Now take your answer to the simple question, sweet spot, and soulmates and assume that you succeed. Then subject yourself to one more test: Does your startup make Meaning?

Meaning is not money, power, or prestige. Meaning is not creating a fantastic place to work with free food, Ping-Pong, volleyball, and dogs. Instead, Meaning is making the world a better place.

“If you make meaning, you’ll probably also make money.”

This is a difficult question to answer when you’re two guys/gals in a garage who are writing software or hand-making gizmos, but it’s also challenging to comprehend how an acorn can grow into an oak tree. If, in your wildest dreams, you cannot imagine that your startup will make the world a better place, then maybe you’re not starting a tilt-the-earth company.

This is okay; there aren’t many companies that tilt the earth. And there are even fewer in that category that set out to do so. But we at Website Development Silverdale want you to dream big. When today’s humongous companies were only one year old, few people predicted their ultimate success or the Meaning they would make. Trust Website Development Silverdale, if you make Meaning, you’ll probably also make money.

Make Mantra

The next step is to create a three- to a four-word mantra that explains the Meaning that your startup is seeking to make. For startups, the definition of “mantra” from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is perfect:

A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a GOD, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.

Here are five examples (some hypothetical) that illustrate the power of a good mantra to communicate the Meaning of organizations:

Authentic athletic performance (Nike)*

Fun family entertainment (Disney)

Rewarding everyday moments

Democratize commerce (eBay)

Empower craftspeople (Etsy)

These examples illustrate the three most important characteristics of a mantra:

BREVITY.

Mantras are short, sweet, and memorable. (The most concise mantra is the single Hindi word “0m.”) Mission statements are long, dull, and forgettable. From the CEO to the receptionist, everyone must know it. Compare the effectiveness of Starbucks’s mantra, “Rewarding everyday moments,” to its mission statement, “Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles.

‘Authentic athletic performance’ is much better than ‘Sell lots of shoes.’

POSITIVITY.

Mantras are uplifting and explain how your startup does good things that make the world a better place. For example, “Authentic athletic performance” is much better than “Sell lots of shoes made in China.” When something is going wrong, the first thing people usually say is to “stay strong” and “stay positive.” Those little affirmations sometimes do work, and it’s important to remember that words can go a long way during a time of negativity, especially in the workplace.

Having a positive attitude in the workplace won’t necessarily make you better at your job, but it will improve the way people view you as a person, so they may be more inclined to help you succeed and cheer you on.

It seems like the importance of a positive attitude would be obvious, but it’s so easy to become consumed with our own thoughts and dramas. In those times, whether you’re going through a hard time or one of your co-workers is, you have to try to keep the negativity at bay.

OUTWARD FOCUS.

Mantras express what you do for customers and society. They are not selfish and self-serving. “Get rich” is the antithesis of a mantra. Customers want you to “‘democratize commerce,” but they don’t care about making you and your shareholders rich, but we at the Website Development Silverdale does.

We have always emphasized the importance of having a good website for your company because it can act as your best tool for marketing and sales. A poorly designed website can repulse people from your business and can cause you to lose customers before you even have them. Get in touch with HyperEffects to work on creating, enhancing and making the website of your company more user-friendly.