Run Your Business As If You Are Not There
From my experience one of the greatest frustrations that a small business owner will experience is not being able to take time off from their business.
When I press for an explanation the most often cited reason is, "there isn't anyone here that I trust to run things in my absence", or, "I'm the only one here who knows how to open and close", etc.
If you fall into this category as a small business owner take heart, you are not alone.
Unfortunately these attitudes often lead to early "burnout" and/or a premature sale of the business.
The reason is that the owner worked as if they were an "employee" instead of the " CEO" of their business.
A business owner should design a company that is distinct from him/her and can operate successfully in their absence.
This is what we call a Strategic Mindset.
Once you create a business entity that generates cash flow with or without you, pays you a decent salary and a respectable rate of return on your investment you have built equity and wealth! Isn't that the end game you had in mind when you started your business? As a business owner you need to step back and take a look at where your business is today compared to where you want it to be.
The gap that exists between those two realities is what you have to address if your business is going to meet your financial and personal expectations.
Your business should make money for you in your absence.
It should not rely on you being present every minute of every day.
How do you bridge the gap that separates you from being an "employee" versus a "CEO"? In short, you need to become a strategic business owner.
You must adopt the mindset of a CEO and systematize your business and document how things get done from opening the door in the morning to taking the bank deposit to the bank in the afternoon to closing procedures at the end of the day.
You have to become a leader - lead more and work less.
Train your people to do the $10 an hour work that you have been doing for far too long.
Freeing up that time that you used to spend on those tasks will give you time to think strategically about your business and tackle the $200 an hour work like developing a business plan, leveraging your marketing resources and managing your greatest asset - your people.
Take a lesson from McDonalds, arguably one of the most successful franchises in the world.
McDonalds has documented every aspect of running one of their franchises.
What do you notice when you go from one location to another? Consistency, right? That's because each McDonalds is operating from the same operations manual.
Every employee knows what their job is because it is written down.
So if the manager does not show up for work one day, guess what? That's right; the business keeps on humming along.
It's systematized.
Your business should be no less systematized and documented.
If you don't have the resources to do it yourself then invest in someone to come in and do it for you.
Once you accomplish this important task your employees will be able to carry on in your absence.
That work-free, guilt-free vacation is just around the corner let alone you being able to take a sick day.
With you now focused on growing your business and your employees working at full capacity knowing exactly what they are supposed to do you are leading instead of micromanaging.
You now have a purpose when you come into the office each day because you have a business plan and your business is systematized.
Does this sound more like the business you envisioned when you first started? Good.
Now let's look at some of the steps you can take to make your new strategic business owner role a reality: 1.
Learn to delegate the lower pay transactional work to a new or existing employee so you can focus on strategic issues and business planning - think like a CEO.
2.
Think leverage! How can you leverage your marketing efforts to achieve exponential growth instead of incremental growth? Mine your existing customers.
3.
Write a business plan.
Don't worry about format just put it in writing.
Develop a clear purpose for your business and get it down on paper.
Where do you want your business to go? Be specific.
4.
Invest in yourself.
Become a better leader versus a do-er.
Consider taking classes such as those offered by the Dale Carnegie Company.
5.
Systematize your business.
Document all of your key processes and jobs within your company.
Don't just write them down but think about how they can be improved or eliminated if they are outdated.
6.
You own a business.
Stop acting like an employee and start thinking like a CEO! Believe it or not, by working less in your business you will have more time to work on your business.
That will free you up to make the changes that we discussed.
Oh, by the way, you may also find that you develop balance in your personal life as well.
Call it an added bonus that you deserve.
When I press for an explanation the most often cited reason is, "there isn't anyone here that I trust to run things in my absence", or, "I'm the only one here who knows how to open and close", etc.
If you fall into this category as a small business owner take heart, you are not alone.
Unfortunately these attitudes often lead to early "burnout" and/or a premature sale of the business.
The reason is that the owner worked as if they were an "employee" instead of the " CEO" of their business.
A business owner should design a company that is distinct from him/her and can operate successfully in their absence.
This is what we call a Strategic Mindset.
Once you create a business entity that generates cash flow with or without you, pays you a decent salary and a respectable rate of return on your investment you have built equity and wealth! Isn't that the end game you had in mind when you started your business? As a business owner you need to step back and take a look at where your business is today compared to where you want it to be.
The gap that exists between those two realities is what you have to address if your business is going to meet your financial and personal expectations.
Your business should make money for you in your absence.
It should not rely on you being present every minute of every day.
How do you bridge the gap that separates you from being an "employee" versus a "CEO"? In short, you need to become a strategic business owner.
You must adopt the mindset of a CEO and systematize your business and document how things get done from opening the door in the morning to taking the bank deposit to the bank in the afternoon to closing procedures at the end of the day.
You have to become a leader - lead more and work less.
Train your people to do the $10 an hour work that you have been doing for far too long.
Freeing up that time that you used to spend on those tasks will give you time to think strategically about your business and tackle the $200 an hour work like developing a business plan, leveraging your marketing resources and managing your greatest asset - your people.
Take a lesson from McDonalds, arguably one of the most successful franchises in the world.
McDonalds has documented every aspect of running one of their franchises.
What do you notice when you go from one location to another? Consistency, right? That's because each McDonalds is operating from the same operations manual.
Every employee knows what their job is because it is written down.
So if the manager does not show up for work one day, guess what? That's right; the business keeps on humming along.
It's systematized.
Your business should be no less systematized and documented.
If you don't have the resources to do it yourself then invest in someone to come in and do it for you.
Once you accomplish this important task your employees will be able to carry on in your absence.
That work-free, guilt-free vacation is just around the corner let alone you being able to take a sick day.
With you now focused on growing your business and your employees working at full capacity knowing exactly what they are supposed to do you are leading instead of micromanaging.
You now have a purpose when you come into the office each day because you have a business plan and your business is systematized.
Does this sound more like the business you envisioned when you first started? Good.
Now let's look at some of the steps you can take to make your new strategic business owner role a reality: 1.
Learn to delegate the lower pay transactional work to a new or existing employee so you can focus on strategic issues and business planning - think like a CEO.
2.
Think leverage! How can you leverage your marketing efforts to achieve exponential growth instead of incremental growth? Mine your existing customers.
3.
Write a business plan.
Don't worry about format just put it in writing.
Develop a clear purpose for your business and get it down on paper.
Where do you want your business to go? Be specific.
4.
Invest in yourself.
Become a better leader versus a do-er.
Consider taking classes such as those offered by the Dale Carnegie Company.
5.
Systematize your business.
Document all of your key processes and jobs within your company.
Don't just write them down but think about how they can be improved or eliminated if they are outdated.
6.
You own a business.
Stop acting like an employee and start thinking like a CEO! Believe it or not, by working less in your business you will have more time to work on your business.
That will free you up to make the changes that we discussed.
Oh, by the way, you may also find that you develop balance in your personal life as well.
Call it an added bonus that you deserve.
