STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
CHAPTER 1 – What is Your Purpose in Business
by Gene Muchanski, Editor
The Dive Industry Professional
February 9, 2022

The first thing you have to ask yourself before taking the plunge into Entrepreneurship is “What is your reason for wanting to go into business for yourself?  When you have a good-enough reason, you’ll find and define your purpose.  Your purpose in business should be to accomplish something meaningful.  Your end goal.  It could be short term like, make a touchdown. It could be long term, like win the game.  It could even be longer as in win the season.  In scuba diving terms, a good reason to go into business is to teach your family, friends and community how to scuba dive, so they can enjoy a healthy recreation.  It could also be to build a business that employs local divers and services the dive equipment, training, travel and lifestyle needs of the local diving community.  It is a highly respected goal to build a successful business that offers you a rich and rewarding lifestyle that you and your family can enjoy.  And what successful business parent doesn’t dream about passing on their successful business to their children when the time comes?  So if your reason for going into business is strong, and your immediate family agrees with it, then it’s time to continue the process.

Understanding your reason for wanting to go into the watersports business can alter your professional career path tremendously.  If you really love diving, but not the business of diving, you should not be thinking about opening a dive store.  There are plenty of happy accountants and engineers who make a very nice living and can afford to do some of the finest diving in world.  It’s not all about the job or the money, rather it’s about the correct balance of your vocation and avocation.

So, before you take the time and energy to research how to open, operate and succeed in your own business, it’s best if you decide now, if that is what you really want to do.  Think about what you would enjoy doing eight hours every day, five days a week, for fifty weeks a year? Now think about how you would like to spend your weekends, holidays and vacation time enjoying the recreation of your choice?  Either way, you have to enjoy the process and be true to your life’s purpose.

In the beginning of every Business Plan is the Executive Summary.  The very first section in the Executive Summary is The Company Mission.  The Company Mission is expressed in a statement that explains what you are going into business for, what you plan to achieve, and how you are going to achieve it.  It’s what you are telling the world your purpose is, because pursuing your purpose has now become your mission.

A Mission Statement should always be written down so the world will know what your purpose is.  That will help them relate to and understand why you are doing the things you do to complete your mission.  If you are going to have investors, sponsors, employees, or members, you must be truthful with them and transparent in your communications.  When people give you money because they believe in your purpose, make sure that every penny you spend is for the successful completion of objectives, that create outcomes, that help you accomplish your mission.  Being truthful to your purpose is all about personal integrity.

Your purpose in life is your reason for being.  Fulfilling your purpose in business may be more than you just answering your vocational calling.  It may also be your purpose in life.  Think about that while you are investing your time, money, and manpower into this new venture.

For more information on your purpose in life and business, as it relates to a Dive Industry Professional, read my WordPress blog article Your Purpose in Life & In Business, on September 12, 2021 at  https://diveindustrynews.net/2021/09/12/your-purpose-in-life-in-business/

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