Rule #1 -
Growth Doesn't Just Happen
All hospitality business owners want their brands to grow. It is the driving force behind starting a business. But when it comes to building an emerging brand, growth is not just a goal. It is a necessity.
The difference between a typical entrepreneur and a Brand Builder lies in how they approach growth. While entrepreneurs aim to grow for external rewards, Brand Builders need to grow because it fulfills something deeper within them.
Growth is more than just financial success or external validation. It is the fuel that keeps them moving forward and gives purpose to their passion, energy, and time.
The Brand Builder vs. The Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs and business owners often chase growth for tangible rewards. They envision the financial security and the lifestyle that comes with a successful business. They dream of buying a beautiful home, driving a new car, taking luxurious vacations, and enjoying indulgent experiences. There is nothing wrong with these aspirations. However, this approach is primarily driven by external motivations.
External motivations are about what you can get rather than what you can give. When progress slows or success feels out of reach, external motivations start to lose their power. The dream of a luxurious lifestyle fades when results do not come quickly, leaving many entrepreneurs disheartened.
This is precisely why external motivations are often temporary. The excitement of owning a dream house or taking an exotic vacation wears off the longer it takes to achieve the business success you had hoped for.
Eventually, you might find yourself slipping back into old routines. Six months ago, you were excited about your brand's potential, thinking about all the possibilities. But now, as your business has not yet achieved the results you expected, your focus starts to shift.
Instead of dreaming about your business's success, you might find yourself more concerned with making it through the day, planning a weekend outing, or watching a new movie at the theater.
The Way of the Brand Builder
The second approach, the way of the Brand Builder, is to work on their business because they feel compelled to. There is a burning desire within them to see their brand grow and thrive. Every step of the journey is deeply fulfilling.
The first thought they have in the morning is about their vision for creating an exceptional brand and what they can do that day to move closer to their goals. This motivation is primarily internal. It comes from what they can contribute to their brand rather than what they hope to gain from it.
Unlike the typical entrepreneur, the hours spent working do not drain the Brand Builder. The process itself is energizing. While they might share similar dreams of financial success or a comfortable lifestyle, these are not their driving forces. Their primary motivation is their obsession with their business and the satisfaction they feel from building something extraordinary.
When results fall short of expectations, the Brand Builder does not feel discouraged or defeated. They do not simply work harder in frustration. Instead, they take a step back, assess the situation, and focus on finding solutions to move forward.
Brand Builders are driven by what they can contribute to their business to make it succeed. Entrepreneurs, in contrast, are focused on what they can gain from their efforts.
This distinction is why Brand Builders are more likely to achieve long-term success. Over my twenty years of working with hospitality entrepreneurs across the country, I have seen this pattern repeat itself time and again.
The business owners who succeed are always the ones motivated by what they can give to their business rather than what they can get out of it.
Let me explain what I mean with an example that will help you understand the difference. Starting a business is very much like entering into a relationship. No, I do not believe in the idea of being "married to your work"...that idea is far too extreme.
However, there is a real truth in the idea that starting your own business is like forming a relationship with it. The principles of building and maintaining a relationship with your business are not so different from those of nurturing a relationship with another person.
Most of us enter into relationships for the same reasons. As human beings, we crave connection, companionship, and intimacy with others. Similarly, most business owners start their businesses because they crave success. They want to create something meaningful and see it thrive.
When entering a relationship, there are two ways to approach it. The first approach is to focus primarily on what you can get out of the relationship. You might seek the other person's attention, validation, or care, but if they do not meet your expectations, you begin to feel disappointed.
You might even hold back from being truly open and vulnerable, while still expecting the other person to meet your needs and fulfill your desires. Over time, this approach can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction, causing you to gradually drift away from the relationship.
This is similar to how many entrepreneurs approach their businesses. They start with high hopes, driven by the rewards they want to achieve. But when the results do not come quickly, they begin to lose interest.
Instead of staying committed to their vision, they become discouraged and start focusing more on other parts of their lives. Before they know it, the enthusiasm they once had for their business is gone, and they return to the routines of their old lives.
The second approach is to focus on what you can put into the relationship. While you still crave connection and intimacy, you understand that relationships require effort, vulnerability, and genuine commitment.
Just as a bird needs two wings to fly, you recognize that building something meaningful requires you to give as much as you hope to receive. You are present, supportive, and open to the other person. You find fulfillment not in what you get from the relationship but in the shared experiences and the growth you achieve together.
This principle applies directly to the relationship you form with your business. Brand Builders understand that to create something truly successful, they need to fully commit their energy, passion, and time to their business. Their motivation is not only the external rewards but the deep satisfaction they find in the daily work of building and nurturing their brand.
Brand Builders see the process of working on their business as a journey they grow through each day. They are not discouraged by setbacks or slow results, because they are motivated by what they are building rather than by immediate gratification. They thrive in the act of creating, and their commitment to their business is what ultimately allows it to succeed.
This brings us to a fundamental question. Before we dive deeper, we must first ask ourselves: what does "growth" really mean?
What Is Growth for You?
I recently had the privilege of attending a meeting for one of my son's activities. The organizer, clearly aware that the group of parents in the room wasn't entirely satisfied with how things had been handled so far, posed a question to all of us. He asked, "What would success look like for this summer?"
We all paused, caught off guard by the simplicity of the question. In truth, each of us probably had a different vision of what success looked like. Yet, when confronted with the question, most of us couldn't articulate an answer. It wasn't that we didn't have ideas. The issue was that none of us had stopped to truly define what success meant to us, even though we knew we weren't happy with the results so far.
Isn't this the same for businesses?
Consider a customer walking into a store. They assume they know what they want: to find and purchase a specific product. But once they step inside, they often don't know where to look. At that moment, they realize they need guidance, either from signage or a salesperson. They came in with a general idea of success (leaving with the product they wanted) but the path to achieving that wasn't as clear as they initially thought.
This same dynamic often plays out with business owners. Your family and friends might assume they understand your vision of success. But if you were to ask them directly to describe it, they would likely hesitate, stumble, or give a vague answer. In turn, they might ask you to explain your own vision for success, and it might surprise you to find yourself hesitating or stumbling too.
If you can't clearly define what success looks like for you and your business, that's okay. Many business owners believe they know the answer, but when faced with the question, they struggle to articulate it. You're not alone in this.
The key is recognizing the importance of defining success. By doing so, you give yourself a clear target to aim for, a vision to guide your efforts, and a standard against which you can measure your progress....
