Every business stands for something. We all exist to tell a story. To fulfil a need. We all have a brand and a culture. We all have an ethos. And it’s the Tabono ethos that makes us different.

But what does ‘ethos mean?

An ethos is the set of ideas and attitudes that is associated with a particular group of people or a particular type of activity.

CollinsDictionary.com

Doing things our way.

As business partners, it’s been clear from the beginning that we couldn’t do what we do, without each other. And it’s this that gives us both our ethos, and our USP.

One of our co-founders – Anna – comes from a business-focussed background. The other – Chloe – is a qualified life coach, whose expertise lies in supporting entrepreneurs with their confidence, wellbeing, productivity and mindset.

It’s the combination of these two skillsets that forms the core of our ethos. It’s simply not enough to ‘teach’ people the business-focussed skills. Without the right mindset, and a conscious decision to look after themselves along the way, the road to entrepreneurship will be incredibly tough. And likewise, if an aspiring entrepreneur has the right mindset, but a lack of skills, he will find it equally difficult.

There are a lot of organisations out there that support one or the other of these. The vast majority focus on the business first and foremost though, whereas we start with the entrepreneur. By looking after yourself first, you will lay the foundations needed to look after a business successfully.

The Tabono values.

Tabono
The Tabono symbol.

This ethos then leads us to our brand values, which are encapsulated by our logo. We spent a long time trying to decide on a name for our business. We tried a lot of English words. But none of them worked. But then we started Googling words associated with the ethos that we wanted to create. Then we found the Tabono symbol.

The word ‘tabono’ means oar or paddle in the Adinkra language of Western Africa, and it represents unity of purpose, strength, confidence, and hard work. All of the attributes necessary for successful entrepreneurship – from both a mindset/wellbeing and business perspective.

So what about you? We’d love to hear the story and ethos behind your business! If you’re not quite sure though, or for whatever reason, your vision has become distorted or confused, have a look at our Vision, Planning and Goals course. It could well be the kick-start you need to get things back on track.