Want to be your own boss?
If your answer is ‘no’ this article is probably not for you. You might enjoy reading Entrepreneurs in the Trenches instead. Not surprisingly, millions of people have answered that question in the affirmative. Whether you’ve made, or are about to make the leap to entrepreneurship, read on.
If you’re good at building or fixing things, there’s an unlimited demand for your services. Handymen/women entrepreneurs seem to have all the work they can handle. I recently had a project completed by just such a person. We were discussing his business and I asked if he has considered expanding beyond his current solopreneur status. He had thought about it, but didn’t like the idea of adding employees and the additional administrative complications of payroll, workers comp, and such. No mention of the supervisory responsibilities.
I briefly told him of my entrepreneurial journey as both a partner and sole proprietor. My wife was sharing our conversation and suggested I give him a copy of my book—Beyond the Numbers, 5 Key Factors that Impact an Entrepreneur’s Success. He enthusiastically expressed interest, so I retrieved and handed him a signed copy.
This encounter led me to revisit the topic we were discussing which I had written about in my book. What happens when someone ventures out of the employee role to launch their own business? Are they simply changing jobs while taking on the extra responsibilities of marketing, sales, accounting, and other typical business functions? That appears to be the case with my handyman. After three jobs working for “the man,” the last of which involved broken promises, he took the leap to entrepreneurship.
Who are these entrepreneurs?
Those who leave the corporate world to launch their own business typically have a circumstance that triggers the move. They may already be working a side gig or perhaps have potential customers lined up—through their known expertise and contacts—who are interested in utilizing their talent. Handymen/women or specialists such as plumbers, electricians, even those with construction specialties (drywall, framers, e.g) may have an advantage over those with other skills who want to “be their own boss.” After all, who doesn’t need some repair or update in their home?
Once out on their own, there are two (general) types of entrepreneurs. The first group simply want to do the work they’re good at, prefer to go it alone, and have no desire to take on business-building burdens. They have a new job; one with a new boss—themselves. They now decide everything about the job: the hours, time off, what the next project is, where to do the work, how much they get paid . . . everything.
Nothing wrong with the decision to remain solo and thinking they can maintain work and off-work time similar to what they had as an employee. However, the challenges involving work-life balance are much tougher as an entrepreneur (another blog topic). Even though this type of entrepreneur is going solo, they will still need to manage other people. New entrepreneurs often face tasks they’re not so good at or simply prefer to have someone else handle. My handyman sometimes needs a plumber or electrical specialist, maybe another body for heavier tasks or to help meet workload peaks. In any business, there are normal operating tasks to handle as well: accounting, a website, scheduling, etc.—some or all of which will probably be delegated.
Business Building
The second group of entrepreneurs are those looking to build and grow a business. At first they will likely find the customers and actually do the work, i.e. deliver the products or services of their business. There are some entrepreneurs who have or find the means to buy an existing business with customers and employees. That situation is for another time and article. For our discussion here, I’m talking about new businesses and new entrepreneurs with aspirations beyond solopreneur status.
For these risk-takers, there are a few crucial decisions best made, or at least thought out, prior to launching the new venture. I’m talking about decisions beyond the obvious ones that must be made well before the actual launch. New entrepreneurs should already have a written business plan, financial resources in place, defined budgets and cash flow, know their market opportunities, and have identified physical needs and logistics (office, equipment, etc.).
Those are givens. I’m talking about more introspective and/or intangible decisions they may not have considered:
- As the business grows, will you continue to work in the business or transition to working on the business? Another way to ask this question using job title parlance is, will you be the Chief Engineer or the CEO?
- Will you want others to share the risk (ownership) along with handling business functions you may not be good at or, even if you have the aptitude for, would rather not do?
- What is your “why,” the “life purpose” of your business?
Each of these questions require more depth (again, other blogs/articles). For now, here’s a hint at what that depth might look like.
Engineer or CEO?
Entrepreneurs come in a variety of disciplines and aptitudes. Being entrepreneurial, however, doesn’t always mean being good at running a business. Many excel at building the product or delivering the service. Some are best at marketing and/or selling the product or service once it’s built. And yes, some are (or will be) actually good at running the business. Regardless, few entrepreneurs can lay claim to skills required to excel at all the facets of creating, running, and growing a business.
If you’re intent on being CEO, you’ll need to know or learn how to work on the business. You’ll shift from creating the product or delivering the service to doing the planning, organizing, and leading needed to grow the business. If you want to continue working in the business (creating and delivering), you’ll need to hire someone skilled at managing those functions.
As “Engineer owner”, you’ll stay involved with growth issues (finances, resources, goals), but someone else will be responsible for managing those issues. Which leads us to the last point.
Share the Risk?
However you answer the engineer or CEO question, as the business grows, you’ll need others in key roles involving leadership and/or technical expertise. That may be a CEO or GM. Leaders may be needed for accounting and finance, production, customer service, marketing/sales, or IT. Sharing ownership can be an excellent way to get the expertise for a role or roles complementary to your own knowledge and skill. Partnerships can and do work—when they’re done properly.
Partnering, first and foremost, is about you. Do you have the attitude, disposition, and patience to be a good partner or would you be better suited to retain sole ownership responsibility for the future of the business? If you have the temperament and aptitude a partnership requires, should you consider, and will it work, with a family member? These are questions you need to be honest about and even get some outside counsel. Here’s a fun, non-scientific exercise from Chapter 5, Discovering Your Best Entrepreneurial Personality you can try as a self-analysis starting point.
What’s Your Why?
People much smarter than I have built businesses around this topic. Simon Sinek wrote a book entitled “Start With Why” and built a successful business around the theme. If you haven’t read or follow him, I recommend you do so. In the meantime, let me give you a glimpse of my approach from Chapter 10 of Beyond the Numbers: Establish Values in Your Business.
The why of a business is not defined in casual declarations about great customer service, being the biggest or best in your field, or making the best widget. It’s about the core fabric of why you have the business and how you run it. What do you stand for? How are you serving your fellow human beings?
Getting your “why” established and infused in every fabric of your business is not easy but is one of the most important and impactful things you can do.
Wrapping things up
Ready to make the leap—or already jumped— to entrepreneurship? Get the business tangibles in place—finances, logistics, marketing/sales, etc., but don’t ignore the intangible questions posed here.
If you don’t know the answer (yet) to a solo career or one building a business, you can delay answering the engineer or CEO question. You’ll want to address the “why” question either way. Once you decide you want more than just a new job, get some help with the “share the risk” question. Professional counsel, mentor input, family discussions, are all valuable resources.
Happy entrepreneuring!