Each week I have the pleasure of talking to small business owners or to those who aspire to own their own business. While a lot of them have a good grasp on what it takes to be a business owner, many do not.
Don’t get me wrong – I can relate to the feeling of being unsure about what needs to be done to run a successful business. That’s why I wanted to share some of what I have gone through!
When I started my own business, I suffered from a lack of understanding about what it took to be a successful business owner. Things were stagnant and business was slow. Other business friends told me to become an information sponge and figure out where I was and what I needed to learn. For me that meant talking and reading and learning everything I could from everywhere I could find help. I also had five different business coaches over the course of two years.
Yes, even with all of that information, it took a while to get that my biggest problem was I didn’t see myself as the CEO of my business. In that respect, I was still doing things as if I was an employee, plus, I wasn’t taking the reins and driving the business forward like a boss. I was just going along for the ride and excited to be planning for success.
If you find yourself always in “planning for success” mode, then you need a good look in the mirror and to recognize that the buck stops with YOU. If you aren’t as successful as you want to be, you need to take a good hard look at what you are doing, or not doing, and be ready to step up to the plate. If you fail, it’s you. If you succeed, it’s you, too.
Here are some things you must-do if you want to step into being the CEO of your business and start down the road to success.
1. Consider who you are hanging out with in person or online.
Surround yourself with other business owners, preferably those who are already successful. If your family and friends aren’t supportive and helping you to be successful, then politely curtail the time talking with them about work.
2. Find someone to hold you accountable for doing what you need to do.
Find another business owner and have a one-hour weekly phone call with that person. Help her be successful with her own business and have her do the same for you. Brainstorm and figure out each step of the way together if you have to.
3. Get a positive attitude and stop whining.
No more Negative Nancy. Be attractive to work with: be sure of your worth, talk confidently, have a firm handshake, be outspoken, look and act your best at all times. That also includes being excellent in all of your materials: business card, website, social media presence. You are the CEO, remember? Act like it. If you aren’t sure how you are coming across, have a heart-to-heart with your accountability partner (see #2), or with another business owner (see #1.) You need brutal honesty.
4. Step outside of your comfort zone.
Go WAY outside of your comfort zone. Go into this thing knowing that there are things you need to do that you either don’t know how to do or don’t want to do. (I don’t like doing my expenses and billing, but I hired someone to set up and teach me QuickBooks to make sure it was getting done. And a lot of the time I just pay her to do it for me.) Sign up to teach a class, give yourself a goal of making 100 sales calls this month, create five videos this week, or look for a mentor. Get the idea?
5. Read, read, and read some more.
Or consume information in whichever way you can. There are thousands of books and magazines, articles on the internet, and video and audio recordings that you can learn from. Learn to scan through the contents to find what you need TODAY. You can only implement one thing at a time. What is the next thing that you need to move forward TODAY?
6. Take advantage of your local Small Business Development Center.
They have lots of classes and consultants that can steer you in the right direction. Most of the meetings are free to you. Call as soon as you finish this article and set up an appointment to visit with someone this week. While you are there, ask them to connect you with someone else in the community that would be a lightning rod for you.
7. Figure out how to make the best use of your time.
Write down your goals and every single little step it is going to take to get there. Without a plan (and preferably a written plan) little is likely to happen. If you only have half a day each week to market yourself, get those four hours in and make some serious progress. Each week!
It’s time to get real! Do some hard work now and be set up for success. It may be that all you need is to work on one or two of these things. There is probably room for improvement in some areas, and some of these items will always need attention. It takes hard work to be a CEO – but the rewards are worth it.
Susan Osborne
Great article! I often found myself in, as you said, “planning for success” mode. It’s been a challenge tackling that, but once you break through that and dig into the real work, it’s much more rewarding!
Holly - The Work at Home Woman
Hi Susan, Totally! There comes a time when you just need to jump in and take the plunge. Thanks for stopping by!
Britt Anderson
I have all of these covered, except #4…why is it so hard to put yourself out there! Will keep working on it, thanks for the post!
Holly Hanna
It is hard getting outside your comfort zone. In Tim Ferriss’ The Four Hour Work Week, he talks a lot about doing this. Great read is you haven’t read it. Thanks for stopping by Britt!