A PAINTER? A JANITOR? WHICH HAT DO YOU WEAR?
© Barbara Massie
If you are like all other business entrepreneurs, you wear the above plus many more. You trade hats, as you move from one responsibility of your business to another. It doesn't mean that each day is a different scenario; no, it means within each day, you wear many hats. You may walk into your business workshop in the morning as the CEO, but during the day the broom turns you into a janitor, numbers into a bookkeeper and correspondence into a secretary. It is fortunate that most skills needed are within you, but it sure can get tiring.
You have been a dreamer, planner, organizer, bookkeeper, marketing person, all of these and more. You are staying on top of orders and the business is thriving; what more could you ask for? Well, how about a day off or someone else to market the product and pull in more orders to make the business grow? Dreaming can be good, read Are You a Practical Dreamer?
Would hiring an employee or two make a difference between status quo, or growing into the future? Face it, do you really have all of the skills needed to run a business? If not, consider hiring a person with a skill or experience that you lack. Expertise which will enhance the business.
When work piles up, orders continue to come in (wonderful!) and each working day becomes longer in time spent in the office. Consider hiring help. The realization that you can't do everything yourself might be a blow. You have considered yourself very competent, organized and on top of it all, but then you realize it is no longer the case. There's just too much to do.
To grow a business into the future, the work must get done. Hiring help has to be the answer. Getting Outside Help offers some good advice. This is the time to consider hiring help with the expertise you lack. It will help the company when you hire those who have the expertise you lack. When you are primarily a creative person, hiring an expert at business issues can do nothing but enhance the whole picture of the business.
Close the office for an afternoon, sure you might get behind even more, but plan you must!
List every task that is done each day.
- What on the list takes the very special expertise you have?
- What is routine, every day maintenance like answering the phone and packing orders.
- List the things that are easily taught to another.
- What on the list isn't getting done correctly because you don't know how to do the task?
Go To Page: 1 2
