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Tabatha Jones: Today, we're talking about your why.
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Tabatha Jones: I know. Stop rolling your eyes, I can see you. If you've spent any amount of time in coaching or personal development, someone has probably told you to find your why at least 47,000 times.
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Tabatha Jones: You've probably journaled about it. Maybe it's on the vision board that you put together last year and lost it.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe someone had you write a beautiful purpose statement with inspirational music playing in the background.
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Tabatha Jones: And maybe you're thinking, Tabitha, please, for the love of God, do not make me do this shit again.
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Tabatha Jones: That's a fair friend. Because that's not what I'm talking about today.
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Tabatha Jones: I don't think your why needs to be perfect and sound super inspirational. I don't think it belongs on a post-it note above your desk. In fact, I hate post-it notes, so if you have them, let's start clearing those out.
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Tabatha Jones: And definitely, I don't think you need to manifest it under a full moon with your feet in a bowl of salt.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why has a job.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why is your North Star when building something of your own gets hard.
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Tabatha Jones: Because let's face it, it will.
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Tabatha Jones: There will be days when you're so fired up about your business and your business idea.
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Tabatha Jones: And there will also be days when corporate has kicked your ass for two straight months and you suddenly realized you haven't touched your business since July.
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Tabatha Jones: There will be things you launch that don't work.
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Tabatha Jones: People who don't buy.
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Tabatha Jones: Ideas you were convinced were brilliant.
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Tabatha Jones: That the market responds to with a, eh, it's all right.
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Tabatha Jones: Someone may give you discouraging feedback. In fact, I can assure you, it will happen at least a few times.
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Tabatha Jones: You will look at someone else's business online and think, what am I even doing?
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Tabatha Jones: That, friend, is exactly when your why matters.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why isn't for the exciting beginning.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why is for the messy middle.
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Tabatha Jones: But it still comes first in my book, and my methodology.
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Tabatha Jones: I have a very specific order that I believe you should use when building your business. I call it the foundation. And this applies especially in the coaching, consulting, and service-based business spaces.
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Tabatha Jones: And it goes in the order of why, what, who, and how.
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Tabatha Jones: The why? Why does this matter?
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Tabatha Jones: What… what problem are you solving? What skills do you want to use, or don't ever want to use again?
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Tabatha Jones: Your who, obviously, who actually has the problem you want to solve.
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Tabatha Jones: And then, how should you solve it for them?
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Tabatha Jones: Most new business owners in the coaching, consulting, and service-based spaces want to jump right into how. How am I gonna make money? I know I'll do one-on-one coaching. I'll create a group program. I'll go record 17 modules for this online course. I'll create a mastermind.
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Tabatha Jones: Oh, I know, how about a membership?
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Tabatha Jones: And as I hear these things from prospective clients, I am generally thinking.
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Tabatha Jones: Well, who asked for any of this?
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Tabatha Jones: You haven't talked to a client yet.
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Tabatha Jones: You don't fully understand their problem.
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Tabatha Jones: And you may not even know exactly who has the problem yet.
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Tabatha Jones: But somehow, you've already decided you're creating that 8-module course for $497, and then you'll go spend 3 months building it. God knows how much money, because you've got to have a platform to record it and host it.
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Tabatha Jones: And then it launches to crickets.
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Tabatha Jones: The immediate thought, because we are high performing, high functioning professional women is, well, maybe I just need better marketing. I need to get better at sales.
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Tabatha Jones: oh, I need a bigger audience. Maybe my pricing is wrong. Maybe I need to rebrand.
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Tabatha Jones: Or maybe…
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Tabatha Jones: Uh, really, friend? Maybe you created something that nobody actually asked for.
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Tabatha Jones: We'll talk about what, who, and how in future episodes, but today, we're staying with the first piece.
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Tabatha Jones: The reason I spent a little extra time on the how is because you probably are starting there, and I want you to stop what you're doing, put your pen down, and listen up.
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Tabatha Jones: We're starting with the first piece of the foundation, which is your why.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why needs to be strong enough to bring you back.
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Tabatha Jones: And I say that because.
