'HOW' To Successfully Run Your Own Business Online

When I'm asked what I do, I've mastered the one-liner that succinctly defines my business. But when it comes to answering the follow-up question of how I do what I do, that's where it gets tricky. Don't worry, I've got you covered. In this article, we'll learn why your 'hows' are specific to you and your business. We'll go through an exercise to help define your 'hows' and then discuss how you can apply them to your business in everything you do.

Defining your 'hows' is a powerful way to shape your decisions and bring your 'why' to life. Finding out what makes your approach unique could help refine the way you conduct your business on a daily basis and make it more efficient and effective. Now, let's dive into the key takeaways from this article.

Key Takeaways

• Discover why your 'hows' are unique to your business and help it stand out
• Define your 'hows' through a focused exercise to ensure consistent application
• Apply these newfound 'hows' to refine your decision-making and improve your business operations

Why Your Hows Are Unique to You and Your Business

Just like your why, your hows should not be aspirational. They should be how you conduct day-to-day operations and how you act every day in your business. Your hows are actually your strengths, which the themes you identified in the previous exercise with your partner have highlighted for you. You may not have known these hows to be your strengths, but they undoubtedly make up a significant part of who you are. We should use these hows as filters for everything we do.

We don't live in a perfect world, and we'd like to think that we'd apply these hows to everything we do. But if you are aware of these hows, you can think about them in terms of who you work with, who you don't work with, and what you do on a daily basis, both in business and in life. Your hows can also be seen as a bit of a fingerprint, as your why may seem similar to others you've seen or worked with in the past. However, your hows actually bring your why to life and really make it unique to you.

Defining Your Hows

Narrow Your Remaining Themes

To define your hows, start by narrowing down the remaining themes that were not used for your why statement. Aim for about three to five key themes. If some themes are quite similar, you can either choose the one that resonates with you the most or combine them into a single theme. For example, if you had "protect loved ones" and "feeling of safety," you could combine these into "making others feel safe."

State Your Hows

Next, ensure that your hows are actionable statements, reflecting what you do currently on a daily basis, not just traits or attributes. They should not be aspirational. Your hows are actions you take when you are at your natural best. For example, if one of your themes is optimism, you could state your how as "find the positive in everything."

Provide Context

Finally, provide context for each of your hows by adding a descriptive statement that can be applied to everything you do. Continuing with the optimism example, you could combine the statement "find the positive in everything" with "when things look like they're going wrong, look for what's going right." This provides more clarity and context for how you approach situations with optimism in your daily life.

Applying Your Hows to Your Business

To apply your Hows to your business effectively, you need to ensure they are actionable and unique to you. Remember that these Hows are your strengths and part of who you are, so they should shape all of your decisions moving forward and help bring your why to life.

First, make sure your Hows are not aspirational but based on what you're currently doing. For example, if one of your Hows is "keep it simple" and you know your organisation isn't currently simple, make it a goal to simplify the business and review it in a year, only including it as a How when it's genuinely being enacted.

Next, use these Hows as filters for everything you do. This includes deciding who you work with, what tasks you undertake, and how you accomplish those tasks both inside and outside of your business. By being aware of your Hows and keeping them at the forefront of decision-making, you can ensure you're consistently acting in alignment with your strengths.

Furthermore, revisit and reflect on your Hows periodically – perhaps on an annual basis – to assess their effectiveness and whether any changes are required. This regular review can help you to stay true to yourself and make sure you are embodying the Hows in your day-to-day operations.

Finally, ensure the Hows guide you consistently, particularly when it comes to forming business partnerships or working with others, as they strengthen your sense of purpose and make your business truly unique. By following these actions, you can successfully apply your Hows in your business and ensure you create a strong foundation based on your strengths.

Review and Update Your Hows

It's vital to remember that your Hows should evolve along with your business and personal growth. Therefore, I recommend reviewing and updating your Hows on an annual basis. This ensures that they continue to accurately reflect your actions and that they still support your Why.

During the review process, it's essential to be true to yourself and ask if these Hows are aspirational or genuinely represent what you're doing at the moment. Don't shy away from refining them if they no longer accurately convey your daily actions or if you feel they have become aspirational.

For example, if one of your Hows focuses on simplicity (e.g. "keep it simple"), but you realise that your business or team has become more complex than desired, this How may need revisiting. You could set an aspiration to simplify your operations and implement changes that inch you closer to that desired state of simplicity. Review the How again in a year's time, and you might find that it has transformed from being aspirational to a genuine reflection of your daily actions. This could lead to a more accurate How statement, such as "always look for the simple solution."

In summary, regular reviews of your Hows help to ensure they remain relevant and actionable, while also serving as a reminder of what sets your business apart. By staying focused on the core Hows, you can shape your decisions and actions to better align with your overall Why, ultimately leading to a more successful and fulfilling personal and business journey.