Business got you trapped?
Photo by Mitch Lensink on Unsplash
Business owners come from a variety of backgrounds. Some inherit a family business, others launch a business to commercialize their passion or idea, and there are those like myself who spend years climbing a career ladder before becoming tired of working so hard for someone else. No matter which route we take, I’d say all business owners go into business to create a better life for themselves and their family. Be that by earning more money, having more personal time or generally creating a specific lifestyle.
The first year or so in business tends to be accompanied by a blissful naivety, combined with buckets of energy and drive to get our venture up and running. We promise ourselves the world. We sacrifice everything to get there. As the novelty eventually starts to wear off, those of us still standing find ourselves with a business that’s now running our lives. In many cases, we work all the hours under the sun, barely get to see friends and family, and often take home fewer pennies than our employees. We are well and truly trapped. ‘That’s just business’ we tell ourselves. ‘I’m lucky the business is surviving’ or ‘At least I’m my own boss.’
Sound familiar?
The myth that this is what being a business owner should be like is a damaging thought process. In fact, I’d argue that in the above circumstances we aren’t true business owners at all, we’ve just managed to buy ourselves a really stressful (and expensive) job. If you can’t decide to take a 4 month holiday and come back to a business that has grown in your absence, then your business actually runs you, rather than the other way round.
My own journey lead me to wanting to help those who are trapped in business like I was. You see, the ActionCOACH definition for business is ‘a commercial profitable enterprise that works without you.’ And this is what all business owners should be aiming for, even if you never want to really stop working in your business. The goal should always be getting to that point where you can take as much time off as you like, and spend the time you do want to work, ON your business rather than IN it. ActionCOACH have helped thousands of business owners around the world do exactly this, while reaching levels of profit they never thought possible.
How do we do this?
Every business is unique, but there are key aspects to all businesses that we focus on first to get the quick wins in. After we boost profits, it’s important to re-invest some of this into long term planning and processes, putting the right systems and people in place to get the business running itself. All this and more is covered in far greater detail at one of our free business strategy workshops.
To attend a free business strategy workshop, click here to send me a message and I will invite you along to the next available session. You’ll leave with some specific actionable strategies you can implement in your business straight away.
If you want to have a chat about your business, or if you’d like to book a free business health check, click here
