One of the first questions we ask our clients when starting a business consulting project is “do you own a job or do you own a business?” What would happen to the business if you went on a vacation or were unable to work? If you want to own a job you might as well stop reading this, get rid of the business and just go get a job working for someone else. However, if you really want to own a business, we have some tips for you.
People who own a business work ‘on’ their business — not ‘in’ their business.
– Brad Kendall
Whether you’ve been running your business for a year or more than ten, you want to make sure you do not fall into the trap of owning a job.
“The differences between owning a job and a business are many. People who own a business work ‘on’ their business — not ‘in’ their business. In my experience, the end goal of starting out on your own is the freedom being your own boss, the ability to generate higher levels of income than you could make employed and building up a tangible asset that can one day be sold so you can retire or move on to something else,” says Brad Kendall, a serial technology entrepreneur.
Many business owners spend a lot of their time each day on non-value added tasks related to their business. There are a couple of things business owners can do to increase the value of the time they spend on their business.
1) Develop a “Stop Doing List”
Most, if not all, business owners have an endless “to do list” of tasks that must be completed to keep their business running smoothly. We recommend that business owners also develop a “stop doing list” with non-value added activities that they spend their time on each day/week/month.
In addition to analyzing and identyfying non-value items you can consolidate (if necessary) or stop doing altogether, you should consider identifying items you can delegate within the company or outsource. Although many business owners believe they can save by keeping items in-house, outsourcing processes can often be cheaper and more beneficial for the business. {LINK BLOG HERE}
2) Create Systems and Workflows
What would happen if you lost half of your employees tomorrow? Would you be able to replace and seemlessly integrate a new set of employees without skipping a beat or causing too many disruptions?
If the answer is no, you probably don’t own a business. Your employees should be replaceable, not because you want to get rid of them, but because your business has in place well-documented and thought-out processes.
Establishing a system and workflow will not only help increase the success of your business, especially once it is streamlined, but it also helps keep employees accountable.
Creating distinct responsibilities for your financial team will help in keeping track of important financial aspects, but will also give your employees a defined scope of work that will help them succeed.
If you currently own a job and want to own a business instead give us a call at 405-759-2796 we can help.
