Part 3: GOOD NEWS - here's the 7 best things about owning your own business!

The good news about owning your own business is that it's transformative, for yourself, your team, your customers and potentially your industry depending on what kind of idea you have cooking. 

This is part 3 of a little series about owning your own business and I'll go into the 7 best things about entrepreneurship below - it's all good news!

If you thought after reading the first 2 blogs that I was keeping it a little 'too real' about the challenges, you may be right. I'm not a naysayer. On the contrary, I'm a believer in you and what you're doing.

There's a cottage industry around targeting entrepreneurs and focusing on the prize, or escaping Corporate life, or making it sound like if you just follow a checklist then you'll be successful. Most people won't tell you the gritty stuff and you need to know.

Entrepreneurship isn't about glory, its about passion. It's not about the trophy, it's about the process. You shouldn't go into business for yourself because you're burned out in Corporate life. If you're burned out, you probably need a reboot and a change of scenery.

Really quickly...what's my backstory for context? People have asked me why I would leave a techie corporate life and go on my own (or, what is my why). The short answer is that I wanted to do everything that I'm going to explain below. I found a business close to home in an industry where my technical sales and marketing background would provide incredible leverage. I live in Redmond Washington, a suburb of Seattle, and it's very techie place to live. But printing isn't 'sexy' to some people. That's ok, I didn't do it for prestige. If you want to start or buy a business for prestige, please don't. It's about the process and the profit, not what people think about me (or you). 

I saw an opportunity to build a company and be a community resource in a business that would demand and reward (or sometimes punish) every ounce of creativity, analytical skills, empathy, leadership and perseverance that I could bring. 

Here are the best 7 things about owning your own business, where YOU get to decide and make it happen! 

1) YOU define your customer experience. I bought a stodgy, ugly copy shop and turned it into a unique retail experience. Why? Looking at the market for printing and design, there are 2 dominant delivery models: internet and old school printer, neither of which can educate, inspire, innovate or out execute a retail model. So we focus (present tense) on the customer journey, behaviors, expectations, our business model, the franchise concept and brand, and the talent and technology needed to support a retail customer experience and we made it happen. The results? Exceptionally fast growth, consistent 5 star reviews and a fun place to create things. What do you want your customer experience to be about?

2) YOU build your team. This is your main job as a business owner, period. I've written about my hiring profile and it's nontypical for our industry, by design. In short, I look for people with empathy, integrity, technical aptitude, grit and creativity, and my job is to fill their buckets and enable them to do their best work. Frankly this is one of the most rewarding things about leadership and management. It's not about me or you, it's about building a team that complements you and watching them delight your customers. What kind of team do you need?

3) YOU innovate. How do you know if entrepreneurship is right for you? If your brain doesn't shut off and you are innovating 100% of time and you love it, then you're on the right track. My business gives me and my team a platform to innovate and place bets in marketing, design, manufacturing, business development and the technology and processes that support everything. I work really hard to make sure what we are trying to do is centered on the customer and that my focus, patience, long term planning, short term change management and resource allocation are in the right place. I'm also ok with being wrong, quickly adapting and moving on. Do you want to own the chance to innovate every day? #LOVEIT

4) YOU manage change. It's so good for your business and P & L when you do it right! This is the rational side of innovation because if all you're doing is out innovating, you're going to innovate yourself right into the ground, spin your wheels and drive people crazy. Learning how to do change management is a dynamic thing (it's got the potential of constantly changing) and it requires active listening, team input, clear communication, measurements of success and the ability to adapt but forge on through difficulties. How will you manage change?

5) YOU define your culture. Culture is what happens when you aren't there, it's both official and unofficial. I'm so proud of my team every day because I know that they embrace and lead with our customer focused culture. When you own your business, you get to define the culture, hire into that framework and embrace the best of what your team brings to your culture. What kind of culture do you want?

6) YOU show your leadership. Leadership is about moving your company and customers forward. Management is about the tactics and my previous blogs have covered what you're facing. Leadership is having vision and motion, standing for bigger things, being strategic with resources, building talent and systems, persevering through, over or around roadblocks and celebrating success. If you're looking for the opportunity to lead as your own boss, either for the first time or in a new direction with a new platform, then you'll love entrepreneurship, I do! How can you get ready to lead in this 'new thing'?

7) YOU decide on the technology. I put this one last because there are plenty of entrepreneurs who will go into non technical businesses and I didn't want people reading this to see tech as a roadblock to their dream. But I would caveat that your success directly depends on how you use technology so if tech isn't your thing, then hire great partners and technical employees. It's key to align whatever technical investments you make with each of the 6 points above and know your risk tolerance for technology. I love technology because it's the greatest lever for inclusion in the workforce and unlocking the potential of people. Even in our 'unsexy' business there are so many great technical innovations happening including 3D, augmented and virtual reality, creative applications, integrated marketing and workforce enablement technologies. How is technology going to be used in your business? Good news, YOU get to decide! How are you going to use technology?

Again, thanks for reading. I hope you get some measure of inspiration, education and motivation to go out and do your thing, whatever that is. I'll do whatever I can to help you, don't be afraid to ask your network for help :) 

JD Klein

@mmpredmond