Melanie
Welcome to the Monday Morning Marketing Podcast for all decision makers and action takers. Take it away, Esther.
Esther
Good morning and welcome to another episode of the Monday Morning Marketing podcast. Today we're talking about your why, and why your why is so important, and why you shouldn't forget your why. Is that enough whys?
Melanie
Why not?
Esther
Why not? So we always get asked, what's your why? Why are you running your business? Why are you working in the job you're working in? Why do you do what you do? Why do you want to earn money? Why? It's a big question with just three little letters. So why do it?
Melanie
I think a lot of us start with a why and then get absorbed into the role, or maybe they found a passion project, or they've, I've got a job now and it pays the bills and I function. And I think people forget what their why is or their why changes, which also happens.
Esther
Yes, your why can change. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. So we were talking just before starting to record this. Our why as mothers basically is our children. So being around when they're young and being available to them, which is why I work from home and both our jobs are very flexible in that we can take projects or not take projects based on their needs. And we were just, again, before recording this, talking about why certain events are happening in the coming months and for years that will mean that both Melanie and myself will not be able to go to different events around the world. When I say around the world, because, social media marketing world was amazing. But our kids are more important than going to the events and networking and having the crack, as we say here in Ireland, because they are what motivates us to do better, to work harder, to have the clients that we have or to not take the clients that we don't take?
Melanie
I think for me, I had a choice when I started. To be agile, I could do an SNA role, a special needs assistant role, which would involve working at schools, maybe not the kids' schools, but a It would be within the hours that the kids were at school, so that was really handy. Or the only other option I saw near me was home baker, and I wasn't a home baker. At the time, these special needs assistance or SNAs, the funding had been taken. There was other things going on at the time, so they weren't looking for new people to become SNAs. So it was home baker or something else. So I opted for something else. Something else. I'm so glad I did. It was also depending on what was available and what was it within my then skill set as well.
Esther
Yeah. Okay. But it is important to, like you said, recognize what your why is, first of all, and that your why can change. So our kids are growing up now. They're getting to the stage where they'll not need us as much.
Melanie
It's just taxi service now.
Esther
Well, that's what I was going to say. One of mine will be driving in a couple of years, so I'm hoping to delegate the taxi driving to him as well. But they'll always need us for something. And that I think a lot of mums and dads can feel that draw or that need to always be around round for their kids, even when they're older and have moved out or whatever. But I think it is good when your kids move on and move out to change your why. Your why might have started with wanting a flexible work environment so that you could be around for your kids, but it might turn into having a flexible work environment so you can go and travel more or so that you can have Fridays off or any day of the week, basically. A lot of people here on Mondays. Good day to have off. But if your why is financially motivated to buy the house and pay off the mortgage and you get to the end of that and go, well, that's completed. Then do you keep working? Do you keep going for the high paid jobs? Do you retire early? Do you take a lower paid job that is more aligned with your actual love for something that you want to do? All of these things are things that you can incorporate or change as you go through life and your why it changes.
Melanie
I mean, a lot of the people that are listening to this podcast would be people who already do marketing. A lot of you will be small to medium-sized businesses, maybe sole traders. And you'll be doing not just your own marketing, but your client's marketing as well. So this is also important for you to understand the motivation and the whys of your clients as well, because there may be an undercurrent of a mission that they're not even realizing because they set up their business so long ago or the concept was born so long ago. They don't remember their why. So it might be worth going back to your clients and to your customers and saying, what is your current why? And is it different from the one that motivated you at the beginning of your business? And that can be another another way of instilling content ideas, more stratagems, goals, objectives, stuff they hadn't thought about for a long time.
Esther
Exactly. So understanding your why is different to your what. What do you do? It is delving into underlying reasons, underlying emotions, motivations, purpose. A lot of people forget get what their purpose is or what their purpose wants to be. So I have a client who started off as a chartered accountant because she was putting her husband through university, and so they needed the money. And once then, once he got a high paid job and life got easier in inverted commas, she went on to do her passion project, which is being writer. So it was just because you start doing one thing, like we said before, it doesn't mean that you have to always continue doing that.
