Are You Wearing Too Many Hats?

 

 

Many business owners start out just wanting to be self-employed. That’s great if you already have contracts lined up that will keep you busy – and paid – for years to come. But how many of us have that luxury?

Instead, we begin doing what we’ve always done – essentially the same things as we did when we were employed by someone else. And then BOOM! We end up working evenings and weekends to take care of all the other parts of our businesses – the marketing, the bookkeeping, managing suppliers, invoicing, cleaning, learning new skills – the full gamut of jobs necessary to make a business successful. As Michael Gerber recommends in his E-Myth books, you have learn to manage your business – work ON your business, not IN it – in order to succeed.

The most successful business owners learn to delegate responsibilities early in the game. I don’t mean just assigning tasks. That makes you a task-master. I mean actually giving up control of various aspects of the business to people who are expert in those areas, so you can concentrate fully on your own unique ability.

So, be passionate about your business. Talk it up. Be the Chief Marketing Officer and drive income into your business, but find great people to do the parts of your business that you may be good at, but they are excellent at.

Mary Lou Gutscher