Step Into Your Role as CEO of Your Business & Make Decisions to Take It From Surviving to Thriving
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When you’re first starting out, launching a new firm can be exciting AND scary. Even if you've been a bookkeeping pro for years, going out on your own is a whole new experience!
But one thing people often get hung up on when it comes to actually growing the business is this: They make decisions based on what they (the owner) want. Not what's best for the business.
When I first launched Workflow Queen, I was known as the go-to girl for using Asana to systematize bookkeeping firms. Now, my business is known as the go-to resource for bookkeepers and accountants who want to streamline their firms, build a team, and optimize their systems for ultimate efficiency.
I have a team of employees and coaches to support my clients, so it doesn't all fall on me. But I NEVER would have reached this level if I hadn't made the decision to invest my time and energy into hiring, training, and creating content for my programs.
I knew these were all things that had to happen in order to get to the next level in my business, even if I didn't want to do them.
But the reality is that we are CEOs of our businesses, and we need to make decisions that benefit the business first so we can enjoy the benefits of a thriving business as owners.
In this blog, we're talking about how to separate yourself from your business so you can start making decisions based on what's best for the health of the business itself.
You Are Not Your Business
Whether you started out as a side hustle or just jumped in head first, building a business is emotional. I don't have kids, but I feel like my businesses are my kids because of how attached I am to them!
And that's what I'm getting at here. Your business has different needs than you do - because it's its own entity.
The business will have different needs as it grows, too. At first, you probably wouldn't need to worry about hiring or creating a team member onboarding program. You'd be more focused on finding clients, setting up your website, and deciding on branding elements.
As you grow, your business will start to need things like client onboarding processes, project management systems, and pricing your services.
Once you reach a ceiling on how much you can handle on your own, that's when team building and outsourcing start to come into play!
What YOU need during all these seasons of your business will be different from what's going on in your business. Most likely, you need more ease and clarity during all of these phases. It's the HOW you get it that changes in time.
How To Make Your Business Thrive On Its Own
If you want to eventually stop working in the day-to-day of your business, this is SUPER important. Your business will never be able to thrive unless you've learned how to make decisions based on what the business needs (not what you want).
A lot of business owners go out on their own because they want to create freedom in their life (also, same!). But you won't achieve true freedom if you don't do what's best for the business NOW to set you up for more freedom in the future.
Here's what this means:
Let's say that you want to take an unplugged vacation for a week. That means your business needs to be taken care of before you leave so nothing falls through the cracks.
Setting an autoresponder for your emails
Notifying any clients of your time off (only do this if you don’t have a team)
Wrapping up any work with due dates that week
Delegating tasks to your team (if applicable)
Those may not be the most fun tasks, but they're essential for making sure that your business is still going to be there when you return!
How To Decide What Your Business Needs vs. What You Need
The main thing you need to identify here is this: What's the underlying goal you have for this business? What does your ideal life look like and how does the business fit into that vision? What is your WHY?
All of these can help you figure out how to make the distinction between what you need vs. what your business needs.
Audit yourself and your current role within the company:
What do you really enjoy doing right now (in the business)?
What would you like to delegate?
How often do you want to check in on the business?
What are some personal goals that you want to achieve?
Make a list of all your answers and notice how close your ideal situation is to where you're currently at.
Now take a step back and look at your business from an outsider's point of view:
What would you advise the business owner (if it wasn't you)?
What are opportunities you see for them to grow?
Where are they wasting time/energy?
What are they doing really well?
It's so easy to get wrapped up in the granular details of your business and let your identity become one with your brand. Just remember that your business will have different needs than you as a person, and sometimes you'll have to make decisions that impact your life in order to benefit the health of your business.
I challenge you to look at your business through the lens of a CEO, not a person who also owns a business, from now on. Once you're clear on what your business needs, create a plan for how to achieve those goals!
You might not be able to put your plans into action right away, but that's okay - just having the plan is a step in the right direction 😊
