Sometimes you just want to ‘plough’ through, carry on working and finish everything on your ‘to do list’. As a self-confessed workaholic I can relate to that only too well.
The problem is that whilst you are working IN your business, you often forget to work ON your business. This might sound really strange, but think about it for a moment.
When you become self-employed because, say you love gardening, you don’t just become a gardener, you become admin, marketing director, the girl that makes the tea, head of finances and that boring chap from the post room. And more importantly you also become you own CEO. Lots of people think that CEOs have an easy job telling everyone what to do and take home loads of money. But each CEO needs to know WHAT to tell others, WHEN to tell it and HOW the job needs to be delivered. CEOs are often accused of being too detached, not wanting to do the ‘real work’, but the point is they have to be slightly detached for the whole business to work.
Our initial instinct is to get stuck in to our business and just work. You enjoy what you do, so why not? It’s the best thing that ever happened to you, right?
But, when we have our head stuck in our business and we are keeping all the plates spinning, we are too busy to see beyond the next few weeks. We often make decisions that are just ‘for now’ because we don’t actually know where our business is heading.
So, how do you break this?
Well, like a proper CEO you take time out from your business, look at it with a very critical eye and plan your business strategy. That might sound a bit too corporate and I can completely understand if you don’t want to have 250 pages of business plan to weigh your table (and soul…) down. But taking time out and planning is good…
So, how do you start working on your business and not just in it?
If you are completely new to this, here are few suggestions:
Plan a little
It’s good to have a plan. And it’s even better to put it down on a piece of paper…
The thing with plans is, if they are just in your head it’s difficult for anyone (including you!) to follow them and more importantly stick to them.
Somebody once asked me, what’s the most difficult bit about being self-employed. As a joke I said, you can pretty much do whatever you want! It might sound like a great fun to start off with: you are allowed to do what ever you want. Nobody is looking, nobody is counting, nobody is telling you what to do. But that’s part of the problem. You either get stuck in your work and end up working harder then when you were employed or you lose motivation.
So, before any of this happens, make a cuppa, pick up a pen and paper and write down your goals for the next few months. Then break it down into individual tasks and schedule in your diary. Next time, when you are making a decision about new work or a service offering, check your plan. If it lines up with what you want to achieve, great, if not you have your diary to keep you in check.
Know your numbers
I think I would need to write a whole blog post just on this one topic!
You need to know your numbers, ehm, I don’t mean your measurements (mind you that IS handy when you are shopping…), but your business figures.
I have seen many small businesses fold only a few years after they started. And more alarmingly, the decision to close the business down was often made just after they filled in their tax return. Sadly, that’s not because of the tax bill, but because it’s the first time, they really sat down and had a look at their finances, accounts and profit spreadsheets.
Most small business owners avoid finances like a plague, but understanding your numbers is your key weapon!
A good CEO will know the business turnover, expenditure and profit. She will know this on a weekly and monthly basis and will take action if the figures don’t mirror the budget (…oh, yes, there needs to be a whole blog about that too!). If the first time you find that your business is making a serious loss is when you are filling your tax return, it’s too late to do anything about it.
Review
Just because you have decided to do something, it doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind later. As your own CEO you need to take time out, from time to time, look at your business from a distance and review what you have. Does it all still look as it should do? Have you added over the months loads of new products or services that actually don’t fit the core of your business? Is your business still aligned with your core beliefs? What works and what doesn’t? Don’t be afraid to prune, add or change and…
…be critical
Yes, you need to be brutally honest.
About your business, about yourself and what you do. And that hurts sometimes. When you are working IN your business, you are emotionally attached to what you do. And that’s perfectly fine, it’s why you started your business in the first place, why your customers love what you do and why you are successful.
But from time to time, you as your own CEO needs to be slightly more detached, cool headed, practical and very very logical. If something doesn’t work, why are we doing it? If we are not making a profit, why do we support this service or product? What is a reasonable time to spend on this task? Are you the best person to do this? Should we employ somebody else? Should we do this at all?
Take time out
Have you noticed how the higher you are up the chain, the more annual leave entitlement you tend to get? I’m not going to get into an argument about how unfair this is (and yes, I know, what you are thinking and yes, you are probably right…), but rather want you to imagine that in the perfect company, where everyone works hard, the CEO would have the highest holiday entitlement.
The point I’m trying to make is that the higher you are, the higher responsibility you have. If you are at the top, the buck stops with you! You physically work 50-60 hrs a week, you mentally don’t switch off, you get called at the weekends and you work on your day off. If you have your own business, you might do all of this and more. And, if you are anything like me, you love every single minute of it!
But, believe me, even if you do, you need a holiday. A time out to think about something else, to read a trashy novel or walk on the beach. To get more clarity on your business, to come back refreshed and ready to get going again!
What do you think? I’d love to know what are your favourite strategies on working on your business (rather than in it).
Please leave me a comment, I read them all.
Magdalena
