What does success mean for you and your business?

For some people success is about material or financial rewards- for example, achieving a certain level of income in order to life a particular kind of lifestyle or make specific purchases (e.g. pay off debts, buy your dream house, car, holidays etc.). This is usually a factor to a greater or lesser extent for most people and of course every business needs to make a profit to ensure sustainability, so there will always be some financial targets to achieve.

For others the focus of a successful business is to create a work environment which allows them a certain degree of freedom and autonomy. This may mean being able to work where and when you like and to focus on the clients, projects and type of work that you most enjoy. It could be that you really want to be your own boss and play by your own rules.

For many people, running a business allows them to help more people or make a bigger and more lasting impact on the world than if they were a cog in a machine working inside someone else’s business. Creating more meaningful work for yourself whereby you can fulfil your potential, and realise a personal vision to make a difference to others might be a core driver for you.

Success for you may involve a combination of these different motivations or perhaps something else.

To help you understand more clearly what success looks like for you and your business, you might like to explore the following questions:

What is the Passion that fuels your business?

What is the Purpose of your business?

What are your guiding Principles in business?

Who are the People your business exists to serve?

 Success means different things to different people and can also evolve over time. It may be that the reason you started your business is not what keeps you motivated today or what you hope to generate from it in the future.

What does success mean for you and your business right now?

Anwen Cooper is the creator of Get Fruitful Marketing, a programme that helps people realise their potential to grow more passion-fuelled, principled and profitable businesses. Anwen has worked with more than 70 different organisations over the past 15 years, including many of London’s leading arts and cultural venues, and helped drive record-breaking sales through the height of the recession. She is the author of the forthcoming Get Fruitful Marketing – The Playbook. You can find out more and get fruitful marketing insights at getfruitfulmarketing.com and on Twitter @getfruitfulnow.