Are you a business owner?
Are you really?
Bear with me.
People decide to start businesses for all sorts of reasons. Some want to escape the 9-5 so they can work more flexibly or take more time off. Others dream of retiring early, taking trips around the world and enjoying the fruits of their labours.
In reality, however, many business owners come to us stressed, tired and overwhelmed. They complain that they can’t take any time off, they don’t see how they can make more profit and they are worried about the lack of security that business ownership brings.
There’s often a simple reason for this. As Michael Gerber explains in his book, The E-Myth, they haven’t built a business – they’ve built a job for themselves.
You might disagree. You’ve got staff and you might even turn over million of pounds. How can anyone say you haven’t built a business?
Think about it from a different perspective.
People set up businesses doing things they are good at or enjoy. They are technicians, doing the day to day work and swapping their time for money. Further down the line they employ some staff and become Managers. Ironically, these Managers are still responsible for making sure that the work gets done. Someone isn’t really defined as a Business owner until their responsibilities are away from the day to running of the business, and moved towards looking at the wider picture – where the business is going and what needs to happen to allow it to grow.
How can you tell whether you’ve built a business or you’ve created your own job?
Who is doing the work?
On the whole, people start businesses because they have experience, knowledge or passion. Often all three. They are experts in what they do and hire their goods or services out to paying clients. Growth is limited by the hours that can be worked and the price that can be charged. There will come a tipping point, where both reach their maximum. You price yourself out of the market or take on so much work that the quality suffers.
You might have hired staff so that the business can take on more work, but if you are still integral to the completion of that day to day work, you still have a job.
Do clients only want you?
When we talk to clients about expanding, they’re often scared of losing their own customers who only want to work with them, “the business owner”. But such dependence means that if you’re ill, there’s an emergency, or want to go on holiday, business will suffer. If you have to be there to ensure the sale, the business is always going to be constrained by the amount of time you can spend in it.
If your business would suffer if you took more than a few days off without being in touch, then you don’t have a business, you have a job.
Are you the only person who knows how to do stuff?
This is another trap that many business owners fall into, and it is common, even in large companies with big teams. When you have built up a business yourself, it is hard to let go, but micro managing can create any number of problems in terms of morale and efficiency.
If you are still getting involved in every project, if you can trust other people to do the essential tasks in the business, then you have a job, not a business.
A business owner does things differently.
The key to successful business ownership is creating the systems, processes and standards that make your product or service unique. You don’t have to do everything. Your role is to set the vision for the company, to set its goals and values, to create the plan of how you’re going to achieve those goals, and direct your team in putting that plan into action.
Some people are perfectly happy having created a job for themselves, and will stay at that level forever. However, for those who dream of taking more time off, making more money and living the life they’ve always wanted, it’s vital to look up from the job you’ve given yourself and start to build your business for real.
- Step One: Identify what you want
- Step Two: Plan how your business is going to get you what you want
- Step Three: Follow the plan
If you want some expert help to get you through all three steps as effectively as possible, so you can live the life you really want, that’s what we’re here for. Give us a call on 01788 297 004 to book your free introductory call and find out how we could help you build your business to make it happen
