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What is a conscious business? The word conscious means being aware. Here it means being aware of the influence of the business. Every business has a purpose. Sure, making money is essential for a business to be sustainable, but making money is not the only reason why a business exists. What makes a business unique and distinct? Most successful businesses have their own mission, vision, values, principles, and practices. A business will always be a platform for opportunity and should progress and grow, just like humans. We, as humans, do not just stay alive to exist; we want to have a purpose.
Why do we need to build a conscious business? A way to build a sustainable business is to practice a more conscious way of doing business which improves the interaction and the quality of life of people you do business with, which in turn creates fertile ground for growth, profit, and wellbeing. There is no tool as yet to measure how ‘conscious’ a business is, as the process of building businesses in a conscious way is still evolving. One of the goals of a conscious business is to interact with society in a positive way. By adopting a conscious business approach, we become more responsible and mindful towards achieving a healthier society and economy.
To get started, here are some ways to build a conscious business:
1. Self-evaluate
Be conscious of who you are, what you do, how you do things as a business. Spend a couple of minutes to step back and reflect. Be clear with what you want to achieve as a person, and as an entrepreneur. What is your purpose? What is your passion? What is your goal? These are the questions you need to answer to be clear on your purpose. When you start becoming mindful of what you do, you become more accountable.
2. Set Realistic Goals
After evaluating your purpose, you have to determine whether your goals are realistic or not. You may use the SMART action plan in setting up your goals. When you use this method, you create clear, achievable, and significant goals. A SMART action plan embodies five characteristics of a goal: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. You may incorporate short-term and long-term goals that can be measured. Some things that you may want to consider when listing down goals, is to provide awareness and education on a certain topic.
3. Involve Your People
To be successful in achieving your business purpose, make sure that your employees are aware of your goals. You will be required to make sure your employees are educated and involved in every step of the way. Your employees need to grasp the issues that your company is in the process of resolving; why and how you are doing it. Set up meetings to answer your employees’ questions, so they keep on being engaged and informed. By cultivating your employees, you are also motivating them to join the cause.
4. Establish a Culture of Learning
Encourage your people to always learn and be curious. Ask questions that are relevant to your business. Get your employees’ thoughts on what you can do differently within your practices. Encourage your people to be willing to learn from one another. The people in your business also represent a wide range of knowledge and ideas, and we can empower them to contribute to the success of the organisation. Imagine, if your business practices can be improved by 1% every day, then your business would be able to get a 365% improvement in one year!
5. Celebrate Small Wins and Employee Recognition
Recognise and celebrate your company’s small wins! By celebrating, you are making your organisation aware that you are getting towards your goal step by step and they are part of the organisation’s journey to those goals. Successful business results are confirmation of the organisation’s strategy, goals and values. Celebrate employees’ successes and recognise top-performing employees as this would create a collaborative work environment. When employees feel that their work is appreciated, they feel satisfied, valued and as a result, it increases their morale and they become more productive at work.
It might be hard to see the impact of building a conscious business, but when you look at it from a closer perspective, it makes a big difference in society. The more businesses that become more conscious businesses, the bigger the impact we can make on our society. Building a conscious business can be a challenge, but by transforming to a value-focused, purpose-driven, and business with principles, we can guarantee one’s business success.
Let’s build your conscious business together. Get in touch with Scarlett Vespa today.
