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Work on Your Business, Not in Your Business
If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business—you have a job.—Michael Gerber, author, The E-Myth
It was one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction I have ever had. After a long
and difficult process of searching for the right people, every essential role in my publishing business
was filled. No longer did I have to sell ads, do layout, edit articles, or distribute my magazine. My
staff of almost twenty people took care of everything from determining a new issue’s concept to
delivering it to readers. I didn’t even have to look at the final printed magazine if I didn’t want to. I
could now focus on how to grow the magazine from a regional publication to a national one.
Until an entrepreneur’s company runs without the founder, that person is just self-employed, the
lowest rung in the hierarchy of entrepreneurs. The unfortunate reality for millions of entrepreneurs is
that their business depends on them way too much. You know the type, and perhaps that type
describes you. They are often overwhelmed with their business, doing everything from their own
taxes to taking out the trash. They work nonstop not because they want to but because they have to.
They may act as though they have a team that takes care of everything, but they don’t. It’s all just a
facade. The harsh reality is that if they were hit by a bus and died, their business would die, too.
Just because you have the ability to assume a crucial role in your business doesn’t mean you
should. In a recent conversation I had, a fellow entrepreneur boasted about his entrepreneurial
frugality as if it were an admirable quality. Normally it is, but he took it too far. He enthusiastically
bragged, “Why should I pay someone for something I can do myself?” That’s usually code for “I don’t have money to pay someone else to do the work.” If you don’t have the revenues to hire a team and to
replace yourself, your business isn’t profitable, and perhaps you should consider a different approach
or a different business altogether. Doing everything in your business yourself leads to a quick burnout,
and the activity prevents you from executing your role as an entrepreneur: working on your business,
not in it.
Before you even start your business, focus on planning how to get rid of yourself, especially if
the business is service-oriented and you are the one serving. This outlook is absolutely imperative
because once the business gets going, you won’t have time to dedicate to planning when work piles
up. You naturally will give priority to serving clients and generating revenue rather than planning
your replacement.
Finding quality people to fill all-important roles puts you in the frame of mind of running a
business. In this mode, you are really an entrepreneur, and that’s what it is all about. Once you have
successfully eliminated the dependency of your business on you—and the process won’t be quick and
easy—you can focus on growing your business or even moving on to your next venture.
I have seen it happen time after time: Entrepreneurs start a company, hoping to be free from the
tyranny and demands of a regular job, and before long they are weary from having to do everything
for their business. In fact, many are miserable. Either they failed to extricate themselves before it
became really difficult to do so, or they just can’t seem to let go and get away. If you desire to pass
the primary level of self-employment and reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurship, learn to
delegate quickly. Otherwise, your chances of growth are limited significantly. If you want guaranteed,
limited growth, you might as well get a job.
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-Kevin D. Johnson
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