22 Aug Are you leading a business? Or do you just own a business? – Part 1
As a certified Business Systems Coach, I believe in the power of systems to free you up to work on your business, not just in your business.
You ask any business owner and they’ll tell you that ‘doing the do’ – performing the tasks necessary to bring the money in – regularly gets in the way of strategic growth.
Leading your business, whether that be taking time out to refine your strategy, train your people or simply sitting down with accountancy software to work out how it could save you time or money, is crucial to its success. Neglect that leadership and the issues build up until they feel insurmountable.
But that isn’t a problem in itself. It’s a symptom of you working like a Trojan to keep your business moving forward. While you were doing that, you lost your leadership.
The pressure is always there – it’s how you deal with it that’s key
When you run a business, everyone – clients, customers, staff, your own family – look to you to lead the way. That’s a lot of pressure right there.
And so you graft to keep everybody happy. And before long you realise the way things are happening wasn’t the way you wanted them to happen when you started out. You’ve effectively abdicated your leadership, there’s no-one at the helm and the business drifts further and further away from your original vision.
It’s always worth keeping the reason you started your own business right at the front of your mind. That reason certainly wasn’t to feel trapped and boxed in by workload, people and procedures. More likely it was freedom that spurred you on, the unique feeling of liberty that comes with the ability to follow your dreams, make your own strategic decisions (and knock off early when you’ve earned it).
If you’re like 80 percent of small business owners, you didn’t build freedom into your plan and as a result you end up feeling trapped. But what many don’t realise is – you have a choice.
The ten attributes a good leader needs
There are many advantages to defining your leadership. When employees are crystal clear on what needs to be done to achieve your shared goals, when standards stay high and when promises to customers are consistently fulfilled, that feels good. For proof of that, think about how bad it feels when the opposite is the case.
But it goes further than feeling good about your business. When you’re leading well you’ll also:
- Feel inspired to do your best every day
- Take opportunities to grow your business
- Achieve goals regularly
- Have the confidence to make tough decisions
- Align your business practices with your values
- Build systems that free up your schedule (and your head space)
- Pay yourself what you deserve
- Take care of yourself
- Spend quality time with your family
And you’ll achieve the basic ambition you set yourself at the outset – operate your business efficiently while generating more profit.
Sounds great doesn’t it? The big question is – how do you achieve that? There’s no one answer – it requires a unique combination of skills, mindset and traits.
Let me share a few strategies I’ve seen work well for other clients in your position:
Be a ‘Tech Time-Saver’ – I know how you can be bogged down by the day-to-day financial tasks. Have you considered using accounting software like QuickBooks, Wave and others such as Sage? Used well, they can automate a lot of the tracking and reporting, saving you valuable time each month. In addition you might want to consider implementing project management tools like Trello or Asana – they make it so much easier to coordinate deadlines and keep the team on the same page.
‘Delegate with Confidence’ – One of the challenges I often see business owners face is trying to do everything themselves. I often have coaching conversations where business owners want to build amazing teams. They want to benefit from delegating more. So I ask: “Why not identify a few tasks you can hand off? Provide thorough training, set clear expectations, and then empower your employees to make decisions within their areas of responsibility.” Not always easy. Rarley straight forward. But the consensus and overall feedback is that iIt takes some upfront work, but it will free you up to focus on the big picture.
Schedule “Business Building” Time – Finally, we’ve talked before about the importance of stepping back from the daily grind to work on your business, not just in it. I really encourage you to block off a few hours each week – mark it as sacred time in your calendar so nothing else can creep in. Use this dedicated period to analyse your financials, evaluate your strategies, make plans for growth, work on personal development and your wellbeing. Your team and customers will appreciate the renewed focus and direction.
These tactics have helped me and my clients achieve more freedom and leadership in their businesses.
These tips can help you shift from daily operations to strategic leadership – freeing you up to truly run your business, not just work in it. Give them a try and let me know how it goes!
Let me know if you have any other questions as you start implementing them! I’m confident they can do the same for you.
Whether you’re looking to take your business to the next level, start again with a fresh approach or if you just need someone to keep you accountable, I can help. Book a free discovery call with me by clicking here and let’s explore how coaching could accelerate your growth.