Why we do what we do

This month, Andy Leonard (@andyleonard) asks why do we do what do. He talks about the fact that money is rarely the only reason people become entrepreneurs, and challenges us to to explain what makes us get up in the morning.

Money is definitely not the driving force in my life. I do feel a burden of providing for my family, and don’t feel like money has ever really been a thing going spare, but I also see money as a tool to bless others rather than as something to hold onto.

For me, I created LobsterPot Solutions to help people. It’s a vehicle so I can serve people in whatever ways that I can – typically through consulting about their data, be it strategy, analytics, intelligence, data integrity, whatever. I feel like people could always do what they do better if only they had better data, if they didn’t have to worry about it, or if they could ask questions of it… all stuff that I can help with. And I have employees because it increases the reach I can have. It means we can help more people.

Of course, the company does have to be financially viable. And the employees need to be looked after in whatever ways they need. This takes money. But all of it is to provide a service to people, to help enable those people through data. Our customers do good things, whether they’re in government agencies, or health care, or charities, or mining, or whatever it is – and they’re trying to do the best they can do. So if we can help them make that best a little better, then we’re doing something right.

That’s my why.

@rob_farley