TAKING BACK CONTROL

…do you control your business or does it control you?

Here's a quick test for all you business owners out there:
Do you ever feel as if your company owns you, instead of you owning your company?
Do you sometimes think your employees are working against you, instead of for you?
Does it seem as if you have a career as a firefighter because all you do is put out fires all day?
Has it been more than three years since you took your last vacation? We're not talking a long weekend, an industry trade show or a couple of days off in a row, but a true, honest-to-goodness vacation?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, chances are, you need to rethink the why and how of your business. The fact is most businesses are started for the wrong reason: job creation. The business owner is the business, and the company is nothing more than a job for its owner. To change this, you must start thinking like an entrepreneur, and stop thinking like an employee.

To accomplish this, you need to focus on three key business strategies:
1. Business development: Do what is necessary to create an efficient and productive operation.
2. Business expansion: Do what is necessary to effectively and profitably take the company to the next level.
3. Value management and value creation: Do what is necessary to build an operation that has a significant, realizable value, therein creating options for an effective exit strategy.

Remember: The main difference between entrepreneurs and employees is that entrepreneurs work ON the business by establishing an operating and exit strategy in the beginning, and employees work IN the business putting out fires.

Working ON the business means developing strong, well-defined systems of operation. That includes knowing what the business does, how it gets things done, who is responsible for what throughout the process, how the company gets paid for the products and services it provides, and what creates value for your business.

Your goal should be to make your company a self-sustaining entity that is complemented by the talents of you and your employees. If you want to build a company that is stronger, more profitable and more valuable--a company that can survive family succession or that will eventually attract eager potential buyers--you have to develop a solid company structure with defined systems of operation.

Once you have accomplished this task, your focus will change from working the employees, to working the systems. When you focus on the systems, replacing an employee, expanding the company or even selling the company becomes a much easier proposition. It's easier because the "how and what we do" has been predetermined, documented and embraced.

Then, and only then, will you feel as if you are actually in control.

If you have additional questions or need assistance please contact RSI & Associates at 800-230-9086.

Gerald W. Brown, Sr., Senior Analyst, RSI & Associates, Inc.