Why You Need To Work On Your Business, Not In Your Business

Way too many business owners have this simply wrong. They need to work on their business not in their business. They’re stuck in the day-to-day grind and operations instead of doing the things that move the needle forward in a big way. We all have finite amounts of time — and we all have the same 24 hours in a day.

You should only work on the things that matter.

It’s not selfish.

It’s important.

Your company and business provides jobs for others.

Their livelihood quite literally depends on the company — the company that YOU built and that YOU run. If you can’t perform because you’re too bogged down in nonsense…

Well, everyone ultimately will suffer.

You’re a hamster running on a treadmill that can never stop. 

You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave.

Control Freak-ism

Deep down, a lot of people are control freaks. And it’s understandable that you build a business and you have a hard time letting go of it. Trusting someone else to execute things in it. Or even trusting someone else to run it. Trust somebody else to respond for you and speak for you.

All of these things take TRUST.

And what’s more:

Many business owners got started in business because they wanted to STOP working for other people.

And really, can I sit here and say I blame you?

If you’ve ever worked a corporate job you know the 80/20 rule.

Meaning…

80% of people are probably people you wouldn’t care to work with, if given the choice..

When it comes to hiring, you then assume it’s similar. 80% of the people you hire aren’t going to be nearly as capable as you are.

And guess what.

You’re not wrong.

Most of the candidates you speak to, the interviews you do, will be duds. But it only takes 1 strong hire to absolutely make a massive difference in terms of moving the needle forward for you.

You Get To Choose

As I said above, many people built their business because they wanted to be done with the 9-5 corporate job. Maybe it’s what drove you to build the business, or the mere thought of ever having to sit in an office all day is something that drove you to entrepreneurship.

Here’s the thing:

When it’s your company…guess what — you make the rules.

So the 80% of people you wouldn’t want to work with, if given the choice, you as the owner of the company…guess what, you can just simply not work with those people.

Meaning don’t hire anyone you don’t want to work with.

Better yet, don’t hire anyone you don’t love working with.

Don’t hire anyone but A-players.

What is an A-player? That’s a different discussion for another day, but the key point is that when you put the right people in place who you are excited to work with, you don’t have to work in your business — you can work on the business while the people you trust execute the heavier day-to-day operations.

How To Truly Work On Your Business, Not In Your Business

It all starts with one of those infamous time audits. I know, I know, they’re absolutely no fun. I know, I know, you’re a business owner, you have better things to do than logging your time and jotting down notes all day…

I’m telling you though — it’s important.

Every day that you spend doing repetitive, time-consuming things, or worse, every day you spend doing stuff you hate doing is a day of lost energy and joy.

That’s not why you built a business, is it?

It doesn’t have to be anything super fancy. Pen and paper tends to work well because it becomes a bit more real. It’s easy to lose yourself in a myriad of Excel spreadsheets and time-tracking/productivity apps.

Keep it simple, do what works for you. If you have an executive assistant, ask them to hold you accountable for this.

Start taking a look at the tasks you write down.

Ask yourself…

• What tasks am I doing that are repetitive? (write an R)
• What tasks am I doing that are time consuming? (write a C)
• What tasks do I love doing? (write an L)
• What tasks do I hate doing? (write an H)

Of course, you can start getting more nitty-gritty and writing down what really makes money (more on that later), but for now, start here.

Tasks that have Rs, Cs, and Hs — start thinking about getting them off your plate so you can stop working on your business, not in your business.

Automate Or Delegate?

There’s tons of powerful software out there that can easily automate some repetitive processes to get them off your plate.

• Sending out Slack invites to new clients
• Parts of the onboarding process
• Auto-responders

The list is endless. You shouldn’t just hire out a role because you think you need it, you should have a good, long, hard think about whether a simple snip of code can replace you (and this is even with the fact that I run a hiring agency in mind!)

If you can automate it — do it.

If it’s repetitive and time consuming and can’t be automated — then delegate it. Book a call with us to find out how you can!

Closing Thoughts

Business owners should focus on what they love. That’s what most companies are built on. They’re not built on spreadsheets, formulas, documents, and contracts. Stop bogging yourself down in the mundane and the day-to-day.

Stop working in your business.

Work on your business instead.

Hire right and this can be easy. Hire wrong and you’re going to find yourself on that endless hamster wheel.

The choice is yours.

Read More: Working On The Weekends As A Business Owner