Working In or On your business
Everyone has a vital role to play in a business, whether it be sales, manufacturing, marketing, IT, technical or management. With a startup business or a small business, you can often find yourself working across a multitude of different departments. It may be a case it is just you in the business or a small team of 2 or 3, essentially you and your team know what needs to be done so dig deep, roll up the sleeves and get it done. However, this can have a detrimental effect on your growth if you continue to work across all the departments wearing several different hats each day, day after day, your workload is just going to increase. Trust me, it has happened to me. You need to find relief or a way of removing work from your desk and delegate it to other members of your team.
What you will find is that if you are constantly day after day, year after year just working across all departments, trying to grow your business but do not seem to be making any headway, it is because you are trapped working in your business. Your business has engulfed you and you probably think, I just need to get this big sale and it will enable us to grow, I just need to finish this new marketing campaign or website and it will enable us to grow. The fact of the matter is, it might help, but then what about the next sale, the next marketing campaign, the next product you want to develop. You simply will not have the time to do it.
Growth is fundamental
In order to successfully grow your business, you need to remove yourself from working in your business and become a person who can work on their business. There is a huge difference between the two, I have just described what working in your business is like, spreading yourself to thin across multiple different departments, trying to grow but ultimately being restricted by your own workload, sometimes blinded by what is required or needed to grow.
Working on your business is the key to growth, it enables you to take a step back and look at every aspect or department, analyse what it is that makes the business tick. By working on your business it helps you set the goals for the business and a direction, it can give you a fresh perspective of the business, that before you haven’t been able to see.
For a startup or small business, it is often the case you need to juggle the two, working in your business and working on your business. Normally during working hours, it can be the case you are working in your business as this is when customers need you, your business or your services. It is crucial to set aside time every day or a few hours a week to work on your business. Remove yourself from the working environment to reduce and minimize distractions enabling you can focus and be the most productive you can. Directly working on your business does not always bring instant rewards, but it is building the foundations for a better business and a way in which growth can happen.
Find a clear path to growth
Working on your business can be as simple as sitting, reflecting and thinking of ways in which you can reduce your, or even a colleague or employee’s workload to enable growth within the business. For examples; if you are too busy selling then make a plan to hire or outsource the sales process. If are too busy to process orders and resolve customer issues then consider and explore hiring or outsourcing the administration of sales. If you want more business then explore marketing options and engage with a marketing agency or hire a marketing professional. Remember you do not just need to outsource or hire new people, simply refining and streamlining some process could result in more efficient work reducing the time you spend on tasks. But you might not release this as you are too caught up in the day to day running of the business and on autopilot.
The key is to remove yourself from the hustle and bustle and just think what are the current barriers to grow and focus on how you can remove them. This cannot be achieved by working in your business you need to work on your business to overcome these.
