Are You a Prisoner of Your Success?

Let me take you back to a time when entrepreneurial dreams were runningwild through your head. A time when starting your own business meantyou could be your own boss, make more money and gain more freedom. Youknew it would be hard work in the beginning, but after a few shortyears, you envisioned warm, sandy beaches and tropical drinks withnothing to do but count your money. OK, I may be exaggerating a little,but by now your current reality has probably altered your vision.

Let me ask you a couple of revealing questions.

If you had to leave your business for an extended period oftime, say a couple of months, would you come back to a business that isstill running smoothly and profitably? How about if you left for twoweeks? If your answer was anything other than yes, then you probablyhaven't created a business, you have created a glorified job foryourself. You have become a prisoner of your own success.

The good news is that you are not alone. As you know, smallbusiness owners are among the hardest working people in the world, butto obtain sustained growth, you will have to adopt a strategicmind-set. As a strategic business owner, your primary aim should be todevelop a self-managing and systems-oriented business that still runspredictably and profitably while you are not there. This allows you towork on your business instead of being stuck in your business.

The first step is to stop acting like an employee and startthinking like a CEO. Start transitioning to a new way of thinking andbehaving by reprogramming yourself and your habits. Stop micromanagingand delegate. Start reducing the amount of time you spend involved inthe daily transactions of your business. That is why you haveemployees. If you do not have employees, it is even more critical thatyou adopt this mind-set.

The next step is to implement systems andprocedures into your business that ensure daily tasks are completedcorrectly. All current systems and procedures need to be evaluatedbased upon results and updated as needed. In addition, documentationfor all procedures, policies and systems need to be created to have areference for employees and new trainees. As a sole proprietor, youneed to be creating these procedures and systems today, while thesystems are still manageable, in preparation for your future growth.Another good practice is to cross-train your employees before the needarises, not after the panic has set in.

Trust your employees. If you cannot trust your employees tocomplete the daily tasks and act in the best interest of the company,then maybe they shouldn't be employees. In the long run, the morehands-off you can be, the more time you will have to work on the "bigpicture."

Bottom line, you should run your business; it should not runyou, your family or your life. The object is to have asystems-dependent business, not an owner-dependent business. Some ofthese concepts are very challenging for owners and will take time totransition. However, less time spent working in your business meansmore time to regain that entrepreneurial spirit.

John S. Benjamin, business coach and strategicbusiness owner of The Growth Coach located in Greeley, Colo.

Source: Greeley Tribune.Powered by Yellowbrix.