5 Must-Haves For Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurs

You know you’re a purpose-driven entrepreneur when:

• You had a very successful business/occupation but you ended it or left it because it made you miserable;
• You can’t make your business decisions based on how much money you’re going to make; you decide what to do based on how fun it feels;
• You see making money as the result of what you do, not the goal;  but you still worry about whether you can get well-paid for doing something that you love;
•  You are constantly trying things out, creating new stuff and following the directions of your soul – which means it always feels like you’re in movement;
•  People are always telling you that you’re so courageous but creating a purpose driven business is one of the scariest things you’ve ever done;
•  When you’re off-track you’ve stopped playing.  You know that even though people think that following your purpose is solemn and serious, it’s actually all about play because the soul LOVES to play;
•  You feel like your business exposes your soft underbelly making you totally vulnerable, but you do it anyway.

Purpose driven entrepreneurs are NOT traditional entrepreneurs.

We aren’t motivated by making more and more money. We are motivated by showing up fully, expressing ourselves and sharing our gifts.

We deal with fear and doubt and confusion but we do it anyway.  We know that we are blazing a new trail and we feel like we don’t have a choice.  We feel like we were born to do something and we’ve gotta do it, even if society doesn’t have all the supports in place.

Many purpose-driven entrepreneurs are Life Coaches – healers, teachers and guides with a goal of helping people to re-invent, transform and renew their lives.

I’ve found that there are 5 surprising and things that purpose-driven Entrepreneurs need to do to succeed - and they don’t involve business planning or marketing. Curious?  Here's my list:

1.  Identify Your Soul’s Niche And Claim It.

A soul’s niche is the concrete manifestation of your soul’s purpose.  It is the intersection of that which you love, that which you’re good at, that which the world needs and that which you can get paid for.

When you don’t know what you do, you won’t move forward doing it.  You don’t need to be crystal clear, you just need a good sense of the service that you offer – and who you offer it to.  That’s what your business is.

When you discover your soul’s niche, you’ll finally remember the reason why you are here on earth. Your soul will continue to call you towards this purpose and you’ll feel miserable and if you don’t follow that call.  Identifying your soul’s niche gives you a powerful and unshakeable engine fuel – the motivation you need to keep going and to create the work that you were born to do.

2.  Belong To A Sisterhood.

A sisterhood is a deep soul connection with others of like mind and heart. The bonds of sisterhood are the love and the desire to see each person rise to their full potential.  A sisterhood transcends race, class or geography. It is soul-based support, love and respect that can last a lifetime.

Your sisterhood will hold you up when you doubt and support you when life gets in the way of your dreams.  Your Soul Sistahs will help you to be the “real” you and drop the pretence.  They will see your beauty when you can’t see your own.  They will remind you over and over again of who you really are, especially when a part of you wants to forget. The power of a sisterhood will ignite, inspire and support you.

3. Trust Your Soul’s Voice.

There’s a voice that comes from deep within you that isn’t chatter or bullying.  It might not even be a voice.  It might be a sensation or a feeling or a knowing.  It’s quiet and sometimes directive.  That quiet voice is an energy that is always guiding you towards the life you were destined to live.  That’s the voice of your soul.

To create your own unique purpose-driven work, you’ll have many decisions to make and much to create.  The directions and guidance about your path come from your soul – not from external “experts”.  Your soul is the only expert on your path.  We aren’t taught to listen to our soul’s voice or follow her guidance in school so this is new.  I’ve seen so many life coaches stuck in overwhelm and anxiety about entrepreneurship because they forget to listen to their soul’s voice when creating a business and instead start following rules they think they are supposed to follow – that don’t work for them.

When you regularly connect to your soul, you gain an inner knowing about what is right for you and what is wrong for you – that you can’t find any other way.

4.  Get Out Of Your Own Way, And DO Stuff, Daily.

As Steven Pressfield says:

“The more important an activity is to your soul’s evolution, the more resistance you will feel.”

Creating a coaching business that is the intersection of your biggest joy and the world’s biggest needs, WILL evolve your soul and WILL bring up your resistance.  Our survival as a species has been based on NOT making change. Our brains question, criticize and doubt to keep us safe.  Expect this.  Learning to feel fear and yet continue to move forward toward your soul’s desires IS the challenge of re-inventing your life and work. 

You need to get out of your own way, daily and keep taking tiny steps forward to create the work that you were born to do.    Expect resistance.  Work through it.  Keep moving.

5.  Create an Offer.

Your offer is something that is useful that you give or sell to your tribe.  An offer is your soul service. It can be free, low-priced or higher priced.  You can have many offers, but you only need to start with one. An offer can be something downloadable, a checklist, a toolkit, a focused consultation, a coaching package, a workshop, a class, a recording, a card-deck or anything else you can dream of.

An offer is something that your people crave that’s valuable and beneficial. When you provide an offer aligned with your soul that your people want and will buy, you have created a purpose-driven business.

Voila!

Ready to Dive Deeper into Uncovering Your Purpose?

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