The biggest change that has to happen in a business is that the business owner has to move their thought processes from being a worker to being a business owner, and beyond.
The idea of the Entrepreneurial Ladder sets out a pathway for where we are up to on this journey.
We all start off as a student … we are learning fundamentals – that’s our role. So we think and act like a learner.
You move on to become an employee. Your major role is to carry out the work required of you. You get paid for the work you do. You are still learning so you can do your job better and move on to your next role. Your thinking has changed from being just a student, to that of an employee.
Now, once you become an employee and you have learned different areas through different jobs, you might start your own business or buy a business and become self-employed.
You’re still learning and still doing the work of that particular role, for instance if you are a plumber, you do plumbing work. You also have to learn marketing and sales and pricing and so on.
This is where some big issues arise for us and we might stop moving on. If I think of myself as a plumber all the time, then I never put my business owner hat on. If my whole thinking is that I am a plumber I don’t stop and think like a business owner.
The thinking of the business owner has to take into account the marketing and finances and so on.
You might think you are doing that, but here’s the key. If you are not getting fundamental items like invoices, quotes and money collection taken care of you are still thinking like and being the technician in your business. You’re not thinking like a business owner, you’re not even thinking like a manager.
You might employ more people and do more work, but if you are still thinking like a technician your business will not move forward.
You have to think like a business owner.
Here’s some examples: Is this job profitable? What’s the best way to organise the day? What do I need to set aside for Tax? What do I want my life and therefore the business to look like at the end of the year.
You need to keep changing how you think, and thus how you act for your business to move forward and you to get what you want from your business.
Make a start today. What are business owner tasks you need to do? Schedule them and get them done. STOP doing more technical work. It’s just holding you back
