Why do you do what you do? When was the last time you thought much about it?
It is easy to get caught up in the day to day: meeting with clients and contractors, returning phone calls and emails, sourcing furnishings and choosing finishes.
All that day-to-day busyness makes it equally easy to get off track, until you wake up one day feeling a sense of ennui at best, deep dissatisfaction at worst.
Or, perhaps, that busyness has led you to a fulfilling place, but far from where you were a few years ago.
In either case, it may be time for you to reevaluate your mission — and how you convey it to your clients and potential clients.
I need to acknowledge that I don’t love the idea of formal vision and mission statements. I’ve been on committees in workplaces and at my church to draft them and the process, typically done by a group, leaves something to be desired. Vision and mission statements are often generic and uninspiring. Rather than rousing and directing people, too many are met with a “meh” and forgotten months after they are written.
But I love the idea of revisiting and revising your purpose every few years. You can phrase it as a statement, as a mantra or even, if you’re feeling particularly passionate, as a manifesto. Whatever feels right for you.
Some questions to consider as you hone your purpose:
* What part of your work gives you the most energy and joy?
* What do your clients say about your firm and your work?
* What do you do effortlessly? (Our strengths are often hidden in the things that come second nature to us.)
* Why do clients choose you over your competitors?
* What do you want to be doing more of? And what do you want to be doing less of?
* What do you want to be known for?
* What are your core values?
* Why do you go to work every day (besides financial compensation, of course)?
As you’re thinking about these questions, try to answer as specifically as possible and include concrete examples of your strengths and successes to give yourself the fullest picture.
You can set aside an hour or two to tackle the questions all at once or maybe consider one question daily for a week or two. With your answers in hand, find the commonalities among your responses and consider what phrases and ideas resonate most with you.
Then spend some time honing a purpose statement (or mantra or manifesto). Keep it short, just a few sentences at most and use the personal language of “I” (or “we”) and “you” statements like: “I approach a project in your home as if it were my home.”
You can use the entire purpose statement on the About page of your website and on your social media channels. You can also incorporate sections of it into your marketing messages and include a version of it in your client presentations.
But most importantly, use your purpose statement to set priorities, choose projects and manage your time.
For instance, if you know a key part of your purpose is to work with families undergoing life transitions (like downsizing or building their “forever” home), it will help you focus your time on those projects and skip the folks wanting help with a vacation home.
Or maybe you’ve found a passion helping single moms. That might mean implementing workplace policies that support the working single mothers on your team and creating a nonprofit wing of your business to provide bedroom makeovers for kids of low-income single parents.
Your purpose can be practical, too. Perhaps your clients love you because you have a stellar communications strategy. They never have to call to find out the status of furniture orders or the date of the kitchen cabinet installation because you keep them up to date every step of the way, without fail. In that case, you can prioritize investing in new tools or team members to make your communications process even more effective and efficient.
You bring unique skills and passions to your work. Concentrating on your purpose can make your work more fulfilling for you and better focused for your clients.
