As small business owners, we tend to make things so much more complex than they need to be.
Think about it. If you run a small business, where do you usually put the majority of your focus? Marketing? generating revenue? Your work with you clients? Things like this?
So often the question you have about your small business deal with how or what, right? You know – how do I generate more revenue or what do I need to do to get more from my marketing? Aren’t these the questions you most often find yourself asking?
The answers to these questions are often lengthy, require learning or have many steps required to see results. So much so that we then find ourselves lost in the jungle of what to do next. So we can learn about what and understand how, but one question – the most important business question – remains unanswered. And without answering that question, it’s difficult to truly succeed.
The question…why?
In your small business, you need to know ‘why.’ And you need to know ‘why’ about everything. And I do mean everything.
Of course, perhaps the first most important part of asking why is asking why you’re in business in the first place. While this may seem elementary, it’s of vital importance. It’s difficult to evaluate where your business is heading if you’re not clear why you’re in business in the first place. Find that out why you’re in business will help you align all the parts of your business behind a united goal. Not knowing why, in turn, often means a splintered business model where not all your business processes point in the same direction.
One note, there’s no wrong or right answer to why you’re in business. It’s only important to know why you’ve started and continue to run your small business. The goal isn’t right or wrong, it’s clarity of purpose and understanding.
This is why asking ‘why’ should penetrate every single aspect of your small business. In other words, you should be asking it about everything. “Why did I choose to sell this product?” “Why do I answer the phone that way?” “Why am I not closing more deals?” “Why are people hiring me?” And on, and on…
Ultimately why is the foundational question about your business. No other question really matters too much until you understand why. And if you look at most small businesses that are failing most often you’ll find that they’re not clear about why they’re in business in the first place. And if, by some chance, they do know why they’re in business, their lack of success provide a window into what they’re not asking why about in their business.
Take it out of the context of running a small business for a moment and think about being a parent. If you’ve had three year-old kids, you know that the only word that ever comes out from their little lips is, “WHY!?!?” Why, why, why, why, why? There’s no end to their questions. The reason for this is that developmentally they’ve reach a place where they being to see that the world has structure and order and they want to understand it. So they ask why about everything so that they can – no, not annoy their parents and other adults. They ask why about everything so they can – LEARN! And that’s why you want to ask why about every part of your small business – to learn.
So use ‘why’ as a chance to awaken your understandings of your business. Ask yourself ‘why’ you do what you do the way you do it. Ask yourself why your customers buy from you. Ask yourself why you’ve generated less revenue this month than last. Ask yourself why – incessantly. Doing so will help understand the motivation and goals behind how you run your business. And when you understand what lies beneath, you can make better decision about marketing, positioning, pricing, etc.
Do you ask ‘why’ in your business? If not, why not?
And if you do ask ‘why’ about your business what new understandings has it led you too? What insights have you gained? And how has understanding why you do what you do changed your business?
Let’s talk about it.
(note: image from Amish Shah on Flickr, 
some rights reserved)
The Coaches Guide 
My name is Dawud Miracle and I'm a 
80 responses so far ↓
Loved this post Dawud! I have a 3-yr old whose daily quest for understanding is now going to prompt me to ask “Why?” more often too… including in my business.
Thanks!
Paula Onysko
http://www.mydailyjuiceaffirmations.com
If you know why you are in business, which very few do incidentally, the only one question that makes any sense all the time, is to ask why you do anything the way you do. This helps you to innovate and get better by adding one more question which is, how can I do this better?
I agree! If you are in a business, you should know and understand why you into that business. You should know your purpose. Thanks for sharing this great article.
As one of the small business owners, I always find myself caught in the middle of complexity, due to my worrisome attitude…
Thus, I have learned a lesson from it, “Try to keep the things as simple as you can!”.
I agree with wilson, “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify!”. I think understanding your goals is the crux of a successful business. I also think that logical prioritizing and “down-time” can help a business owner from having a mental breakdown!
Great post,
-Jolene
This helps you to innovate and get better by adding one more question which is, how can I do this better?
I am running a small business, a lot of time there is no answer to the “Why” question. I always wonder why some product are so ugly and they sell like hot cake and some that is so well designed cannot sell.
