Working On Your Business vs. Working In Your Business

As business owners in the construction industry, we often face a pivotal decision: should we work on our business or stay hands-on, working in it? This isn’t just a question of preference; it’s about recognizing your unique skill sets, personal strengths, and understanding where you find the most fulfillment. The choice you make can significantly impact not only your day-to-day experience but also the growth and sustainability of your business.

When you’re working in your business, you’re immersed in the daily operations. This means being on-site, actively participating in the work—whether it’s pouring concrete, setting up traffic cones, overseeing subcontractors, or ensuring every corner of the project meets your standards. Many construction business owners love this aspect. It’s immediate, tangible, and deeply satisfying to see the results of your efforts at the end of the day.

Working on your business, however, means stepping back from the day-to-day to focus on leadership, strategy, and the big picture. This includes tasks like developing business systems, managing finances, building relationships, and setting the long-term vision for your company. It’s less about tools and job sites and more about steering the ship toward growth and efficiency.

Where Do Your Strengths and Passions Lie?

Neither role is inherently better than the other. The key is understanding your strengths and what drives you. Some business owners thrive in leadership and planning, while others find their passion and where they most likely started, in the craft itself. Both approaches are valid, but they require different skill sets and mindsets to succeed.

If you prefer working in your business, the challenge lies in balancing your love for the work with the broader responsibilities of ownership. Staying hands-on often means you need to delegate much of the administrative, financial, and strategic duties to someone else. This requires a great deal of trust in your team and a willingness to let go of some control.

For those who prefer working on their business, the challenge is learning to step away from the tools and the job site. This can be difficult, especially when your identity is closely tied to the work itself. However, stepping back gives you the ability to focus on growth, scalability, and creating a business that can run independently of your direct involvement.

The Challenges of Working In Your Business

If you’re passionate about working in your business, you’ll need to confront some difficult realities. Running the day-to-day operations while also managing the company can quickly become overwhelming. It’s easy to get stuck in a cycle where you’re so busy with immediate tasks that you don’t have time to think about the bigger picture.

Another challenge is trusting others to manage the parts of the business you can’t focus on. You’ll need to hire and empower strong leaders to handle the administrative and operational side of things. This means finding people you trust to make decisions, uphold your standards, and represent your business in a way that aligns with your vision.

While it can feel risky to hand over control, it’s an essential step if you want your business to grow beyond what you can handle alone. A business that relies entirely on the owner for every decision is inherently fragile. The key is implementing structure that demands updates early and often and includes strategy forecasting meetings at least once a month to keep your team in alignment with the goals for your company vision.

The Benefits of Working On Your Business

Working on your business allows you to focus on leadership, strategy, and growth. You’re no longer tied to the day-to-day operations, which gives you the freedom to look at the bigger picture. This includes setting up systems that ensure your business runs smoothly, even when you’re not there.

It’s also an opportunity to create a more sustainable and scalable business. By stepping back, you can work on developing processes, building a strong team, and creating a company that delivers consistent quality without your constant oversight.

However, stepping away from the job site can feel challenging. It will require you to use and become comfortable with different skills than what you use when working on the jobsite.? It’s easy to feel disconnected from the craft you love, and you may worry that you’re losing touch with the work that brought you into this industry. But the reality is that working on your business is an investment in its long-term success. It ensures that your company can grow and thrive, even as your role evolves.

Balancing Passion and Responsibility

For many construction business owners, the hardest part of this decision is the emotional connection to their work. Many believe that if you own your own business the whole reason is to grow it into something that buys you time, profit, freedom which can only happen if you step out of the day-to-day and oversee executive operations.? However, if you love being hands-on, the idea of stepping back might feel like giving up part of your identity. You don’t have to leave what you love but your business approach will look different than someone who chooses to put a team in place to manage the operations of your business. But even if you choose to stay in the trenches, you still need to think about how your business operates without you.

What happens if you’re unable to work for an extended period? What if you want to scale back or eventually retire? These are tough questions, but they’re important. Even if you prefer working in your business, it’s critical to build systems and processes that allow your company to function without your constant involvement.

On the other hand, if you decide to work on your business, that doesn’t mean you have to completely disconnect from the craft. Many business owners find ways to stay involved, whether it’s by taking on selective projects, mentoring their team, or spending time on the job site occasionally.

Self-Awareness is the Key

Ultimately, the decision to work on your business or in your business comes down to self-awareness. You need to understand your strengths, passions, and what kind of role you want to play in your company. Neither path is easy, but both can lead to success if approached with intention and clarity.

Ask yourself: where do you find fulfillment? Are you ready to trust others with the day-to-day while you focus on growth and strategy? Or do you prefer to stay hands-on and build a team to handle the operational side of things? Whichever path you choose, commit to it fully.

Your business will reflect the decisions you make today. The better you understand yourself, the better those decisions will be, and the stronger your business will become.

If you are looking for some mentorship of how to navigate these two paths and create success for your business - reach out and I would be happy to help you get started.

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/coryfisk7777/