How to stop working “In” Your Business and instead Work “On” your business

Those two are different, trust me.

Michael E. Gerber, author of the best-selling book, The E-Myth Revisited: why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it, debunks an entrepreneurial myth tied to working ‘in’ vis a vis working ‘on’ the business.

Most people who start small businesses think they are entrepreneurs, but in reality they aren’t.

According to Investopedia, Entrepreneurship is a process. “an entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards.”

Entrepreneurs are innovators. They give birth to new ideas, produce new goods, offer new services and build new business procedures.

A technical person who starts a business, building or creating stuff or offering some sort of service may think they can run a successful business because they’ve got this technical knowledge, but that assumption may be fatal according to Michael E. Gerber.

Entrepreneurship is a journey, walking through it from infancy through adolescent and growing past the pains of early growth to maturity takes an entrepreneurial perspective, a guiding light that shines upon all businesses that succeed.

And it doesn’t stop there, Michael Gerber draws a vital line on an often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.

So, what’s the deference working “in” your business and working “on” your business?

Working “in” your business simply means that you are the kind of business owner who is constantly engaged in little details of running the day-to-day operations of your business like micro-managing your staff, persistently analyzing numbers instead of looking into ways of leapfrogging your business to greater heights.

People who work ‘in’ their business avoid hiring to keep down expenses. They end up doing everything, accounting, management, cashier, marketing and sales, they are the technical guys, and in charge of public relations.

It’s a crippling often fatal mindset that suffocates the business. You are probably the accountant, you are the manager, and still, you are the cashier. This is a very unhealthy way to run a business, it’s crippling and fatal.

The repercussions of working “in” your business are a nail-biting often on the edge fire fighting decisions, that end up reducing revenue, increased cost of production, slowed down productivity, and perennial customer dissatisfaction.

People who work ‘in’ their business, are often pushed to work harder just to keep the business running, they are bogged down and swamped by all the activity.  And that’s not all, due to all that hard work, and sometimes inadequate sleep, they face danger of entrepreneurial burnout

That’s not the same as working “on” your business which gives impetus to business founders to build structures. they hire professionals who handle different tasks and facets of the business.

Professionals take over tasks the entrepreneur may not be well acquitted with, adding value and hastening the business’s growth.

Ideally working “on” your business is more appropriate than working ‘in’ your business if you want to succeed on your entrepreneurial journey. So how do you do it?

Here are 3 ways;

1.     Focus on owning the business

 A service provider provides service, a business owner builds the business, focus on owning the business.

The fun part of any business founder is to deliver services, sell products, and get new customers. If your focus is on the fun part while overlooking growth, for instance charging less just to maintain your clients, then you’ve joined the ranks of business ‘doers’ and are not a ‘business owner.’

Business owners think differently, they look for sets of skills, lay down strategies, outline issues, and incorporate ideas that earn profits for the business.

They pursue quality and value over loyalty for their customers.

They evolve from service provision, to taking charge of the business, focusing on growth and business development, and that’s how they grow their business.

2.     Hire and train the right Employees

Hiring and training might seem like a daunting task, but it’s vital for your business’ growth. And not just hiring but getting the right employees, because when the right employees get on board at the onset of your business, you will be guaranteed of seamless growth.

As your employees grow with the business, you’ll reduce the need for hiring again and again, every time there is a new leadership position because you have developed them down the line.

Hiring and training permanent staff has a cost. You’ve got to be strategic, focus on doing it right, consider outsourcing specialized services, and building a skeleton in house team to reduce your wage roll.

For instance, consider outsourcing your accounting, and marketing needs, instead of hiring a permanent accountant or marketer.

The greatest benefit to hiring is offloading most tasks to staff and employees, this gives you room to focus on growing your business, and improving product and service quality.

3.     Communicate constantly with Every Stakeholder

No man is an Island, likewise, no business owner is an island unto himself.

No matter how much skillful or talented you are, you will always need to interact with other stakeholders to boost your business.

For instance, interacting with employees gives better insight into their grievances, vision, dreams and desire.  It also acts as a good opportunity to let them know your vision, mission and purpose for the business, this promotes teamwork collaboration and builds deeper partnerships.

Communicating deeply with your clients will help you to identify their needs, what makes them happy and what satisfies those needs.

Unhappy and dissatisfied customers will disappear faster than you can say the word ‘revenue.’ That’s why its vital to communicate with them and to use metrics and gain insights into what keeps them happy.

Other key stakeholders that you need to communicate to constantly include, investors, peers, vendors, consultants, suppliers, and bankers.    

Take Away;

Successful Entrepreneurship is gradually weaning from the day-to-day grind, and focusing on growing your business, gaining new clients, and finding innovative ways to find out what’s working for your competitors.

And, to do that, you’ve got to stop working “in” your business and start working “on” your business. You’ve got to start thinking strategically, focusing your efforts, and concentrating all your energy to build strong structures for your business.