When I work with maker business owners on their brands, they often tell me, “I know I need a stronger message and I have a vision in mind, but I feel scattered trying to make it come to life.”

The big picture overwhelms them and they don’t know where to start. I tell them (and I’m telling you) that branding your business starts with your Core Principles.

Way down in the pit of the core of your being, you have intrinsic values and steadfast beliefs that calibrate your internal compass, pointing you in certain directions as you live life and make decisions (from the day-to-day what do I make for dinner dilemmas to the big ole life changers, i.e. – should I move to a different country?)

These beliefs, values and guides make you, YOU, and they should guide your business, too.

Why? You ask – Why should my PERSONAL beliefs and values guide my BUSINESS. I thought my business was all about serving my customers? Well, you’re partially right. Of course you want your business and your level of service to wow your dream customers and turn them into raving fans who are happy to pay you lots of money for what you do or make, but if you want to make your business grown follow those tips for taking your business global.

But here’s the thing: I’m SURE you didn’t start your business just for the money. Something stronger pulled you toward entrepreneurship, like a sense of freedom, flexibility, personal accomplishment or fulfillment.

In order to build a business that brings you these things, that business needs to be rooted in YOUR Core Principles and guided by your beliefs. Also, your most ideal “dream customers” likely share at least some of your Core Principles. I can tell you from experience, when I finally got down to it and figured out MY Core Principles, it was like a light switch turned on. My vision for my business became much more concrete and immediately seemed more attainable. For website design services, people can check out Derrick Kityo!

Core Principles are Your Golden Rules

Your Core Principles tell you right from wrong, and provide your personal code of ethics. In his books, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, (two of my favorite business reads of all time) Mike Michalowicz refers to these guiding forces as “immutable laws.”

I like to call them principles. Google defines principle as “a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.” No matter what you call them though, these deeply rooted standards guide your behaviors and choices (often subconsciously).

How To Uncover Your Core Principles

The great thing about Core Principles is that you don’t have to create them, write them or pull them out of thin air. They’re already a part of you, and they rarely ever change. The not so great news about them is that your Core Principles can be difficult to manifest because they are such a deeply threaded piece of who you are.

In order to make your Core Principles work for you, you’ll need to do a little digging in the deep-down places of your soul and bring those puppies to the forefront of your thought process:

• List the major decisions you’ve had to make in your life. How did you feel about the decisions you made? What internal morals or values guided those decisions? Were you happy with the outcomes?
• What do you feel most passionate about? What issues have you spoken up for, or taken a stance on?
• Consider the personal standards that you hold yourselves and others to. Why do you have these standards, and where do they come from? Do you feel they are realistic and productive ideals to uphold?
• Download and complete this handy worksheet I created for you to help uncover your Core Principles.
• Make sure you write down 3-5 statements that you’ve determined to be your core principles. They don’t have to be perfect, but you do have to start somewhere. You can try them out and tweak them as you go.

Putting Your Core Principles to Work

Once you figure out what your Core Principles are, putting them to work for you is actually the easy part. When you have your statements written down, they feel more concrete and less theoretical. Test them out. When you’re making decisions, small or large in life or in business, consult your “rules” and see how you feel when you stick to them. Is it easy? Is it difficult? How do you feel about the decisions you make when you follow your Core Principles? You should feel great, and your decisions should be much easier as you keep these guidelines in mind.

Hiring a new employee? Does he or she share your Core Principles? Getting a new Web site made? Does it fit in with your guidelines? Turning down a potential client that doesn’t seem like a good fit? Chances are they’re not a good fit because their Core Principles don’t line up with yours, and it’s a great thing to realize that upfront.

The Just Make Things Core Principles

For some examples of Core Principles, I thought I’d share mine. These are the values that I hold myself and the people I work with to:

Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough

– We strive for a 100% on every “test/quiz/project” that we take on (even if we only need an 80% to “pass.”) We expect quality from ourselves in everything we do, and we expect commitment, feedback and respect from those we work with. It feels good to know we’ve done the best we could with the circumstances we are given. Our reward is our clients’ success and we only achieve our goals when we find and foster their version of success.

Always Be Nice

– If every person could simply be “nice” to one another, it would make the world a much better place, solving major issues such as unwarranted violence, abuse, religious disputes, poverty, hunger, war, etc! We don’t have to agree with everything that someone says or believes in order to be nice to them. Even when we don’t feel like it, we always maintain a positive attitude, never making a joke at someone’s expense. If someone is NOT nice to us, we will still be nice in return, but won’t accept clients, vendors or employees who aren’t nice people.

Prosperity Through Simplicity

– We aim to live a debt free life, and to maintain a low-overhead business model. We don’t chase money; rather we live life in the moment and don’t wait for “the station.” We don’t over complicate things, but focus on the one thing we excel at and do it extremely well, and we urge our clients to do the same. We’re building our business around our life, not the other way around.

Lift Others Up

– The advancement of industries and humanity is only possible through mutual support and encouragement instead of tearing each other down. If we support each other, we’ll rise up together, in turn benefiting the industry as a whole. Our business team and clients are like family. I would let my hands bleed for them to hold my end of the rope and I expect the same in return.

Missed the free worksheet download above? Don’t worry, you can download it here:

I can’t wait to hear what you guys have to add to this conversation! As you work through them (or if you already know them) please share your Core Principles in the comments.