If you’re a business owner, you’d know that your business is about you.
It relies heavily on your direction, your ideas and plans. Yes, you get a team in to help you and you don’t want it to all fall onto you. However, in the end, most of the functions wait for your approval or direction.
But as a professional business Coach, I always say that there’s actually a different perspective here on this; one that unlocks a new frame of thinking that will help you be happier and allow the organisation to grow, too.
Here’s how your business is about you, but not as you probably think right now.
Defining the relationship between businesses and business owners
When I first work with my clients, I often discover that their view of their business is closely tied to their whole identity. Usually, they believe that, as the business exists, it needs the business owner to thrive. They’re like the battery in the system. Without them, the organisation has no power to function.
That’s totally understandable, as for the first few years, that’s the truth. However, things change. They hit a point of inflection.
So I tell them: stop thinking you’re always the battery. Once you hit that certain point, it’s time to shift your mindset and your planning towards your business being YOUR battery. In other words, the goal is to have it function independently as an investment tool that serves you – not the other way around.
The ideal goal is for your business is to get it to a place where it doesn’t hinder your other life goals, whether personal or professional. Instead, it should be a vehicle that can take you to where you want to be. That is, if you want it to be worth your time and money, of course.
In that sense, your business should allow you to be what you want to be and not force you to be a slave to it every day.
Why does your business need to take that form?
I tell my clients to picture our lives as a series of buckets.
Every aspect is a bucket. So, you have one for your family, friends, business, your leisure activities, hobbies and so on – all of which have varying sizes depending on the amount of time, priority and energy you put into each. If the bucket for your business is significantly bigger than the others (which is likely if you’re seeing it as an extension of yourself), then any issue in the business will have a massive impact on all aspects of your life. After all, it’s such a significant portion of your life, so you’d expect it to have a huge ripple effect.
However, if you have a series of buckets that are of similar sizes, including the business, you can achieve a more balanced way of living and find more opportunities to fill the buckets with other aspects that bring joy to your life.
We’re all big on work-life balance these days, and for good reason.
Positioning your business to thrive and be profitable enough to allow you to live your life should be the end goal. This is not a selfish thing. If you’ve slaved to get your business to a point where it’s now profitable and you can use it to finance your lifestyle, then you deserve this. That’s why your business is all about you in THIS way.
How can you take your business to that level?
It’s all about resetting your mindset about business.
According to Kenneth Cunningham, “Great operators get tired, great business owners get rich.” So, your vision should be to become a great business owner. This way, you can look for ways to make your business serve you and not be detrimental to other aspects of your life.
To keep your business from being a big bucket that consumes all of your energy, the key is diversity. As you fill your life buckets, be sure that all your resources across different aspects are present: family, friends, your business and your hobbies among other things.
To get to this mindset, my advice is to create a clear picture of other things that you want in life, such as:
- the things you want to do,
- the things you want to have,
- the people you want to meet and
- the person you want to be
As a business owner, you should strive towards making your business a tool that can potentially run itself to help you meet these goals. When you do this, you get a choice on whether to work on or work in your business. This allows you to build other elements of your life, too.
That’s how you know your business works for you.
Redefining the business that is about you
Unfortunately, there are some negative notions in our society and mainstream press about profitable businesses that serve the “fat-cat” owner. But here’s my advice: don’t feel bad if your business is profitable enough to help you live a comfortable life.
A business that’s serving its customers well, creates jobs and has good economic return while allowing the owner to live a comfortable life is nirvana – it’s good business. That’s really how it should be. Remember: your business is about you and it should be the key to achieving all your goals, not the ball and chain that hinders you from trying all the other things that will make you happy.
Do you need help with making your business about you?
Changing your mindset to make your business work for you instead of working for your business doesn’t happen overnight. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone.
As a Business Coach and Mentor, I work with business owners like you to guide you on the path towards achieving your goals with the help of your business.
Simply schedule an initial discovery call today with me.
Stephen O’Sullivan
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