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Tabatha Jones: Sometimes things get hard, right? And when I'm working with someone on their why, I want to understand a few things.
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Tabatha Jones: Why does this work matter to you?
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Tabatha Jones: Why do you care about this problem or these people?
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Tabatha Jones: Why are you the person to do something about it?
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Tabatha Jones: And why does solving it make a difference?
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Tabatha Jones: That's it.
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Tabatha Jones: And your answers, again, they don't have to be perfect. It doesn't have to be some thesis statement.
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Tabatha Jones: It can be very simple.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe there's a problem you've watched people struggle with throughout your career, and you know there's a better way.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you've experienced something personally and thought, nobody should have to figure this shit out the way I did.
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Tabatha Jones: That's kind of how I got here. I felt like, wow, why would people want to spend all this money when, really, I put the cart before the horse, like, 12,000 times. I started with how.
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Tabatha Jones: So, here we are. This is why I built my own methodology.
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Tabatha Jones: And, you know, some people, for some of you, maybe people have been coming to you for years asking for help with something that seems so obvious to you.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you care deeply about a particular group of people.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you want to prove that the expertise you've spent 25 years building.
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Tabatha Jones: can create value outside of your corporate title.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe part of your why is financial.
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Tabatha Jones: Good for you. You are allowed to make money. You're allowed to want money.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you want another income stream because you've realized having one employer responsible for 100% of your income.
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Tabatha Jones: isn't actually the security you've been told it is.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you want options.
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Tabatha Jones: There isn't one correct why.
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Tabatha Jones: There just needs to be one that's actually yours.
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Tabatha Jones: Because eventually, you're going to need it.
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Tabatha Jones: So let's talk a little about the messy middle. So you've been building your business on the side, you're making progress, then work explodes, everything hits the fan, you're put on this massive project, and then, oh, there's a reorg, or your boss leaves. Suddenly you're working 60, 65, 70 hours a week.
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Tabatha Jones: Two months go by your business. It's on the back burner, just solid cricket sounds. You haven't posted, you haven't followed up with anyone. You haven't worked on anything related to your business. You barely remember the password for your Google Drive where all your notes are stored.
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Tabatha Jones: Then finally, Saturday morning arrives, you're feeling rested and refreshed.
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Tabatha Jones: And without a strong why, it's really easy to say, you know what, maybe I'll start back on this next weekend.
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Tabatha Jones: And let's just binge Netflix today.
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Tabatha Jones: Well, next weekend will turn into next month. Next month will become 6 months from now.
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Tabatha Jones: And eventually, you'll be sitting there, maybe 3, 4, 5 years later, saying.
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Tabatha Jones: I've had this idea for years. What happened?
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Tabatha Jones: Friend, your why is what brings you back. It reminds you.
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Tabatha Jones: This mattered to me.
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Tabatha Jones: That's exactly why I started.
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Tabatha Jones: This is worth one intentional hour today.
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Tabatha Jones: Or maybe you finally launched something. You've worked on it for months. You're convinced this is the thing.
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Tabatha Jones: You've done your due diligence. Launch day arrives and two people buy or nobody buys. Ouch.
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Tabatha Jones: It will sting.
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Tabatha Jones: And I don't care how much mindset work you've done.
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Tabatha Jones: That will suck a little. Your brain will immediately start telling you, see, this was stupid. Nobody wants this. Who do you think you are? Your why.
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Tabatha Jones: friend doesn't magically turn a failed launch into a success.
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Tabatha Jones: What it does is much more useful.
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Tabatha Jones: It reminds you.
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Tabatha Jones: This mattered enough for me to learn from what happened and keep going.
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Tabatha Jones: I've learned a lot of lessons along the way. I've had a lot of failures over the years I've been in business. But every single one, I've been able to get back to my why, take the lesson, and move on.
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Tabatha Jones: And we learn maybe the offer was wrong or the audience was wrong, maybe the timing was wrong.
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Tabatha Jones: Maybe you created something no one asked for because that due diligence didn't happen.
