How to Live Your Values Through Your Business
What are your core values?
Your core values are guiding principles that direct you through life. They help you when making decisions, creating boundaries, prioritizing what’s most important to you, and building an intentional life.
Core values are the personal truths that you hold most near and dear. Your core values play a critical part in what motives you and the “why” behind the decisions you make and the actions you take. When you identify, understand, and practice your values, you become more at home with who you are.
When it comes to your personal values and the values of your company, they may not be the same. That is okay, they will both come to play in how you as the CEO or founder operate in your everyday life. If you aren’t sure if your own business values are completely separate or overlap from your personal values, check out our Business Values Guide for Creative Business Owners.
Define your own values
We don’t recommend rushing through this exercise. Setting aside the time and space to dedicate to identifying your personal values is worth the effort. Carving out about an hour where you’ll be free of distractions will allow you to identify your top values. Grab a pen and print out our list of values to get you started! Our list of values is just meant to be a thought-provoking tool and if a word that is resonating with you is not included, feel free to add it.
If you need help defining your own values, we’ve got plenty of tools for you from a core values worksheet to a personal values quiz. Check out our Values Resource for more guidance!
For another example of how one boss has defined her own values and experiences the benefits of this practice, check out our article Knowing Your Values is the Key to Confidence.
Write your values down
After you’ve defined your personal values, write them down. There is power in putting pen to paper. Once you’ve written your core values on a piece of paper, place it somewhere you will see it at least once a day. This practice will keep your values front and center for you. In the hustle of daily life, your values can get lost in the shuffle of obligations, creative ideas, and imposter thoughts.
If you want to take this step to the next level, journal on each of your values. This will help you to explore what each of your core values means to you and how it shows up in your life. Use the traditional definition of the word as your jumping-off point and add from there.
Listing examples of how your core values have played out in your life or when you felt in complete alignment with your values will only give your a better guide for future decisions. Developing a definition that resonates with how you will be living your personal values will make them more real and concrete for you.
Knowing when your values are out of alignment
Having a greater self-awareness around your personal values and the actions that support them allows you to know when you are out of alignment. Maybe your values have been hijacked by society or the systems we operate in. If you find your actions are more aligned with the pressures of what you feel you should do to find success or the guilt of all the things you’re supposed to do for others, it’s time to take a step back and check in with your true self. If you want to learn more about values hijacking and how this can stop you from living your values, listen to Episode #332 Values, Validation, and Goal Setting with Tara McMullin.
There will be times when you receive opportunities that will mean not being in complete alignment with your values. This is when having self-awareness and a true understanding of your values and what they mean to you will help guide you to the best imperfect decision you can make. To learn more about making hard decisions that test the bounds of your values but ultimately make a bigger impact for the greater good take a listen to Episode #331 Making Imperfect Decisions with Erica Courdae & Tasha L. Harrison
Recommitting to your values
You may have noticed that values are infused in just about everything we do here at Being Boss. We talk about values in the Being Boss book, we explore values every year inside our Community, and values exercises are included in both our CEO Day Kit and our Boss-Owned Business group coaching.
There is a good reason for this, revisiting your values and recommitting to them annually helps you to approach your core values with more intention. It helps you live in alignment, step into your most authentic self, and be the person you most want to be.
Once you’ve started living your values, you’ll be able to better define how things feel when you are in alignment. You’ll further define what your personal values mean to you and what actions and intentions feel good in your career, relationships, your community, and in with your well-being.
4 Practical Ways to Live Your Values
Regardless of your political party, there are plenty of ways to live your values in the day-to-day operations of your business that don’t require you to be overly outspoken or potentially alienate customers. Here are a few ways that boss, Claire Swinarski has tried that have allowed her to live her values while building a profitable business.
USE YOUR GIFTS TO BENEFIT MANKIND
I’m a copywriter, and I use that gift to help other entrepreneurs beat the statistics and succeed. I’m also a freelance journalist, and I can use that gift to help shine a spotlight on causes and people that I believe are making a positive impact in the world. How can you use your event planning skills to bless the world? What about your graphic design passion or your killer recipes?
GET INVOLVED IN PROJECTS THAT MATTER
One of my clients is launching a fantastic photo series that highlights domestic violence survivors and tells their stories, and I had the honor of writing the website copy for her.
As creatives, we’re lucky to be in industries that have a lot more imagination and originality than the typical boardroom. What projects could you become involved in that are more about impact than profit? Is there a non-profit you love that you could collaborate with somehow?
Put your talents to generous use by working with non-profits that align with your values. Check out: Giving Back without Giving In—Supporting Nonprofits as a Small Business
DONATE YOUR PROFITS
Commit to donating 10% of your income in 2017 to causes that matter to you. This can be done publicly—for instance, if you hold a special one week where you announce you’ll donate 50% of your profits to the non-profit of your choice—or privately.
One of the blessings of being boss is that you can decide where the profits from your company go, and you can use them not just to impact your family’s life, but the life of your fellow citizens. No matter how much or little money you’re making, you can always make donating to causes you care about a priority.
If donating a portion of your profits sounds appealing, check out Emily’s post: How to Make Giving a Part of Your Business Model
KEEP YOUR CORE VALUES AT THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYTHING YOU DO
Many people from all political parties feel that when they look around, they see liars, thieves, and people who don’t care about others. Let your values flood your company from top to bottom. Run your company the way you wish our country was run.
Some of my values? I try to always be honest with clients, avoid making outlandish or exaggerated statements, and charge fair prices that reflect my worth allowing entrepreneurs to receive quality writing at an affordable cost.
At the end of the day, you’re the boss. If you want to rock a political cover photo or voice your healthcare opinions on Instagram, go for it! But no matter where the soapbox “line” is for you, you can still embrace your values and live them out in your work.
By doing so, you’re not only living your truth and helping others, but you’re allowing your company to flourish in a more honest way.
