Do you own a business, Or are YOU the business?

As a business broker, I work with business owners on a daily basis. There are two basic types of small business structures, either you own a business, or YOU are the business. Yes I know there are many structures but it still all boils down to this. Either you have built your business where you are the center of everything and the success or failure of the business solely depends on you, or you have built your business as an asset. You have put people, systems and processes in place and you have worked yourself into a management or overseer position.

I know that brand new businesses start out with the owner much more involved and in the thick of things but over time, the way to create a company that has value is to build, train, groom and develop employees into the work structure. This may be hiring your very first employee and training them to answer the phones and do basic office tasks. It may be hiring a technician that learns to do the hands on work you do or did when you started the business. The next step may be hiring a manager to help oversee and act as a lead person or bringing on a sales person.

For a lot of small business owners, starting this process can be the scariest, most frustrating thing they have ever done. Especially in the beginning, any form of letting go of the reins can be nerve racking. The best way I can help explain how to start this is a quote I heard many years ago made by Rita Davenport. "Identify your strengths and identify your weaknesses. Capitalize on your strengths and delegate your weaknesses." My wife says I am a master delegator.

To grow your business into a viable asset, you must expand and share responsibilities. You must be able to give responsibilities to employees and train them and then trust them to do that job and do it well. Naturally you must still inspect what you expect but by letting go of the things that tie up your time and energy, it gives you more time to do what you are best at and help you grow.