Why Do You Do It?

In your daily function, have you ever thought about why you do what you do?

I was once part of a great business. We sold fun to people who were looking for adventure. Sure, we had to worry about those necessities that keep the business running such as selling enough products to pay the rent, keep the lights on, pay our employees, all that stuff. Normal operation problems that every business has.

But what was our daily motivation? Why did each and every one of us want to come to work at this place every day?

Some “Why’s” (or maybe not)

The business was small, maybe 30 employees in total spread across a few departments. We all weren’t besties, and there was friction between one another from time to time, but for the most part, we looked out for one another, and we enjoyed working with each other. That helped, but it wasn’t the “why”.

Nobody was getting rich off this business. Not the owner, not the managers, certainly not the rank and file employees. We weren’t known to be a particularly high-paying employer, but we weren’t a minimum wage operation, either. So there really wasn’t a huge financial motivation (which is limited in motivation anyway). So money wasn’t the “why”.

We had a lot of cool stuff for sale! Expensive, sometimes dangerous, but always fun! We got to try a lot of these things out just by being part of the business, but usually, a lot of us couldn’t afford many of the newer items we were selling. It was a lot of fun to be working with these products, we were all enthusiasts already, and we got to work in the industry that drove our hobby. But that really wasn’t the primary “why”.

The Real “Why”

The real daily and ongoing motivation was serving the customer. It was a fun place to work because we sold fun and we made people happy. Getting the sale was less about the actual profit of the sale, but more about getting to shake the customers hand, help them load up their purchase, and see the excitement on their face as they took off to go play with their new toy.

Just imagine getting to connect with someone, provide them with what they are looking for, help them out, and send them home happy. It was a great feeling!

Feed the Monster

Business thinks that it needs to expand. Get bigger. Do more. Ever onward and upward. To a certain extent, this is true, but there are limits. Growth does need to be a goal, and to many, that is the metric by which success is measured. But proceed with caution! Growth is not the only metric of success, and growth should not come at all costs.

When you fall into the trap of “Growth at any cost”, you need to grow by elevated rates. To grow by elevated rates takes money, and getting money to grow often takes the contributions of others (investors).

Following this conventional, but incorrect thinking, this is the path that was taken. Out to investors we go, and advisement says “Take it public! Generate capital!” Ok. Here we come.

Company goes public, money comes in, time to expand. New shiny things! Bigger spaces! Better tools! More cool stuff to sell! More advertising! More team members! More customers! More sales! More, more, MORE!

Awakening

Sales? Good! Margins? Good! Costs? Not good. Return to shareholders? Wait, what? WTF?

Oh, yes. Those people who gave you their money to make the business bigger? They want it back. And they want more back than they gave you. This is eerily similar to a bank loan, except this is called “investing” and you now have to give those “investors” a return. The job of the investor is to give you money that you then grow into more money and give back to them. And they expect to get paid handsomely for use of their money. Oh, and by the way, that return? It is more important than anything else. How much should it be, you ask? Uh oh.

Surprise! This is worse than the bank. When you go to the bank, you take out a loan, and the bank says “Great, here you go, pay us $XXXX per month until you pay it all back.” Done. Simple, easy, no big deal. “Here are your keys sir, have a nice day.”

Investors do not work like this. They think that they know everything there is to know about your business. Truth? They don’t. They tell you that they care about your customers (you remember, those people you used to make happy). Truth? They don’t. Do you know what “investors” care about? Money. Getting their money back, plus interest. How much interest? As much as possible. A vampires ration.

Crash

What to expect going public? Reports. Forecasts. Money in, but more money out. Financial audit. Financial audit. Financial audit. People putting their hands in your business. People telling you how to run your business. Financial audit. Money out. Money out.

What does all of this cost? Everything.

You cannot focus on the lives of your employees, how they are doing, training them, educating them, helping them enjoy this wonderful small business that you’re in. You’re too busy feeding the monster. The employees see this. They gasp in horror. The customer is bombarded. You are directed to milk more money out of them. Sell them something that they don’t need, don’t want, can’t afford. Happy? Who cares if the customer is happy? Their job is to give us money! Don’t be silly. It doesn’t matter if the customer is happy. Turn their money into your money, and then turn it into our money. Feed it to the monster.

Employees are not happy. Customers are not happy. Investors are not happy. You are not happy. So why did you do it?

The System

You did it because the system told you to. The system educated you. The system advised you. Grow at any cost, churn more at any cost, earn more at any cost. This is what it takes to get rich. Have the killer instinct. Be a hunter. You first, everyone else last. Win. Be successful. You do want to be successful, don’t you?

Business school and MBA’s will sell your soul for you and ruin what you have built. They will do it because they are educated and trained to do so. They are convinced that this is the path to success.

No proper business technique is taught which says “To be successful, you just need to be true to others, have the best intentions, survive, and be happy.” You get fired for saying shit like that. Or people think you’re on drugs and ship you to rehab.

Don’t Do It

Stop. Don’t do it. Don’t sell your soul.

Did your business grow? Good. If not, find out why, work on it.

Is your business profitable? Good. If not, find out why, work on it.

Are your customers happy? Good. If not, find out why, work on it.

Are your employees happy? Good. If not, find out why, work on it.

Are YOU happy? Good. If not, find out why, work on it. But if some of these things above are true (profitable, growing, happy customers, happy employees), then you should be happy.

Be honest. Be passionate. Be empathetic. Earn a living. Run a successful business. Manage it wisely to the best of your ability, and if you can’t, then get some help.

Take care of your employees, take care of your customers, be fair. It doesn’t take much.

Don’t sell the company, take it public, or get investors. Don’t feed the monster. It’s a soul sell, it feeds the machine, and you’ll regret it. Sooner or later.

I hate to say “I told you so.”