Melanie
Absolutely not.
Esther
You could start with a passion project, a hobby that turns into something that makes you money, or you could start with something that you hate doing, but you need to because your why, whether it's financial or time-orientated or location-orientated, could be your reason for now, and then you can have further options open up to you later on.
Melanie
I guess the reason why we wanted to cover this particular talk is When you set up your business, something motivated you. It could have been opportunity, it could have been chance, but something underneath made you go for that opportunity or that chance. Was it something inherent? Was it something you already have a proven track record of? Or is it, I'm going to give this a go? Try and understand what your why is now and what your why was then, and see the journey that you've taken. Because my why today is quite different from my why back then. Now, at the time of recording, I am going to date this, I'm sorry. Today is 12 years to the day since I opened my Facebook page and I made my website go live. So what started me back then is quite different to why I'm still doing it today. My audience is quite different to who it was back then as well. So understanding the differences helps you show growth, proven track record, and motivation. So this is why we wanted to do one on what is your why.
Esther
And if you've been counting up the number of times we've said why in this episode, bravo. But okay, let's give a more recent example. So we started this podcast on the dare, on on a win on a comment that was made to us. But that's not why we continue to do it.
Melanie
In fact, some of us have tried to stop doing it more than once.
Esther
Yes, we both have. We both have tried to stop doing it. Don't just pin it all on one. But our why for doing it is to give you the information, bite-sized chunks, give you an outlet as well to come on the podcast and share your expertise, to share our knowledge, to share our guests' knowledge, to stop gatekeeping.
Melanie
Gatekeeping. I like that.
Esther
Yeah. To stop gatekeeping the information that so many other people keep behind their paywalls or behind their, Oh, sign up for my membership to get that information. No, we want to give it to you as is. Plus We enjoy the crack of talking to you and talking to our guests and talking to each other. And, Melanie annoying me. We enjoy that.
Melanie
We enjoy me annoying you. Oh, hell, yes.
Esther
Will it be the same? We've been doing this for five years now, over five years. Will it be the same if we continue for another five years? No.
Melanie
No.
Esther
Because by that point, we'd be too old to even remember what our why was in the first place. But, Melanie, you made a really interesting point there about your website opening at 12 years ago. Is it the same as it was twelve years ago?
Melanie
Definitely not. My first website was a very basic WordPress I paid for the hosting and the domain. I paid for the hosting for two years, paid for the domain for two years. I did it myself, doing a cheap course. And it was It was functional. That's probably the best way to describe it. It wasn't disgusting, it wasn't broken, it wasn't... But it was rubbish, but it was functional. And It helped get me found in search. That's all it needed to do.
Esther
So it has moved. It has changed with the times just like you have. It now reflects your why, it now reflects your what as well.
Melanie
It's huge in comparison to what it was then. I think it was like five pages back then. Yeah. Over 240, 250 at this stage.
Esther
Wow. But making sure you update your social channels, your website, your business cards, your bios and everything that you're doing to also reflect your why is important when you do recognize or realize that it has changed. So that's what I want to leave you with today, to look at your why. Look at why your why is important, and look at where your why needs changed.
Melanie
Please tell us how many whys were said. Thank you so much for listening today, guys. We hope you've got you thinking about your why, about how important it is. And if you've got any revelatory comments, maybe you've got a very different why to where you were when you first started, like us, then we would love to hear from you. Make sure you tag us, make sure you mention this episode, and we'd love to chat to you online. So that's all the time we have for, for now. We'll be back next week with another podcast. Bye for now.
Esther
Bye-bye.
I reckon it's over 50 anyway.
Melanie
Do you reckon? As many as that?
Esther
Oh, definitely. I mean, I said at least 10 in the first 30 seconds.
Melanie
Do you know, I think you might be right. I think you did. I'm going to count. I always listen to... I always relisten to every single episode. I'm going to count.
