Perhaps you are wondering what it’s like to go out on your own and start a business. Have you got what it takes? Is your company idea marketable? Is it worthwhile to take such a risk? These are difficult questions.
As an employee, you earn a living without the burden of duty that a business owner bears. As a business owner, you have the freedom and opportunity to create riches that your employees may only dream of. The decision is yours: should you get a job or establish your own business?
Being an employee, you are the hired help earning a living, while the firm profits immensely from your efforts. However, as a business owner, you have a lot of responsibilities. You manage the economy’s ups and downs. Your good employees never turn off those Indeed notifications because they are constantly looking for a better opportunity. Your bad-fit employees steal your time and energy before you let them go. That is simply the tip of the iceberg.
From an employee perspective, the broader picture is someone else’s concern. You are focused on a task that may be important to you, but it belongs to someone else. If you are willing to work inside a corporate framework of guiding principles and purpose, that is fantastic. Employees prefer to have a set of tasks and KPIs to measure their work against. You’re there to do a job well, reap the benefits, and not feel the weight of the firm on your shoulders when you’re not working.
An owner mindset is one of accepting problems, confronting risk, and finding a way through. If you are frustrated by shortcomings in your current job or have an idea or concept for a fresh venture that you just can’t shake, you have an owner attitude.
Most people get into business for the wrong reasons. They are competent technicians. They do an excellent job representing what the company offers to its customers. They feel that working for themselves will allow them to make more money than working for others. They depart to open their own shop. It can be referred to as an “entrepreneurial seizure.”
These specialists feel they will have more freedom in their firm, but they soon discover it is the most difficult job in the world. There is no escape. They are the ones doing the work! They’re the “business!” However, if they are the business, they have not actually established a firm. They’ve only made a job for themselves!
The role of a business owner is very different. They build a business that can function independently of him or herself. There is an “end point” where the business runs independently of them. At this time, the business owner can choose whether or not to sell it. By then, he or she will have constructed a ready-to-sell “money-making machine” and can decide whether or not to put more effort into it. The business can also be replicated in different locations.
This initiative follows the model of a “turnkey franchise,” such as McDonald’s. Ray Kroc, the franchise builder, created a unified business with a specific style by designing, documenting, and testing complex systems, ensuring a consistent customer experience. Ray oversaw the restaurant’s design, marketed uniformly manufactured food and equipment, and gave “scripts” to the serving staff. These scripts included specific methods for preparing the food.
Similarly, the business owner should begin with a notion of how the business should look. This contains an organizational chart, which may begin with the firm owner in each box. The chart depicts the organization’s responsibilities for the chief executive, accounting, marketing, finance, and production staff. The firm owner gradually tests, measures, and documents procedures for each position before delegating them to others until he or she is no longer needed.
There are usually two definite areas where business owners struggle:
Consider this: if you were hit by a bus or went on an extended vacation, how long could your firm operate at the same level and efficiency as it would if you were present? Five hours? A day? One week? In order to be a genuine business owner, your company must have the processes in place to scale and run without your involvement in day-to-day operations.
This starts with easy-to-follow checklists, defined processes, and good people. If you are out for weeks at a time, your company should be able to continue operations without interruption. Unless your business can operate without you, you are self-employed, but not a business owner, because the business owns you.
One of the most common reasons people say they can’t develop their business is because they can’t find suitable employees. If you are constantly battling to acquire, inspire, train, and retain good employees, you are in the “human resources death loop.” When you are in this cycle, you always wind up needing to do everything yourself because you are locked in a world where if you want something done well, you have to do it yourself.
If you seek security and want the buck to stop someplace else, staying an employee is your best option. There are certain ways you may, and probably should, begin thinking about accumulating wealth beyond your job. But there’s a lot to be argued for making your day job the foundation of your financial plan.
On the other hand, if you feel constrained by your job description, have a passion, or a business concept you’ve been wanting to try out, it may be time to start your own business. If you believe you have the attitude and motivation to pursue it, create a strong strategy, seek advice from great mentors, and get started!
If you need financial planning and expert advice on venturing a new business, Basta & Company is glad to help you out. We have the best financial advisors to guide you in the right track. Visit our website and get started!
Samy Basta brings you more than 20 years experience in tax, financial, and business consulting to his role as founder of Basta & Company. His focus is primarily strategic business planning, empowering clients to set priorities, focus energy and resources, and strengthen operations. In addition, Samy and his firm provide strategic counsel, and technical insight, on a wide range of needs, including tax saving strategies, tax return compliance, as well as choice of entity.