September 20, 2024
Story [#9]

Why?

Or a minute of purpose.

Ever asked yourself why you do what you do?

Yes, I mean business.

Really asked.

Dug deep inside yourself.

Sorted things out?

Most people start with, “To make money and live comfortably.”

Later on, many change their WHY.

Once they gain more experience and perspective.

Have you thought about it?

What’s the goal of any business?

To make a profit.

Period.

Entrepreneurship, in essence, is the same.

It’s about profit.

But...

There’s a difference.


X-Pert
Business is a system, a process, a set of functions to deliver value and earn profit.
X-Pert
An inanimate object, really.
X-Pert
A tool.
X-Pert
A machine.
The Founder
Entrepreneurship is about solving problems.
The Founder
It’s about searching, understanding, vision, and action.

And often, that goal isn’t just profit.

Here are two examples that probably most stand out:

Coca-Cola.

A perfect example of a finely tuned, flawlessly operating machine.

There’s nothing entrepreneurial left here.

All the shareholders care about is profit.

Anything an entrepreneur could create was done decades ago.

New bottles, ad campaigns, flavor variations—

it’s all just part of a well-oiled system.

Nothing more.

Elon Musk.

Founder of countless companies.

Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, X, Neuralink, The Boring Company, Hyperloop...

For him, they’re just tools.

Like a hammer.

To solve problems that Musk finds important for himself and… for humanity.

They’re all connected in some way.

Reinforcing and complementing each other.

But, ultimately, they’re resources for achieving a goal.

Just like microchips, aluminum, or technology.

Nothing more.

Obviously, these are very polar examples.

There’s a whole spectrum in between.

From hungry startups to heavily regulated global corporations.

So, why do entrepreneurs start businesses?

Simon Sinek explained this well in his Golden Circle theory: “Start With Why.”

The entrepreneur is the WHY.

The foundation.

Business is the HOW and WHAT.

The shell.

Or, as I like to say, the tool.

The Founder
When I started, I didn’t even realize I was building a business. I just wanted to support my family when my day job wasn’t enough.
X-Pert
And? What’s changed since then?
The Founder
Honestly, not much. Except I don’t want to build a big company anymore.
X-Pert
Wasn’t that your WHY?
The Founder
Haha, smarter now? No, I just figured myself out.
X-Pert
Figured out what’s truly important?
The Founder
Exactly. Beyond money, my WHY is helping non-technical entrepreneurs scale their businesses and get their time back.
X-Pert
It’s pretty rewarding to see how you’re helping someone make their life better.

Entrepreneurs create businesses to achieve goals.

And those goals change over time.

Some create startups with one goal—to sell.

Whatever they say, it’s about the money.

Maybe it’s a bit of a game, too.

But mostly, it’s about money.

Others build lifestyle businesses for decades.

Adapting to the times.

Pour their soul into it.

Selling it?

Why?

That’s fine.

There are no rules.

What you decide is right.

Business gives opportunities.

To leverage efforts.

To reach goals.

But the most important thing?

Understand your WHY.

Reflect on it.

It’ll give you peace of mind.

And help you see the path to your goals.

You can’t get somewhere if you don’t know where or why you’re going.

If you want to know more about other mess-ups and lessons on my entrepreneurial journey — subscribe to Eugene’s Stories.

See you soon!

- Eugene

And one more thing.

A quick video I made on the topic. Might be useful.

Every founder has their own way of getting through hard days.

Mine is Nyx Thorne — a fictional hero I created to remind myself that clarity, courage, and rebellion are always possible.

Her journal reminds me (and maybe you) that it’s okay to struggle — and still move forward.
That’s all for today. See you next week.
- Eugene

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Autjor avatar

Hi, I’m Eugene.

Strategist, operator, and product builder helping founders escape operational chaos and build businesses that work without them.

Over the past 20+ years, I’ve grown an international agency from one-person freelance to a multimillion-dollar business. I’ve led teams, scaled systems, burned out, rebuilt, and learned (the hard way) what it really takes to run a business that doesn’t consume your life.
Today, I work with small business owners and independent founders who’ve outgrown hustle advice and need practical structure.

I help them make sense of complexity, design simple systems, and create the kind of business they actually want to run.

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