Been at the beach for a short vacation this weekend and made a surprising observation. It doesn’t matter how big or small an establishment, if you think like an entrepreneur you can build a self-sustaining business!  What are the things that move a business owner in the direction of entrepreneur?

While here at the beach I’ve observed both sides of the spectrum.  First, I saw the weary owner that spent morning, noon, and night working in their business.  Then I saw the same sized business where the owner only shows up occasionally but seems to have a very good lifestyle.

So, separates these two ends of the spectrum? Life balance and an understanding of how to use their business to create that life balance that they have envisioned for themselves.  Notice I said understanding life balance first!!?

The problem too many small business owners get into is they don’t understanding is that life comes first. You use your business as a vehicle to help you arrive at the destination!  Business owners work their business as a paycheck, and not an asset from which to retire.  Let take a look at an example.

I saw two businesses very similar on the beach.  First, I saw the weary owner that spends morning, noon, and night working in their business.  They are getting inventory from the back; talk and wait on customers; and make sure this everything is perfect.

Next, I see the same sized business where the owner only shows up occasionally and seems to have a great lifestyle!  Their business works the same way as first, in fact in many was better than the first.

What’s the difference here?  The first owner doesn’t think anyone can do anything better than them.  In fact, if you ask them that’s what they’ll tell you!  They don’t know how to communicate what they expect to their staff or how to hire people that really have the same basic principles as they do!

If they can define a set of quality standards that drive how they expect the services or product to be delivered; or business to be conducted by their employees they could have others do the work.  If you can’t communicate expectations, how can you expect others to perform in a manner you expect?

Now that you know how you want people to behave and perform, can you define a set of characteristics from which to look for employees?  YES, but this is not a simple 15 minute exercise.  It takes time and patience to get to commit your thoughts to paper. But, if you don’t take the time it takes you’ll spend years suffering the consequences.

Think about the little beach shops you’ve visited.  What was it that caused you to take notice? The quality of the product or service and how you were treated as a customer.  If you can’t get others to do what you do, you’ll be trapped by your business forever!

Not sure how to get there from here?  DE, the Personal and Business Goal Assessment can help you identify what’s missing.  Or contact me directly to discuss what is causing distress in your business so we can get you the right tools to get you headed down the right path!