Are You a ‘Do It All’ business owner?
One of the ongoing discussions I have with my coaching clients is should you work “in” your business or “on” your business.
The answer to this is always ‘on’ (unless you are a solopreneur).
Working “on” your business instead of “in” your business is a strategic approach that focuses on long-term growth and sustainability. This concept, often emphasized in entrepreneurial circles, underscores the importance of stepping back from day-to-day operations to concentrate on overall business strategy, development, and improvement. Here are a few key reasons why this perspective is crucial for business owners:
1. Vision and Strategy Development:
When you work “on” your business, you allocate time to refine your vision and strategize for future growth. This involves setting goals, planning for scalability, and identifying new opportunities. By focusing on these areas, you can direct your business towards long-term success and ensure that your daily operations align with your overarching objectives.
2. Systematization and Process Improvement:
This approach allows you to develop systems and processes that improve efficiency and effectiveness. By creating standardized procedures, you can ensure consistency in your service or product quality, which is crucial for building trust and credibility with your customers. Systematization also prepares your business for scaling up without a proportional increase in overhead or resource consumption.
3. Leadership and Delegation:
Working “on” your business encourages you to build a strong team and delegate operational tasks. This not only frees up your time to focus on strategic initiatives but also empowers your team by trusting them with more responsibilities. Effective delegation enhances team skills and motivation, and it helps cultivate a pool of talent capable of driving the business forward.
4. Innovation and Adaptability:
By not getting bogged down in everyday tasks, you can dedicate time to innovation and staying ahead of industry trends. This perspective allows you to be more adaptable in changing market conditions and to pivot your business model when necessary to meet the evolving needs of your customers.
5. Personal Growth and Development:
Working “on” your business also contributes to your personal development as a leader and entrepreneur. It allows you to enhance your strategic thinking, leadership qualities, and industry expertise, which are critical for both your personal career trajectory and your business’s success.
6. Sustainability and Work-Life Balance:
Finally, this approach helps you build a business that can operate independently of your constant involvement. This sustainability is crucial not only for the business’s longevity but also for achieving a healthier work-life balance, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling entrepreneurial journey.
Some business owners are afraid to let go of the day-to-day contact with clients. Others worry if they aren’t involved in every single detail, the world will come to an end.
Honestly, neither is true.
One way to ease yourself into working “on” your business rather than “in” it, is to adopt a Management by Exception philosophy.
Management by exception is a management strategy where leaders focus their attention on significant deviations from expected performance or standards. Instead of overseeing every aspect of operations, they concentrate on addressing and resolving issues that fall outside the acceptable range of performance.
This approach enables managers to allocate their time and resources more efficiently, dealing primarily with anomalies that require their expertise or intervention.
Before you object with thoughts like, “I’m just a small boutique company, why should I invest time in creating standards or monitoring and taking formal actions?” consider this: you can’t afford NOT to engage in these activities.
Skipping on these might seem like a time-saver, but it’s a misconception. At the core of the management by exception philosophy is a powerful simplicity: instead of overwhelming yourself by trying to analyze all of your data, focus only on the 20% that highlights actionable issues.
Identify this critical data, keep an eye on it, and when something goes off track, you’re ready to quickly address the issue, understand why it happened, and take steps to prevent it in the future.
By continuously refining this process, you will enhance your business operations to a point where errors are minimal, allowing your company to operate smoothly. This efficiency not only frees you up to chase new business opportunities but also to enjoy some well-deserved downtime.
As we wrap up this week, I want to leave you with two key thoughts:
- True success means being able to step away while your business runs smoothly on its own.
- What you measure and monitor improves; neglect it, and the system breaks down.
So, don’t try to do it all. Focus on what’s essential, tackle what needs immediate attention, and you’ll find you can achieve more in less time.
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