
Here are five clear things you can do to make sure that your mission gets the help it needs.
First, do you really believe in your mission? If you do, there is no way to do it alone. If you do not have a written mission then go to work to create one sentence that is less than 12 words that will capture why you do what you do.
At Business On Purpose we are obsessed with liberating business owners from the chaos of working IN their business.
Second, write out every task that you are currently doing yourself or that you know needs to be done. Once you can visually see those tasks and how much time they take each week you will awaken to the sober realization that you cannot do it all yourself and remain healthy.
Third, write out a simple job role. Take those tasks, lump them into a role, articulate how each of those tasks are done and then go find the right person. Make sure to spend the extra time putting together a budget for the role based on your actual financials...do not guess.
Fourth, go find a person to match the role. Don’t focus on a person with a pulse, instead focus on someone who has the personality, the skill, and the desire to work this role towards the mission you have laid out.
Finally, empower, equip, deploy, rinse and repeat. Take the role and the processes of each task and walk through them with your new team member. Send them out to do the task and provide a weekly (at minimum) set time and place to follow up with progress of their deployment.
Let’s put an end to the mindset that we “hope they do it right”, and instead own the mindset that will work to empower, equip, and deploy so you can have some real help so you can impact your real mission.
You don’t have to do it all yourself. You yourself can be liberated from the chaos of working IN your business.
Scott Beebe is the founder of Business On Purpose, author of Let Your Business Burn: Stop Putting Out Fires, Discover Purpose, And Build A Business That Matters. Scott also hosts The Business On Purpose Podcast and can be found at mybusinessonpurpose.com.