Dawud, this is a little bit of an adjacent thought to your post, but in our sales seminars, we are always teaching sales people to ask “why?”
Prospects will explain to a sales person that they need this feature or delivery by this date or they don’t want this option or a host of other things. But the best salespeople frequently ask “why?” Asking this question can open up a whole new plane of dialog with the customer, thereby increasing sales results. A good part of successful selling is asking the right questions, and “why” is one of the best.
-Skip Anderson
I agree that asking “why” is very important. I have found that the “why” which is selom asked is, “Why am I making money?” Usually business owners wait until they are losing money to ask, “Why am I losing money?” It is essential to know why you are making money so you can make the right decisions for the future. For example, many who thought they were experts in real estate investing found out it was only the boom market that put money into their pockets. When the market went done, so did they. Many mortgage lenders that they were great business people during the refinance boom from 2000 to 2004. You know what happened in that industry. If you don’t know why you are making money, you won’t survive in the long term.
Your are 100% right you have to be on top of everything. I am a small business owner and I also worry about every little detail to the point where i make myself crazy sometimes. Thanks for the post much appreciated.
I found through my own trial and error that the most cost effective area of business development is with systems.
good post
The first goal in marketing is determining what it is you are trying to market. It’s very important for any business to easily and quickly define that.
My old marketing prof once asked me to define my business in 10 words or less. It’s a great exercise to make you think about your business focus and clearly define your goal.
Why, Perhaps 31 years of my life can’t answer this question. May be I am in the internet business accidentally and am still doing all stuff unintentionally. I know it can take a few more years to answer this question because nothing is in my control at the moment.
I like your thought process, because often it also answers WHO or the other w questions.
Often it seems that it is hard for people to prioritize needs in biz. If you know the answer to your basic question and some of the other 2 questions then the priorty of A, B, or C becomes much clearer.
Alrady
I agree with u…Thanks for sharing the info!
Amazing post Dawud, added to Stumbleupon..thanks for the informative post mate..
Great post. Sometimes asking the “why” question may lead to more philosophical posture about our business than otherwise. The question of why has come up to me many times and funny that the answer has changed over the years. What was true a few years ago is not true anymore. This is a strange phenomenon I have noticed and I think that transformation is okay also. Thank you for a great article.
I chose my website/business because i get free products from it, so i can sell on ebay!
Thanks for this wonderful article…
Raj that is interesting… that the WHY has changed. It makes sense that as a biz grows the purpose might change some.
Skip… that is really good because sometimes people think they need something but they really need something else. Its part of benefit selling (as opposed to sellling ice cubes to eskimos).
SKIP all I can say is WOW. That is really a good point. In our internet biz we know the answer thank goodness and that has helped us in developing new products for customers while focusing on meeting needs of the older stable bread and butter customers.
I know why I am building this internet income. I want to stop waking up at 6:45 every morning,.
I want to have more controll of my hours and spend time doing what I think is important. Build friendships and build businesses.
Great post. The biggest step I need to work on is not being so worrisome and just going for it.
I agree that there is no time like the present to take a step back from you business and question “why”. It a simple concept but so easily forgotten in the daily rush of life.
I find that a little bit of discipline goes a long way. Especially with marketing, as it’s a daily ritual to keep up with the web. However, just a little bit of everything everyday helps to balance it all out for me. Don’t get me wrong there are days when I get swamped, but I still follow my own set of tasks for the day no matter how brief.
This is a good technique on improving small business daily operations. I also feel WHY is the vital concept.
Great post. Sometimes asking the “why” question may lead to more philosophical posture about our business than otherwise. The question of why has come up to me many times and funny that the answer has changed over the years. What was true a few years ago is not true anymore. This is a strange phenomenon I have noticed and I think that transformation is okay also. Thank you for a great article.
Great post Dawud, you are so right. I try to always question how I’m spending my time “why am I doing this?” other questions I ask often is “Who cares about this?” How can do this faster? What is the real value of what I’m doing? What results am I getting?
I suppose the most important thing is that you ask questions of any kind and not just go along on automatic pilot!
Thanks for your always great food for thought!
