Has Your Role As Business Owner Evolved?

As a business owner your job should continue to evolve. More than likely you were the technician of your business when it started. You not only sold, but also delivered on, the promises you made to your clients. As a business grows it’s common for the business owner to go from technician to manager, but to stay as the expert in the business.

It makes sense that owners tend to be the experts in their business. You’re passionate, you have the knowledge and experience needed and you’re probably really good at being the expert. But it’s not practical and it actually prevents the business from scaling. Often, small businesses struggle to grow past this point because the business is too dependent on key people, mainly the business owner.

There are several options to continue to scale the business. Some are better options than others. For instance, you could hire someone to manage the business, which allows you to focus on being the top technician or even the top salesperson. The problem is finding someone that you trust to have the same vision and that would work well with you.

Another solution would be to continue to grow at status quo. This tends to create issues of burnout, a lack of work/life balance and issues with quality and delivery. A third, and often the choice many successful business owners choose, is to evolve their position. This means growing their skill set to focus on more strategic functions within the business and focusing less of their time on being the top technician.

We typically help our clients focus on how to make their business more scalable by making their work more teachable. Which means they can focus on more strategic functions, including growing their business. Follow these insights to start evolving your job:

• Create a functional organization chart. We start by having our clients create a functional organization chart that outlines every core function in their business. This chart becomes a map of what areas of your business need more attention. Chances are if you’re focused on being the top technician or top salesperson, there are strategic areas in your business that are being neglected. Creating a functional organization chart will help you identify those areas within your own business.
   
• Create your own position zoom chart. From the functional organization chart, you need to design your future role in the business. We use the word “design” because it’s important to understand that how you spend your time is a direct indicator of where you are successful. Begin designing your future role by identifying what you do now. Simply choose those core functions listed on the functional chart that are your responsibility. Be sure to list the number of hours for each core function that is one of your responsibilities.
   
• Design your work. Once you have a baseline, you need to then focus on the design of your future role. In the same chart outlining what your role is now, start to design what’s needed to take your business to the next level. First, highlight anything that needs to come off your plate. There are many ways to identify these functions, but start by asking:
  • What would I pay someone else to do this task and how does it compare to the value of my time?
  • Would (insert the name of your favorite business leader) spend their time doing this type of work?
  • Is the skillset for this function a technician skillset or is it strategic
     

The functions you highlighted are your Stop Doing List. These are the areas you need to work with your business coach, and your team, to make more teachable through training, systems, processes, automation, etc.

Once you’ve identified your Stop Doing List, it’s time to identify the work you should be doing. This means looking at your functional organization chart and identifying the functions that are currently neglected in your business. Often, we find a lot of improvement is needed in business strategy such as having a growth plan, a marketing plan, an updated vision and process/system improvement. These strategic items often get neglected as time goes toward the tactical work of the business. These items may need to be added to your position zoom chart, and as you identify or add them, they should be highlighted a different color than your Stop Doing List. This list isn’t just to identify what’s needed, but it’s also to give you something to work towards. This new listing gives you a roadmap for the work others should be doing in your business (your Stop Doing List) and the work you need to begin to focus on. 

We often hear from business owners that they’re not sure what to do with their time if they aren’t working as the expert technician in their business. This position zoom chart is your map to successfully stepping into the strategic role of growing your business - without you needing to be there to do the tactical work.

We understand this is just one part of the solution. The real work begins once you’ve created your new position chart for your role in the business. Our business coaches are prepared to help you make your current work teachable and to engage your employees in taking ownership of the results you need them to achieve. Let’s get started today!