Business with a purpose

 A foundational element of the Auntie Anne’s pretzel empire is the first of what she calls “the three small p’s” – purpose.

Anne Beiler went into business for herself because her husband wanted to start a free counseling service in their Pennsylvania hometown, and she wanted to find a way to support his dreams.

She raised $6,000 in startup money from family and friends and set to work on building a pretzel shop at a single location in Lancaster, Pa.

She had the product – her pretzels – and the people, starting with herself and a small cadre of committed believers that grew steadily over time.

But it all got going because she had that purpose.

Same as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has a purpose that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear from the head of a multibillion-dollar enterprise: “We don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services.”

We all need to find that motivation for ourselves. Of course we want our business to grow with our own bottom lines in mind. We have mortgages and car payments and families to pay for; survival is an instinct.

But there has to be more that gets you up in the morning and working into the night than just survival.

What is your purpose? Why do you wake up early in the morning and stay up late at night? What kind of imprint do you want to leave on the world?

Find that purpose, and you’ll find yourself working even harder to build success in your business.

Chris Graham is the president and CEO of Augusta Free Press LLC, a full-service web- and graphic-design and marketing-services firm based in Waynesboro, Va. Email him at [email protected]. More online at www.AFPBusiness.com.