What I do with my domain business is have sort of a panel of trusted people I ask their opinions about. For instance if I have a domain I’m thinking of purchasing I ask myself as well as panel “Why should I buy it”? “What could be the downfalls of a purchase?” “Could i spend the money in a smarter way to earn a greater return?”
thanks
Brian Krassenstein
TDM Krassenstein Inc
The question of why has come up to me many times and funny that the answer has changed over the years.
Running a small business (or any business for that matter) is no easy task. We often get lost on our paths to success. Questioning yourself helps you focus, improve, and build.
I don’t think about the “why” of the business until I find myself doing so many tedious tasks that I can’t think straight…. then I feel the need to “start with the end in mind” (quite a similar concept to considering the “why”) and realize that if things aren’t bringing us more students or helping us to provide better training to our students, I’m not being productive. the hard part is not making up justifications so that every small tasks fits into one category or the other!
Awesome post Dawud, added to Digg..thanks for the informative post mate..
Why is this a wise post? Because it causes us to pause and consider if adjustments are needed to our big picture strategies. That’s what it did for me. Thank you.
Excellent article! I think it will actually make people take some time out to answer these questions instead of just plodding along with no real direction. This is definitely going to help business owners realize and reach their goals.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
The need to know why…as a curious individual I was often punished as a child for being a smart mouth, when all along I was setting a foundation for more knowledge..that quest has not changed for me. I believe asking why separates one from the herd of followers and into the arena of leaders. Great article.
Yes, important to ask the WHY that the customer will ask.
You should have a clear mission/vision for your business, and then when you ask all the “why?”s you can see if the answers match up with it.
The part about the three year old kids asking “why?” made me laugh. My neighbor’s three year old daughter comes over all the time – and her questions really are endless!
Thank you for providing such helpful information. I found it very inspirational
With my business I seem to always playing catch up and not doing the most important things.
As a businessman, you have a lot of question’s in order to make your business grow well..In my blog I have also a lot of tips on how to be a good business man..try to visit this one. http://blog.winningponies.com/
I have asked ‘why’ many times, and the answer has always been ‘financial freedom’. Maybe that is the problem with most businesses. They don’t find something they really enjoy or can be helpful to others because of greed or the need to become financially stable.
With the horrible economy of today, I think business owners are losing sight of their real dreams in order to make a quick buck because they are in survival mode.
agreed! sometimes we get lost with everything going on at once when what we need to do is to figure out the most basic things so as to make clear which direction we should take…
I think the biggest mistakes from small business owners is that they dont stay focused on their first “idea”, afraid of loosing business here or there they will accept clients or works which doesn’t match their aptitudes…
I have been in business for about 7 years and I think this article is making me rethink where I am with my company. It is that simple, just ask Why. I hope this gives my business a whole new spin. Just ask WHY?
Great Post mr Dawud. I’ll try to visit this Blog everytime
@Erica–i agree, many business owners are in survival mode because of the state of the economy. In times like this it is very important not to lose focus and the reason why you got into business in the first place.
In the world of business where competition is stiff, we business owners should be well rounded in both the financial, customer service and marketing aspects of our business.Thanks for a great post Dawud!
@Victor Lorentzo: to your comment–”I want to have more controll of my hours and spend time doing what I think is important. Build friendships and build businesses.”
That sums up my desires completely. Adding the freedom to travel wherever I like, whenever I like.
The trouble with running your own business entirely on your own is that you dont have time for everything and your post is right on the money! Good writing!
You are dead right!
I am a small business owner and I always want to know why internet marketing gurus take any particular course of action as it may indeed reveal their thoughts and the reason for their success in that particular area.
Top Home Business
Why am I going to take your advice? It put my business thoughts a little more in focus.
Why did I Stumble this page? I thought it was a helpful, insightful post.
Note to myself: Start asking Why more often…
Nice article, a lot of good points which can help you a lot when it comes to running your own business.
Why we have started: because we had an idea.
Why we have limited our ideas: in order to deliver
Why we have build it: in order to prove the idea
Why we are spending most time on marketing: in order to create interest.
Why we want to sell: in order to run the business profitable
Why we keep on going: because it drives us
You should know and understand why you into that business. You should know your purpose! Thats essential to every business.
