Lead with Purpose: The Mindset Shift Every Business Owner Needs

Hey there it’s me Seth!

You’ve almost undoubtedly heard about knowing your “why” by now. Why do you do what you do? And if you’ve never really thought about it, you might think back to when you first started your business and why you did it. For me it was three jobs in a row working for people I couldn’t stand. Working for people who berated their subordinates and refused to take any responsibility for their own shortcomings. Working for people who were likely promoted before their time - before they had matured enough to be able to handle their positions of power and responsibility.?

I’d had it. And since I was the common denominator in all of this I decided that it must be me, so the only solution was to do my own thing. I remember promising myself that I would never ever treat anyone who worked for me the way that I was consistently treated by small minded arrogant assholes.?

Now many years later I can say that I started Nerd Enterprises in 2003, incorporated in 2007,? built and maintained an accounting and training company, and sold off the accounting clients in 2023.?

Now I am focused on the educational part exclusively. I want to help accountants transform their practices and build the kind of lives for themselves that makes them truly happy. Too many accountants are not happy because they are overworked and underpaid. This is not a secret. It’s a big part of why we have the smallest number of accountants in history right now.?

A lot of the younger generations are realizing that going into a trade like plumbing or electric is far more gratifying than accounting and they pay better too. There are lots of articles out there about this.?

Is your “why” the same thing as your “purpose?”

I don’t think so. I think of it like this…

Your “why” is why you started in the first place.?

Your “purpose” is why you keep going. I believe this has to have more intention behind it. Is my purpose the transformation I want to lead people through that I described above? You could say that and you wouldn’t be wrong, but I wouldn’t want to stop there.?

To lead with purpose means to think in terms of how you want to leave the world a better place than you found it. Transforming accountants and bookkeepers is the means to that end, but it’s not the end.?

Along the way I intend to improve the lives of everyone I come in contact with. And I want to help 1,000 people and teach them and encourage them each to build a plan to help 1,000 people. That’s 1 million people whose lives I want to impact directly and indirectly.?

Think of this as a sort of “Spiritual MLM.” But everyone wins, because there is no bottom of the pyramid. There are enough people to go around.?

To illustrate what my “greater” purpose is I want to share with you why I did a Black Friday promo last year (2024) after not doing one for two years.?

Working backwards, it was this:

That was from Dachshund and Friends - the rescue where Mrs. Nerd and I got The Mighty Goddesses.

That right there is the ultimate goal. So how did I accomplish this? I pledged to give away 10% of the proceeds to them.?

As you can see from her response above it can be quite costly to rescue one of these puppies. That is not typical, but it happens. I plan to do a LOT more this year.?

So what is my purpose? My real purpose is to leave the word a better place than I found it by rescuing 100 puppies this year.?

This is what “Lead with Purpose” means to me.?

Think about the impact. If I set out to achieve a stated purpose based on making a huge profit this year, would that excite you? I don’t think so. If anything, some of you might criticize me for being selfish and self serving.?

There are so many amazing dogs that need caring and compassionate homes. And if you’ve ever rescued a dog (all of ours have been rescues) then you know. IYKYK, right? If you know, you know.

They know it. And the unconditional love and gratitude they show you makes it worth it and so much more. You know how excited they get to see you, even when you’ve just gone outside for 5 minutes? That is because you are their WHOLE world. Even five minutes without you is like 35 minutes to them! And for them that’s a lot. It’s a big chunk of their lives at 12 - 18 years max. It’s way too short. If you’ve ever lost one you know what I mean.?

So I want to rescue as many puppies as I can.?

And what I want for you, is to decide what “purpose” you want to lead with. There are many people around the world who need your help. And the more you can build your mission around supporting causes that help make the world a better place, the more inspiring it is for people to work both FOR you and WITH you.?

I love what Paul Dunn shares in Time’s Up about this. Imagine you just got done with a meeting with one of your customers and instead of sending them the usual boring meeting recap, you send them an email with a photo of some adorable puppies and a message that says something like, “we are so excited and encouraged by what a great meeting we just had with you that we are sending $100 to Dachshund and Friends.”?

Wouldn’t that make a far greater impact than just, “let’s make money?!”

As I gather more data, I will develop a rough number based on what it costs on average to rescue one puppy. This way I can be definitive about how many we’ve helped rescue and how I support that calculation.?

That was my other take-a-way on this topic from Paul. We don’t define this in terms of how much money we donated. That has more of a “look at me” vibe.?

No, I want to define it in terms of how many we’ve helped!

This is just the beginning. There will be many other charities I will define (I’ve got a list) and more causes. I’m starting here because it is so near and dear to my heart.?

How about you? What “Purpose” will you think about leading with? Please share in the comments below.?