If the answer to that question is “no,” then you’re definitely not doing something right. If you want to own a successful, thriving company and not be a slave to it, then the answer should be a resounding “yes!”
PEOPLE AND PROCESSES
Some people go into business for themselves because they know they can do it better. Others, because they want to reap the profits. And still others because they just don’t want to work for someone else – they want to be able to call the shots. I don’t think that anyone goes into business for themselves because they want to work 168 hours a week. I think the purpose of owning your own business is to be free to be creative and to do it your own way. But also, to generate an income for yourself so that you don’t have to work.
And to be able to not have to work, your business needs to be able to function without you present all of the time. And in order to do that, your business must have capable people and dependable processes in place to handle the routine functions and the occasional out-of-the-ordinary situation so that you don’t have to.
HIRE AND TRAIN
The first step to owning a successful company is hiring and then training good people. When it comes to hiring employees, be sure to interview a sufficient quantity of candidates before making your decision. Don’t settle for just a few. If you don’t have time to sift through the barrage of resumes you’ll receive, then consider hiring a recruiter whose job it is to do that for you and then send you only the best qualified candidates.
Don’t let a candidate’s lack of a skill or insufficient time on prior jobs keep you from hiring someone who otherwise would be a good fit for your company. Hire the person with the best aptitude, abilities, manner, and personality and then train them to do the job. A good employee can learn to do the job.
And once an employee’s hired, continue to train them; on new subjects, tasks and equipment. Cross training is very important in a successful company. That way if there is one area that is creating a bottle-neck, it can be handled quickly and with limited additional resources.
Continuing education also keeps an employee from getting stale and set in their ways. New technologies, equipment and ways of doing things emerge every day and should be taken advantage of. Continued training has been shown to increase worker satisfaction and longevity with a company. Hiring good people is very important. But so is training them once they’re hired.
DELEGATE
Learn to delegate all but the most sensitive of tasks to your employees. Free your time for dealing with the business of growing your business not running it on a daily basis. Don’t weigh yourself down with small mundane tasks like looking at every piece of incoming mail, returning every phone call or email, or approving and signing every check that is written. Employees who are empowered to handle most issues that arise are shown to be more productive and satisfied in their jobs.
Discuss, create and then implement procedures and guidelines for every position in your company so that employees know exactly what their role is and what the parameters are for fulfilling it. Also, let them know how their role contributes to the overall performance of the company.
If an employee contacts you for input on a situation, you must determine if the situation is severe enough to truly warrant your involvement. If not, kindly refer the employee to the person who can resolve it or reinforce to the employee that they have the authority to handle the situation and then let them. If it does require your involvement, then deal with accordingly.
TRUST
Now that you’ve hired and trained the best employees and delegated to them all routine tasks, step back and allow them to do their jobs. Don’t micromanage; employees hate that. Establish ways for them to report to you on a weekly basis any special events or circumstances, anomalies or problems and how they were handled and resolved. Praise or critique, but don’t criticize, the decisions that were made. Everything is a learning experience.
If a situation does arise where your attention or input is needed, use it as an opportunity to convey to your employees how that or a similar situation should be handled in the future. Trust that your employees are willing and able to work with minimal oversight from the top.
MONITOR
But at the same time that you are trusting, you can’t turn a blind eye on your company. You must monitor the performance of your company and the employees. Create performance reports and then review them on a weekly or monthly basis to be sure that everything is running smoothly and that business is not dropping off. Or if it is, that you know the reason why and can correct it. Keep in contact with your key customers and/or suppliers to make sure that their accounts are being well managed and that they are happy.
Have regular periodic company meetings to discuss the financial performance of the company. This lets your employees know that you are monitoring activities and that they are accountable for their performance and the overall performance of the company
Ensuring that your business can function without you can be a tricky and scary thing. But how else are you going to be able to do what you really want to do – a month in Bermuda, anyone?
Comments and questions are always welcome.