A Hero’s Journey In Business

A breakdown of the Entrepreneur's Business Journey inspired by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey framework

People try to take shortcuts in business all the time. They attempt to shorten the journey because they’re not willing to go through the pain, ordeals and excruciating stress it often takes to build a real company. To build a brand. Something more, possibly… such as an undying statement.

It’s often said business is warfare without shots being fired. I tend to agree. I’ve seen it with certain clients or entrepreneurs with whom I’ve worked, or throughout childhood as the son and brother of entrepreneurs. It’s nothing short of a battle.

An entrepreneur to me is often akin to a warrior. There’s something defying about it--to literally risk everything to build your vision. Playing with early stage venture capital money is not what I’m referring to here. That is them imprinting their vision onto yours, thus diluting your vision or at best, they are co-opting your vision in many cases.

There’s a reason why we call that initial investor an angel. What they’re doing is Godsend in many ways. They are giving away their money because they have faith in you and your vision. That process is often necessary and, in many ways, we need angel investors now more than ever.

A lot of businesses might not exist in very short order (as of this writing, in the summer of 2023). Not because they’re not worthy, not because it required an Ivy League MBA to lead it, but because the people behind the company simply could no longer endure the insane journey it often takes. It’s a Hero’s Journey. Entrepreneurs are warriors, they are heroes. I look up to so many of you who do it. As a marketer, it gives me purpose to serve entrepreneurs; I love working with unwavering entrepreneurs with visions.

As a writer, I’ve both studied and written about The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell’s writing framework. I believe that it offers a ton of value for entrepreneurs, brand-builders and marketers to visualize a roadmap of success for companies. So, I’ve tried to take Campbell’s framework and rewrite it for businesses, as an application for the discovery of potential.

But, before we get into what I call the Business Journey, remember that, as a brand builder, marketer, or consultant in the context below, the hero is the client, the entrepreneur. The audience, or target customer, is the opposition you’re seeking to conquer or resolve as customers.

I believe that the primary function of a brand builder and marketer is to emotionally move people. Your marketing and brand messaging should move people and drive them closer toward their passion, interest, or the solution they are seeking. You have to provide them with the hope that your brand will solve their primary obstacle.?

Here's the breakdown of the Entrepreneur's Business Journey inspired by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey framework.

THE ENTREPRENEUR'S BUSINESS JOURNEY -?

Existing Business Environment: Start with the current state of the business, total addressable market, and how an existing problem is being addressed by solutions that already exist. In The Hero’s Journey framework, this is known as The Ordinary World.?

Opportunity or Challenge: Identify the opportunity that presents itself as a potential turning point for the business or the industry you are disrupting. This is the point in which you leave your ordinary world and are placing the business on their journey. In the context of The Hero’s Journey, this point is the hero’s Call To Adventure.?

Initial Hesitation: There may be initial reluctance or doubt about pursuing the opportunity or facing the challenge by your team, stakeholders, leadership or even potential investors. State these objections, document them for all stakeholders. Transparently and honestly address the hesitation that will likely be received internally and externally in the market. This point would be known as Refusal of the Call in The Hero’s Journey.?

Seeking Guidance: Seek guidance from mentors, advisors, or industry experts who can offer insights around that initial hesitation. In a pitch, this is your opportunity to plug your Yoda. Who is your wizard or all-knowing oracle, that provided that crucial and yet missing kernel of knowledge? To follow along The Hero’s Journey, this point is known as Meeting the Mentor.?

Entering a New Market or Territory: Venture into new markets, launch new products, or expand the business into uncharted territories. You have to take action towards change. The same approach in the past is not going to work. In the context of The Hero’s Journey, the hero leaves their ordinary world. If you want change, significant growth, or to disrupt your industry, you will need to leave your old ways behind as a business. Oftentimes, this is when a rebrand occurs, or when you launch a new product that has yet to prove itself to a larger audience. In The Hero’s Journey, you’ve just approached Crossing the Threshold.?

Tests, Partnerships, and Competition: Face challenges, forge strategic alliances, and navigate competition while learning, testing, and adapting to your new world and methods. This is where some of the harshest criticism will come. Know that it’s part of the process. Without that criticism, you cannot improve. Understand that you are still on the journey, and things will continue to be rough for sometime, but you are about halfway there. Tests, Allies, and Enemies is what this milestone is known as in The Hero’s Journey.?

