Grow your franchise using the seven stages of purpose

With your purpose placed at the heart of your business, you can benefit from clarity of focus and direction

There are many things to consider when taking on a franchise; the most obvious being the price, but you will need to investigate other aspects, such as up-front building work or stock and cash flow issues (these will vary depending on the sector your franchise sits in). These are all obvious pre-purchase steps, but perhaps something you should also give some thought to is how the franchise fits with your purpose. 

We are all born with a purpose. As unique as your fingerprint, it is held within your heart, your reason for being, your north star. With your purpose placed at the heart of your business, you benefit from clarity of focus and direction. On the occasions self-doubt creeps in, purpose empowers you. Decisions become easier as you choose the path aligned with the fulfilment of your purpose. In their book Built to Last (1992), Jim Collins and Jerry Porras showed that visionary companies guided by purpose are six times more profitable than purely profit-driven rivals. 

For example, US actress and filmmaker Reese Witherspoon has a purpose to share women’s stories on the big screen to change the narrative of women in US culture. She founded the production company Pacific Standard, and Hello Sunshine, to share stories written by women, with a female lead, brought to the screen by women. 

As Reese pitched her business venture to investors, she was informed that no one would want to watch films with a female lead; that this was not a profitable venture. She invested her own money, which she was also told was a mistake. 

Reese’s first two film productions with female leads, Wild and Gone Girl, grossed half a billion dollars. She also produced the hugely successful TV series Big Little Lies, The Morning Show, Little Fires Everywhere, and the film from the best-selling book Where the Crawdad Sings is due for release in July 2022. 

Your purpose doesn’t just arrive one day and is fully formed, expressed and embodied. There are recognisable stages to the growth and development of your purpose. These stages are not linear. You may experience more than one stage at a time, and some stages last longer than others. And when you become aware of the stage you are at, you have a map and can more easily participate in your purpose being fulfilled, with your franchise as the vehicle.

Here are the seven stages of purpose. Use these to create a roadmap to help you grow your franchise by following your purpose not chasing profits. Take a look and decide where you are, and this will help you define the next steps you need to take to drive your business forward, in line with your true purpose and passion.

1. Calling

You sense you have a bigger purpose than what is currently being expressed. There may be a sense of “something missing”, a frustration, a sensation pulling you towards something you can’t quite understand, it is led by a desire for more – more meaning, contribution and impact. 

Simon Haas, yoga philosopher and author of The Book of Dharma and Yoga and Dark Night of the Soul shares that your purpose emerges naturally when you live your true nature. 

This is echoed by Jill Ellis, former coach of the USA women’s soccer team sharing the experience of opening up to her team that she was married to Betsy Stephenson, a woman. Fully supported, the US women’s team went on to campaign for equal pay for women using the World Cup as their global platform. Jill said: “When I became open in who I was, I found my purpose there.” 

When you experience a calling, practice bringing more of your true nature into your business every day, and as you do, your purpose is revealed to you. 

2. Receive

As you follow your true nature, you begin to receive a sense of your purpose, the more you receive the clearer it becomes. At this stage, stay curious. Don’t deny it or push it away. Embrace and begin to own your purpose. 

3. Articulate

As you embrace your purpose, articulate it in a few simple words that inspire and resonate with your heart. The simpler the better. For example, the Teen Yoga Foundation has a purpose to empower young people through yoga so that there’s a generation of kids with self-esteem, resilience and mental wellness. Maddy Cooper, co-founder of Brilliant Noise, has a purpose of protecting the earth so that families have a bright future with sustainable marketing for brands that really mean it.

4. Align

Now your purpose is clearly articulated the next step is to align your decisions, actions, behaviours, products and services with your purpose. Let go of any aspects of your business that are not aligned with your purpose. This can take courage, but it is worth it. 

5. Embody

As you make decisions aligned with your purpose, you shift from an intellectual understanding to your purpose becoming a tangible, living expression. The more you can appreciate the deep fulfilment, value and impact embodying your purpose brings, the more you grow. 

6. Lead

As you grow in the embodiment of your true nature and purpose you are now “walking your talk”. There is a noticeable dedication, integrity and congruence and this inspires others. At this stage, as you communicate and share the wisdom of your experience openly and transparently, you become a recognised leader in your field.

7. Evolution

Your purpose, your north star, becomes an evolutionary force, both in your personal and business development taking you into the unknown, towards new frontiers. If you haven’t already, here you are invited to surrender more deeply, to let go of what wants to go and allow what wants to come.

Katharine Woodward Thomas is the best-selling author of Calling in the One: 7 Weeks to Attract the Love of Your Life. A family and marriage counsellor, Katherine developed a pioneering metaphysical process to call in your love match. She used this process to call in her life partner at 42 and they had a child together. A leader in her field, she served thousands of people to create their love match and trained hundreds of “calling in the one” coaches, speaking at international symposiums with peers Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Neale Donald Walsh. 

Then Katherine separated from her husband – her one! She speaks candidly about the vulnerability of the separation from her husband and also the vulnerability of a business built around “calling in the one”.

Led by her purpose, her north star, which she describes as “serving the thrust of love into the universe”, she was guided to separate with love, and Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After became her second book. “This wasn’t the book I wanted to write!” she says. Conscious Uncoupling became a New York Times bestseller, helping thousands of couples to separate with love, made famous by Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin consciously uncoupling. While a traditional business may have folded with this development, Katherine, led by her purpose, stepped into a significant period of discovery, growth and evolution.

Which stage do you most resonate with? And which stage do you want to invest your focus, energy and attention in next?

The author
Kat Byles is the founder of the True Business School, for creative leaders, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists and healers who want to do business differently. She works with people to find and align with their purpose and creativity to build a happy, healthy, wealthy business and world.