After owning a couple of business for a few years and studying other successful companies, I’ve found that creating a business based on values gives everyone in the organization a road map to follow. It helps business owners create a vision for their company by focusing on traits and qualities that are meaningful. It gives direction to employees because they can feel the vision in their hearts as well.

For the small business owner, I believe there are four aspects of building a business based on values, and they make up the two kinds of work you will do:

• The Inner Work is made up of Spiritual and Emotional Aspects
• The Outer Work is made up of Mental and Physical Aspects

Creating a business you love is about knowing what matters most to you and creating a structure that will support you as you communicate and sell your passion to the world. Doing Inner Work helps you to understand what you need in place to work with integrity and authenticity. The Outer Work is the organization of the processes that you will physically implement to build your business.

The Inner and Outer work you do is concurrent and ongoing. As you do the mental organizing and physical work of the business, you will constantly be checking in with your emotions and your Spirit to make sure you are on the right track. The Inner Work you do helps you to create powerful goals with purpose and confidence, and you will be more likely to follow through to complete them.

In this four-part series, I’ll share what I have found makes up the Inner and Outer Work of building a business. In part two, we will take a closer look at the Spiritual and Emotional Aspects involved in the Inner Work of creating a values-based business. In the meantime, I will share three books that talk about integrating values in business and life:

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” – Stephen R. Covey

“The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” – Michael E. Gerber

“Managing with Aloha: Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business”

- Rosa Say

These posts may also inspire you:

1. The Outer Work of Building Your Birth Business – Part 4
2. The Inner Work of Building Your Birth Business – The Spiritual Aspect – Part 2
3. The Inner Work of Building Your Birth Business – The Emotional Aspect – Part 3
4. How to Keep Your Business Moving Forward
5. Looking Back At Small Business – What Did I Learn?