Confronting Major Obstacles: Encounter significant challenges that require innovative solutions and pushing beyond comfort zones. It won’t be easy. The harder the obstacle (whether it’s engineering, logistics, or whatever) the greater the reward in the end, if you can solve it. Phil Knight once said that every single problem in business can be rooted in supply and demand. I tend to agree. And sometimes, identifying what is causing that major obstacle is the hardest part. At this stage, you’ve reached the Approach to the Inmost Cave in The Hero’s Journey.?

Turning Point: Reach a critical moment that demands decision-making, resilience, and adaptation to achieve desired outcomes. What you say “no” to is how you focus. You can’t say “yes” to every suggestion under the sun. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the 90s, he found Jony Ive to be his single biggest source of talent in the company -- he worked with Ive to focus on a handful of products that transformed the world. They did that by rejecting so many other features of existing products, or potential new products that made little difference in the market. Instead they created the iPod, iPad, and iPhone--the world has never been the same since. This point is aptly known as The Ordeal in The Hero’s Journey.?

Growth and Rewards: Achieve growth milestones, profitability, customer satisfaction, or other tangible and intangible rewards. Beauty and aesthetics are often immeasurable, but regardless of what you’re producing, growth and financial impact is measurable. If you’re in the business of beauty, fashion, or design, you must measure its impact. It’s okay if a bunch of people hate your product--but only if there’s an equal or greater number of people who love it. Many of the most successful fashion, apparel and beauty products fall into that love-it or hate-it scenario. Similar to what I’ve named this point, in The Hero’s Journey it’s known as the Reward.

Reinvention and Adaptation: Continuously evolve the business model, offerings, or strategies to stay competitive and relevant. Your fiercest competitors, and even your partners will adjust to your success, which means you will have to as well. What worked for most brands in the post-pandemic world will not work in this new inflationary-driven and bubble-bursted environment. At this stage in The Hero’s Journey the hero is on The Road Back, utilizing their newfound wisdom they’ve attained.

Overcoming Final Hurdles: Address critical obstacles or industry disruptions that determine the long-term success and sustainability of the business. You will be copied, and as a successful brand you will always have a target on your back. Some of the best entrepreneurs on the planet assume that a potential competitor is born every day and that they will eventually put his company out of business--an entrepreneur's job and focus is to understand what that competitor company’s plans are. This point is known as the Resurrection in The Hero’s Journey, or the final life-changing challenge they face.?

Sharing Knowledge and Impact: Return value and wisdom gained from the journey to the business ecosystem, supporting others, and contributing to the industry. In the end, if you are lucky, you will elevate the entire industry with the value you bring to market. If you’re not striving for this level of positive influence, what is the point? Is your only goal to make money? There’s a multi-millionaire that dies every hour who no one’s heard of or will remember. Yet, business professionals such as Steve Jobs or even Elon Musk have reached a level of immortality, as it relates to the impact they’ve had on the world. This point, the final milestone in The Hero’s Journey, is known as Return with the Elixir, where the protagonist returns to their ordinary world, sharing the rewards or lessons learned with others.

By using the Hero's Journey framework in this above business context, entrepreneurs and businesspeople can identify various stages, challenges, and transformative moments they may encounter while building and growing their brands. If you write your vision down, look it over, it takes on new meaning and by sharing your vision with others your ideas take hold in people’s minds, thus altering reality. A painting is just a painting, until it’s framed then hung on a wall, then it’s called art. Frame your ideas properly, present them to the world, and they might be considered more than just an idea.?

For those of you creating a pitch deck, I urge you to leverage this type of application of the Business Journey framework--especially if you want to break out of the typical outline utilized in most startup pitch decks. So many pitch decks are so predictable, as they follow a common formulaic framework. This is your chance to be creative, to be compelling, to tell your truth as you see it in the world. Don’t lose that critical opportunity, potentially you’re only opportunity… to be a true original.?

A business is just a business, until someone decides to breathe life into it, tell a compelling story and fill an immense void by pouring value into a vast ocean of deep demand… only then does it have a chance at becoming a brand. Thank you for reading and please subscribe or follow for similar content.

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