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Tabatha Jones: Fine. Learn from it, adjust it, and keep moving.
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Tabatha Jones: Or sometimes, maybe someone you love might tell you, that'll never work. The market's too crowded. Why would someone pay you for that?
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Tabatha Jones: You have a good job, why would you risk it? I heard that a lot, especially as I was preparing to leave.
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Tabatha Jones: Sometimes people who genuinely love us, they're also trying to protect us.
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Tabatha Jones: And their fear doesn't get to drive our decision.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why helps you separate useful feedback.
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Tabatha Jones: And what you're feeling and your desires.
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Tabatha Jones: from someone else's fear.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why is the steady part.
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Tabatha Jones: And here's what I really want you to remember.
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Tabatha Jones: Your business?
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Tabatha Jones: May change. I don't even know why I say may change because.
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Tabatha Jones: It will change. It will probably change. Mine's changed a ton. It'll change. Your offer? It may change. Your audience? May change. Your pricing?
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Tabatha Jones: It will likely change. Your business model may change your website. Good Lord, it'll definitely change. That's why we don't wanna start with that.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why will be the steady thread running through all of it. It doesn't guarantee success.
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Tabatha Jones: It doesn't replace strategy.
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Tabatha Jones: You'll still need to take the next steps of figuring out the what and the who, and eventually, the how.
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Tabatha Jones: But your why gives all of that strategy a reason to exist.
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Tabatha Jones: And that is exactly why it comes first.
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Tabatha Jones: So the homework you didn't ask for, before you do another damn thing for your business, I want you to answer these four questions.
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Tabatha Jones: Why does this matter for me? Why does this matter to me?
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Tabatha Jones: Why do I care about this problem or these people?
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Tabatha Jones: Why am I the person to do something about it?
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Tabatha Jones: And why could solving it make a meaningful difference?
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Tabatha Jones: Don't make your answers pretty. Don't judge yourself. We are such accomplished women.
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Tabatha Jones: But we judge ourselves so much. I don't want you to judge yourself. Whatever comes out is right for you, and that's okay.
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Tabatha Jones: It doesn't have to be pretty, it doesn't have to be perfect, it doesn't have to sound like a TED talk that you're gonna read on stage.
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Tabatha Jones: But make them true, and then save them somewhere. Somewhere that's easy to find. A doc on your desktop, maybe.
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Tabatha Jones: Because the truth is.
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Tabatha Jones: You're not only going to need your why today to get started.
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Tabatha Jones: You're going to need it when corporate gets crazy, when life gets crazy, when you're tired, when something doesn't sell, when someone tells you your idea won't work.
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Tabatha Jones: Ugh, when you start comparing your Step 1 to someone else's Step 1 million.
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Tabatha Jones: That's when you come back to your why.
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Tabatha Jones: Your why isn't some woo woo bullshit.
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Tabatha Jones: In my world, it is your North Star.
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Tabatha Jones: And it keeps you on track when everything else around you gets noisy.
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Tabatha Jones: And.
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Tabatha Jones: you know I have a book coming out very soon, and it is exactly why I created this playbook. It's the Idea to Income playbook. We start with why.
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Tabatha Jones: And…
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Tabatha Jones: Why?
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Tabatha Jones: The entire idea to income framework follows the same order.
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Tabatha Jones: So you'll learn a whole lot more in that book if you grab your copy. Um, it starts with why, then what, then who, then how. Always in that order.
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Tabatha Jones: And if you want help getting started, grab my free Idea to Income Jumpstart and Kit. The link will be in the show notes.
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Tabatha Jones: Our book is launching October 1st, 2026, so very shortly after this episode launches.
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Tabatha Jones: And we're going to keep digging into this framework here on the podcast too.
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Tabatha Jones: But for now, I want you to figure out your why. Write it down. Go deep.
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Tabatha Jones: Don't worry about being perfect. It's more important to be deep and real.
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Tabatha Jones: And the next time life knocks your business a little bit off that priority list, pull out your why, remember where you started, and get back to work. Just one intentional hour at a time.
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Tabatha Jones: We'll see you next week, friends.
