The one thing stopping your growth

January really had it in for us this year.

This month has been one of the hardest since I started Studio Self-Made four years ago.

We turned down a £50k project. A £25k project hit a major delay.

Most days felt like walking through treacle.

Over the last six months, we’d been ‘experimenting’, testing new services, exploring different markets. But after 6 months of experimenting, we realised we were drifting.

As a business, there are a lot of things we can do, but that doesn’t mean we should do them.

Then realisation hit: We’d lost sight of our mission.

We took a step back and thought, “What are we doing all of this work for?”

The real reason → We want to create the go-to support platform and community for founders who are building because that is what we NEEDED earlier on in our journey.

So what is our mission?

Keep reading to see how we figured it out (and how you can too!)

Hot Takes 🔥 If you feel stuck, this is what you’re missing

You’ve started this thing, invested your soul and believe you’re onto something good. But it doesn’t feel good.

Something is off. People aren’t seeing what you’re seeing.

Sure, they’re smiling and nodding along, but they’re just not buying into your vision. And you don’t know why.

Eventually, your energy fades, depleted by trying to desperately answer the 3 am question: What am I missing?

WHAT YOU’RE MISSING

We’ve all been told to focus on selling the benefits and not the features. Features are fundamentally forgettable because they are uninspiring; they don’t directly address the problems that customers want solved.

A list of benefits can also feel uninspiring, especially when everybody focuses on a singular outcome - there is little to no differentiation.

We encourage you to go deeper.

To the mission.

THE MISSION

At Lucky Founders, we are on a mission to support 100,000 founders.

That’s it.

Clean. Clear. Simple.

A mission gets attention. It’s something people can get behind, and it instantly communicates an incredibly strong sense of what your brand stands for.

Mission exudes authority. Mission sets you apart.

“We help founders [insert spiel wrapped around a range of services].”

or

“We’re on a mission to support 100,000 founders.”

The latter piques curiosity and warrants a conversation. The former risks them gripping their coffee cup and looking around the room for somebody more interesting.

The moment we started talking about our mission, everything felt clearer - to us and our audience.

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU TALK TO

The mission keeps you, well, on mission. By defining so clearly what you stand for, anything that is off-mission is cut. This keeps your goals and integrity intact.

That potential client dangling a sugar-coated carrot, which would pay the bills for the next six months, but doesn’t hit the mission? Cut.

The glossy project that glows with cool, but doesn’t hit the mission? Cut.

One of the biggest downfalls in business is burning time by speaking to the wrong people or chasing hazy dreams - all because of a lack of focus. Mission sharpens focus like nothing else.

WHAT’S YOUR MISSION?

This is a bold, aspirational sentence that punches through to the point.

Something you would feel proud to say at a networking event as your opening line.

Consider your values, goals and deeper purpose.

Your mission cannot be ignored.

Steal Our Strategy 👀 The ONLY thing that will 10x your business growth

Introverts are going to hate us for this one, but we promise it’s worth it.

Networking is so much more than a room full of people clambering for opportunities,

Networking is the opportunity.

An opportunity to get the one thing that will evolve your business with every conversation: feedback.

Over the past six months, Emma and I have spoken to hundreds of people about our business, each time carefully noting the feedback we have received - much of it unspoken.

Did the message land? Were they bored? What lit them up? Was the pricing too low? Are we in the right rooms? These questions, and many more, fuel discussions that move the business forward.

Networking is research, marketing and opportunity rolled into one. It’s the fastest way to get real feedback on your ideas.

And if there’s food…