Purpose without profit is charity. Profit without purpose is extraction. Most small business owners are stuck between two bad options: chasing revenue with no apparent reason why or being so committed to their mission that they’re three months from breaking. The businesses that compound have figured out how to make purpose and profit reinforce each other. They’ve aligned their strengths with what the market actually needs.
Dan Martell talks about designing your business around the life you want, not just the revenue you need. Chris Voss teaches that the best outcomes come from understanding what the other side truly values. Both point to the same insight: clarity on your purpose isn’t soft. It’s strategic.
The Purpose Test
Purpose isn’t a tagline. It’s a filter for every decision. Here’s the test: Does your purpose tell you which clients to say no to? Which features to build and ignore? When to walk away from revenue?
If not, you don’t have purpose. You have marketing copy. The real purpose is operational. It shows up in how you allocate time, capital, and attention. Voss would call this “tactical clarity”—you can’t negotiate effectively if you don’t know what you’re optimizing for.
The Three Questions
- What would you build if money weren’t a constraint?
Not fantasy—what would you build if you knew you’d make enough to live comfortably? The answer reveals what you care about when you strip away the pressure to maximize revenue. - Who are you actually trying to serve?
Not “everyone who might pay us.” Who specifically? “Technical founders who hate sales and need a system to generate leads without feeling slimy” are specific enough to build around. “Small business owners” aren’t. - What’s the change you’re trying to create?
Not the product. What’s the difference in the world because your business exists? If your answer is “my clients make more money,” keep going. Why does that matter? What becomes possible for them?
The specificity of your answers determines the strength of your purpose.
Purpose as Competitive Advantage
When you’re clear on why you exist, you stop competing on price. You stop saying yes to every prospect. You build for the specific outcome you’re trying to create, and the right customers find you.
This is how small businesses beat bigger competitors. Not by having more resources—by having more clarity. While they’re optimizing for TAM and market share, you’re optimizing for impact with a specific group that cares about what you care about.
Martell calls this “building your perfect day.” When your purpose and business model align, work stops feeling like work.
The Purpose-Profit Loop
Purpose attracts the right customers. The right customers are willing to pay premium prices because you solve their specific problem better than anyone else. Premium prices give you a margin. Margin gives you freedom to invest in better systems, better people, and a more profound impact. Deeper impact attracts even better customers. But it only works if you’re willing to reply to the wrong customers.
Voss teaches that the best negotiators aren’t afraid of “no.” Every time you say no to a bad-fit client, you’re learning what you actually stand for. Every time you turn down misaligned revenue, you’re clarifying your position.
The businesses that scale fastest say no to almost everything, so they can be exceptional at the one thing they’ve chosen to do.
What This Looks Like
- Hiring: You’re looking for people who care about the same outcome. Skills are trainable. Alignment isn’t.
- Client selection: You have clear criteria for who you work with. Price isn’t the only variable.
- Product decisions: You’re building your specific customer’s problem, not matching competitors.
- Marketing: You’re attracting people who already share your beliefs.
- Pricing: You charge based on value created, not hours worked.
When the purpose is clear, these decisions get easier.
Warning Signs You’ve Lost It
- Saying yes to clients who drain you because you need the cash
- Copying competitors instead of solving problems your way
- Working more but enjoying it less
- Revenue is growing, but fulfillment is shrinking
These aren’t failures—they’re signs you’ve drifted from purpose back into survival mode.
The Reset
Audit your calendar. Does it matter if it aligns with what you said?
Audit your clients. Who energizes you? Who drains you?
Audit your revenue. Which dollar feels good? Which feels like a compromise?
The gaps between what you say matters and where you’re spending resources—that’s where purpose dies.
Close the gaps. Say no to misaligned opportunities. Invest in what compounds. Hire for alignment. Fire clients who don’t value what you do.
This feels risky. You’re choosing to focus on opportunism. But opportunism keeps you small. Focus scales.
The Long Game
Building with purpose isn’t about finding your calling. It’s about making intentional choices that align what you’re good at with what the market needs and what you actually care about.
Most businesses chase revenue without a strategy. Scale without systems. Grow without purpose.
The ones that compound figure out what they’re uniquely positioned to build. They serve a specific customer exceptionally well. They charge accordingly. They invest the margin back into becoming even better at the one thing they’ve chosen to do.
Five years in, the difference is obvious. One founder is still grinding, saying yes to everything, wondering why growth feels hard. The other is running a business that feels like an extension of who they are—profitable, focused, and built around the life they actually want.
Same hours worked—completely different outcomes.
The difference? One built with purpose. The other was built with hope.
Purpose compounds. Hope doesn’t.