As a business owner you may be asking yourself the question, or you have heard the question…“What is the difference between working IN your company and working ON your company?” For most of us business owners, we’ve been working in our company. Working in your company can be an ugly fact because you are the company! Working in the businesses day-to-day operations, the required tasks, operational problems, answering phones, paying bills, making bank deposits, sales, unforeseen surprises…but this is the problem, you are working in it! And as a result, you’re probably not making much. While working in your company you can lose focus of where your company’s going, of what its problems are. Compounding problems and missing opportunities. You must force yourself to stand back, sit down and allow yourself time to think! Regularly. This is very difficult to do when you are so involved, when you – – – are so important! Look at your company from an outside perspective. Outside in, not inside out! Working on your company is getting out of the details, out of the muck, and start delegating and strategizing. Allowing others to do the work which, of course, you do so much better. It’s a very difficult, but necessary transition. Looking for opportunities, possible weaknesses, vulnerable areas. Allow yourself the time to think about what you are doing – optimizing your time, efficiency, and effectiveness. This will be very difficult when you are consumed in the operating details. I can tell you from experience, as a CPA having seen hundreds of small business over the years that unless the transition can be made by business owners from working IN their company to working ON their company, these business owners never reach the growth and potential they so desperately desire.
