Businesses owners who start a business based on their expertise or passion realize at some point that leading a company is a different set of skills and knowledge than doing the work of the business. They work hard, are good at doing the work, attract clients and make money doing what they love. Over time they burn out or lose their enthusiasm. The business is too dependent on them and they have no time. They took the company as far as they can. Suddenly, is not as much fun and not as profitable. Other scenarios lead a business owner to ask for help. They want to sell or turn it over to someone to run for them. Often they say sales have flattened. They hired people and now they are not as profitable. They are frustrated as their people do not do the work as well as they did themselves. There are more examples though this makes the point that doing the work of the business is different than building a company that does the work.
Deciding that you need help with your business is the first step. You realize that you have done everything you know how to do, don’t know what you don’t know, have been running a business by the seat of your pants, that you are at an expert at doing the work but not sure how to lead a business that does the work and so on. All of these are insights for a business owner who sincerely wants a successful business that supports his/her life.
These insights lead to getting help. The type of support you seek depends on how you view the leverage for change. If you believe the problem is in the business, your people or the work, you may hire a consultant to come in. If you realize that your business is a reflection of you, which is always the case, you may find a business coach to help you change first then to work on the business and less in it.
There is a much harder choice yet to be made. You have been running your business your way for a very long time probably from the perspective of a technician. How do we get the work done? A technician is someone who knows how to do the work of the business. There is a much larger question at hand. How to lead and grow a business that does the work? A technician leader thinks at the moment, i.e., how to do the work, how to solve a problem at hand, pay bills and hire another technician to help do the work. A coach offers you the opportunity to change this relationship to the business and to develop a new perspective of yourself as a leader and a strategic view of the business. Where is the business going and how can we get there?
Changing how we are in our business is hard. We have routines, habits, and ways that we do things. Our people and customers see us in a particular way and expect us to act and interact as we always have. If we do not change ourselves, then nothing changes. Changing things in the business does not change the future of the business. The future of the business begins with the owner working with their coach to change the way they think about their business, their role in it and how they lead.
Once the owner makes this shift then work on the future of the business can proceed. On the other hand, if the owner finds themselves not wanting to change their role, the way they think and approach their business, then it is not the time to get help. When ready, the owner will feel the uncontrollable urge to have the business stand on its own, to be a business they love leading and to have more life.
Self-awareness is not optional when you own a business. Knowing when you are ready to change your perspective and relationship to your business, is the right leverage for change.