A lot of businesses are started by technicians who think that by knowing the technical aspects of a business, they can actually run a business that revolves around those skills and this has driven a lot of businesses into an early grave.
(By the way, when I refer to “technicians” in this article, I mean people who have a skill. Maybe writing, speaking, web-designing, hair-dressing, and all those skills you get directly paid for)
So, a technician listens to a “motivational” video or audio by a millionaire entrepreneur, and then believes that the only way to greatness is “work”.
They hear stuff like “don’t work for a boss” and this makes a lot of people jump into starting a business and going straight to work, that they don’t pause to know the entrepreneurs’ definition of work.
This makes people work, work, work. Work with their technicians’ view of the word “work”, that they become tired of their businesses after a while.
I will be revealing an interesting part of running your business that I learned from the book, “E-myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.” A process that makes the process all too interesting, mentally stimulating and can make your business work even without you being present.
And the drumrolls…
Think about your business like your product!
A lot of people don’t start a business but a job. They start a business with the mentality that “I will keep working hard, and when this business grows, it will have employees and I can go ahead enjoying my life.”
The sad part however, is that they leave it all to chance. Year after year, they are stuck in that work routine, and even when they employ someone to work for them, they just lack the vision and clarity they need to lead a team. So, they feel stupid, and just give it all up – closing down the business.
When they work, they only work to perfect one thing, their product or services (That’s if they don’t leave that all to chance, too. Which is all too common). The problem with a product-focused business while neglecting other aspects of the business is that its view is narrow, and can cost the whole business in the long run.
Rather, ask yourself how the various parts of your business; sales, marketing, operations, finances, and all those technical parts of your business can come in sync. How all those parts of your business can come together and solve an important problem without you being directly involved.
How do you make it all work like a swiss watch without ever even being present? How to create a system of various seemingly unrelated, insignificant parts that come together and free you of the job you unknowingly created for yourself, while also giving the business the room it needs to grow?
Think of your business as a whole product on a shelf that is competing with other businesses, and it will begin to make more sense than you originally thought. So, you have to start to work on how your business looks, feels, acts, its identity, and how you can make it work without you. Until then, you don’t run a business, but a job.