Business goals are often expressed in numbers. Revenue targets, growth percentages, client acquisition goals, and expansion plans give entrepreneurs something measurable to pursue. Those numbers cannot always explain why a particular outcome matters to the person responsible for achieving it.
Joey Chandler, founder of Certain Growth Solutions, believes that question deserves attention before a business owner commits to a plan.
Through his coaching and consulting work, Chandler helps entrepreneurs connect business objectives with their personal core values. Rather than treating values as separate from strategy, he uses them to examine what a goal represents, what concerns might complicate the process, and which actions make sense for the individual pursuing it.
His approach reflects a broader shift in his own business thinking. Chandler’s recent reflections describe a shift away from focusing exclusively on the finish line and toward building the messaging, systems, and decision-making practices that support larger ambitions.
For Chandler, the foundation matters as much as the destination.
Looking Beyond the Business Target
A revenue goal may appear straightforward. A business owner wants to reach a particular number, develops a plan, and begins working toward it. Yet two entrepreneurs pursuing the same financial result may have entirely different reasons for wanting it.
One might be seeking greater financial security. Another may want to create opportunities for employees, while someone else hopes to gain more flexibility or pursue a different kind of work.
Those distinctions shape how each person approaches the goal.
Chandler’s work begins by helping clients clarify their own values before using them to evaluate business objectives. The purpose is not to replace measurable targets with personal reflection. It is to ensure the targets meaningfully connect to the person making the decisions.
That connection becomes especially important when competing priorities emerge.
An opportunity might offer financial benefits while requiring more time than the entrepreneur wants to commit. A promising expansion could introduce responsibilities that conflict with other priorities. Even a worthwhile goal may need adjustment when circumstances change.
Chandler encourages people to examine those tradeoffs through their own values rather than relying exclusively on external measures of success.
How Connection, Curiosity, and Fun Influence Chandler’s Decisions
Chandler uses three personal core values in his own business: Connection, Curiosity, and Fun.
Each provides a different perspective when he considers a goal or evaluates a possible next step.
Connection encourages him to examine the people involved. Who would benefit from the goal? How does the work relate to the people he wants to serve? Does the proposed direction support the relationships and purpose behind the business?
Curiosity brings a different set of questions. What remains unknown? What assumptions need to be examined? Is there another way to approach the challenge?
For Chandler, curiosity creates room to investigate possibilities before committing to a particular solution.
Fun also has a place in his business decisions. He associates it not only with enjoyment but with the satisfaction of making progress and succeeding. It encourages him to consider whether the process of pursuing a goal can be rewarding, rather than treating satisfaction as something available only after the result is achieved.
These values are personal to Chandler. He does not assume that every entrepreneur should use the same three.
A business owner whose values emphasize stability, creativity, independence, or family may approach the same opportunity through different questions. Clarifying values creates a decision-making reference point that reflects the individual, rather than adopting someone else’s priorities.
Building the Foundation Beneath Larger Goals
Chandler’s recent reflections show how this thinking has shaped his approach to business development.
He described becoming more attentive to the foundation supporting his goals instead of concentrating only on the eventual outcome.
That foundation includes clear messaging, practical systems, and decision-making that stays connected to his values.
For an entrepreneur, this distinction can matter. A larger business ambition may seem difficult to approach when viewed only as a distant result. Breaking it into clearer communication, workable processes, and manageable decisions can make the path forward easier to understand.
Chandler has also incorporated an AI team into his business systems, using his personal values to guide how the technology helps him explore ideas and decisions.
Rather than treating AI as a substitute for his judgment, he views it as a resource that can support the systems he is building. The technology can help him consider possibilities and organize his thinking, while his values remain part of how he evaluates the suggestions.
“The more you use your values, you build systems, you partner with AI to make those systems even more effective, and all that’s doing is giving you more confidence and clarity in your own values,” said Joey Chandler, founder of Certain Growth Solutions.
He believes that repeatedly using values can strengthen a person’s understanding of how those values apply in practice. Systems then help carry that understanding into everyday business activity.
Turning Personal Priorities Into Practical Business Decisions
Clarifying personal values is only one part of Chandler’s coaching approach. The next challenge is applying them when real decisions must be made.
For example, an entrepreneur considering a new offer may need to examine potential revenue, required resources, and the people the offer is intended to serve. Personal values can help frame those considerations, but they don’t eliminate the need to assess the practical consequences.
The same applies when choosing business goals.
A founder may want to increase revenue while maintaining time for family or other personal commitments. Another may be willing to take on a demanding project because learning and creative work matter to them.
Chandler’s approach gives each person a way to consider those priorities before deciding what action to take.
It also leaves room for concerns and uncertainty. A person can recognize fear about a difficult decision, investigate the available options, and still choose a step that reflects personal values.
The result is not a guarantee that every business decision will succeed. It is a process for making decisions with greater awareness of what the entrepreneur is trying to accomplish and why.
Growth That Reflects the Person Behind the Business
Chandler’s work at Certain Growth Solutions challenges the assumption that business goal setting should begin and end with performance targets.
Financial results and measurable progress remain important. His approach adds another consideration: whether the goals, systems, and actions support the values of the person pursuing them.
His own experience with Connection, Curiosity, and Fun illustrates how those values can become practical questions rather than abstract statements.
By building clearer messaging, developing systems, and using AI to support his decision-making, Chandler has been applying that philosophy to his own business ambitions.
For entrepreneurs, the larger lesson is that meaningful growth requires more than identifying a destination. It also means understanding the personal priorities behind the goal and building a workable foundation to reach it.
At Certain Growth Solutions, Chandler continues to connect those priorities to decisions and actions business owners can use in everyday practice.
About Joey Chandler
Joey Chandler, born October 29, 1970, in Detroit, Michigan, is an American alignment coach and entrepreneur based in Reno, Nevada. He graduated from Whitman College in 1993 with a degree in Politics. His career includes experience in coaching, creative media, photography, retail, and entrepreneurship, including work with Sports Basement. Chandler is the founder of Certain Growth Solutions, You Are Videos, and Joey Chandler Photography. After a period of burnout and rebuilding his life and business, he developed practical approaches to connect personal core values with business goals and daily action. His work helps entrepreneurs build clarity, confidence, consistent execution, and sustainable growth.
About Certain Growth Solutions
Certain Growth Solutions is a values-based coaching and consulting company founded by Joey Chandler. The company helps entrepreneurs clarify their core values and apply them to business goal-setting, decision-making, daily habits, and practical systems. Chandler’s work emphasizes connecting individual priorities with measurable objectives while considering the concerns, opportunities, and tradeoffs involved in business growth.
You can also find Joey Chandler on YouTube, X, and TikTok.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The views and information presented regarding Joey Chandler, personal values, and business goal setting at Certain Growth Solutions are intended for general guidance and should not be considered professional business, financial, or management advice. Readers should evaluate their own circumstances before making business decisions.