That’s true,
for any business we have to think first how it can provide benefit to customers. Why customers should come to you?
When you get the answer, you will definitely be successful.
Nice article, a lot of good points which can help you a lot when it comes to running your own business.
I also think that logical prioritizing and “down-time” can help a business owner from having a mental breakdown!
Great post,
This post rings my bell. As we grow, we indeed tend to feel smarter (even if we are). However, this mental attitude can prevent us from learning ‘thanks to’ the lack of curiosity. The “why” question is important to keep us aware of many opportunities. We don’t take anything for granted, be it our way of doing business, work with clients or many things. The “why” question will lead us to better alternatives and more efficient ways of doing things. Heck, the ‘why’ question even save us from doing anything worthless to begin with.
i can say one thing ..If u understand the purpose of the business for what u are doing then u can be the successful
And i am really thankful for the professional article which helps to remember few things abt the business which i am doing
“In your small business, you need to know ‘why.’ And you need to know ‘why’ about everything. And I do mean everything.”
in the end it will just make my head hurt if I keep asking why.
but the main reason is “Success”
Re “Cheap Research’s” point, I totally agree. You not only have to remind yourself of your goals and mission(s) constantly, but also ask yourself, how can I do this better? How can I step up to the plate for clients better? It’s all about staying on top of your game and delivering top results… Thanks, Dawud!
Man I really like your posts!
It was pleasure reading this.
too bad I havent find this in a days when I started my bussiness and grasped to succeed.
Keep up with good work.
BonScott
I love your post. You are so right!
I find myself fighting more and more fires the older I get. Aren’t we supposed to get wiser as the years go on?
We fall into routine – but it’s not just the things we get stuck in in our own ‘worlds’. We forget selling is about solving problems, not pushing product. Moving away We pack lunch grudgingly for our children, missing that its the greatest feeling to give back to those who gave us happiness. Forgetting purpose is one of the saddest things about life. All that energy and passion and love falls to the wayside; it shouldn’t.
Looks like I’m seven days late for the discussion, but thank you all the same for writing this post.
I have seen many successful business ended in a failure. I think we can’t focus on everything and if we are going to have too many ventures, we should have the staff. Alone we can do nothing other than ruining our businesses.
there are always new things to learn and improve, so I think we all are constantly asking ourselves “why?”.
I think First of all, you give importance for the goal of that business.The owner should know the exact purpose of the business.Otherwise he will lose every thing.Because they can gain from from business and also loss from the same business.
Great post! I’ve been very interested in business for a long time. I didn’t know that Most Important Question You Can Ask Yourself About Your Business
Great article. Why is a good question to ask to do well in business. I’ve heard the better the question, the better the answer. I would add to this with the 80/20 rule to prioritize your business and life. To focus on the answer of the whys in your business.
Why?Good question to ask yourself sometimes.Great post.
I found through my own trial and error that the most cost effective area of business development is with systems.
asking questions like WHY relating to your business can help you understand your business more and more as well as your customers.. there are many ways to improve and develop your business… so start asking why to yourself. lol
It really all boils down to finding people that can do it better than you and know how to keep them motivated. If you can develop and good team in any business the rest is history. I will tell anyone just find people who really want it and give them rope and they will either take you to the top or you cut them lose and move on to the next ambitious one.
“Why?” “?Porque?” “Porquois? “Neden”? Language may be different but the question is always the same. For middle-sized and small buisness it’s important question too, be sure. Every day we ask ourself: why do we work with this supplier? Why didi we choose this way?
Great post. Yes I ask why but I also ask HOW and when I come to conclusions or answers I also ask “what else?”
A mindful reminder when your in the thick of it to always take a why? question. Perhaps an why? iphone app or desktop pop-up would be fun…
Thanks.
When you really don’t know where to start, it’s always a good idea to start a home based business first. You would be amazed at what you learn from them! It’s a low-risk.
well, this article was eye-opening. I guess there’s always an answer to the why and if there is none, then i shouldnt be in business. great article.
Love this! I’m going to incorporate this one word question into every aspect of my business starting right now.
Thanks for this Dawud. I look forward to reading your posts.
Gina