There is nothing more exciting than launching your own business. Six months later, that exhilaration has turned to exhaustion. Here are some tips for putting the fun and profit back into your small business.
1 – The more you give up in control and power, the more time and enjoyment you will have from your business. Most people start a business doing something they are interested in. Unfortunately, running your own business means that someone has to do the books, deal with unhappy customers, meet deadlines, and figure out payroll. Many who start a business want to be in control and knowing how easy it was to leave employment (either by choice or circumstance!), many small business owners fear that giving up control means risking the business. So, they employ the octopus style of management where they are the brain and the employees are merely tentacles. While the brain makes all the decisions, there is little leverage in the relationship between the owner and the employees as the employer finds themselves doing all the work! At the other extreme is the small business owner who gets burned by an employee who is really good at doing the books and extracting cash while the owner is busy working hard at the business. Somewhere between total control and blissful ignorance of what is going on is where the successful small business owner finds profitability and fulfillment.
2 – Look at your business as a set of distinctive tasks. Rather than trying to hire people with the same passion and commitment to excellence that you have, try hiring ordinary people but give them an extraordinary opportunity to build a “system.” Have them define and document what they do, when they do it, how they do it, and record what works and what doesn’t. Such a strategy is how high growth entrepreneurial firms operate. The entrepreneurial founder sets the tone where everyone in the organization – from the first hire on knows that their job is building a system. In building a system, they learn what works and what doesn’t but by documenting the system, they build VALUE into your organization. And, they earn your confidence that they can make decisions on your behalf that won’t bankrupt your company.
3 – Allocate two hours a week to: review your financials – you need to know how much money you have in your corporate checkbook to cover your expenses, you need to watch your purchases so that you don’t buy items to fill wants but instead concentrate your expenditures on what can create either a better product or service or more sales. In 25 years of surveying small businesses, I found that less than 30% generate a monthly cash flow statement or reconcile their corporate checkbooks every week. Even fewer manage inventory, or create schedules showing the aging of receivables and payables. That is like flying a plane with no “cockpit” controls. No wonder so many business owners are stressed!
4 – Take an hour a week to read your trade journal, visit with suppliers, or call a recent customer. Those little chores will keep you focused on solving your customers’ problems. A successful small business is one that solves problems profitably. To do this you must be able to recognize those who have a problem that your company can solve and the discipline to do so profitably.
These four tips will put you on a path to having fun again. You will probably never hire someone with as much determination and ambition for your success as yourself. But, if you can find that balance of making work more than just following your orders without giving a stranger the key to your lockbox, and if you can trap some time to manage the finances while keeping abreast of trends in your industry, you’ll enjoy your small business again.
