How many times have you heard an expert say “Stop working in your business and start working on your business”. Or “Start thinking like a CEO and lead your business. Stop acting like a team member”.
Conceptually all business owners I have ever met get that they need to step up and start leading their business if they are to get to the next level of success. The challenge is how to do this. But do this you must because your business won’t grow to the next level unless you the business owner up level your mindset and really start thinking like the CEO of your business.
And let’s just look at the business owner role. Are you really a business owner? According to National Statistics Office there are some 5.2million businesses in the UK, so you would think that all these people were business owners. Wrong. An incredible 75% are to my mind just self-employed experts who do not employ any team members. Sure. they are working for a business enterprise, that they own, but really the way they behave means that they are in effect working for the business, being reactive to all the circumstances that some up. That is not leadership, and that is not how a CEO behaves.
So lets look at the key differences between a self-employed expert, a business owner and a CEO.
Characteristics of a Self Employed Expert
- Highly proficient in their area of expertise (often referred to as being a great technician)
- Their view of what is achievable is limited by what they personally can do
- They have little or no leverage and are stuck trading time for money
- Very reluctant to outsource tasks or build a team
- Often can’t exceed USD250,000 in annual revenue
Characteristics of a Business Owner
- Grudgingly starts accepting they can’t do everything and so begins to strategically outsource tasks
- Adds to the team and starts leveraging other people’s time and expertise
- They often jealously guard some core areas of the business believing that only they can do this
- Usually experiences a rapid growth in both revenue and team
- Revenue typically flat lines between USD1-2 million per annum
Characteristics of a CEO
- Finally accepts they have to replace themselves in the business
- Consciously shifts their primary role to that of strategic relationship builder and rainmaker
- Limits the amount of time that they spend on service delivery to just a few key clients
- Appreciates that their role is to become irrelevant so that the business generates revenue without them
So how do you up level your mindset and start to become the CEO of your business. Here are three things that you can start with:
CEO Mindset #1: Don’t Make Business Decisions based Primarily On Your Personal Preferences
As you step up to become the CEO of your business you need to learn to start making decisions not based on what you personally like but what would be best for the business. For example, choose a business logo and brand colours that resonate with your target audience rather than ones that you really like. Travel to events where your clients will be hanging out, even it is inconvenient for you. Don’t confuse business expenses and investment decisions. The former waste money whereas the latter will over time generate you a return. For example, the decision to invest in a CRM systems won’t feel like an expense when it is delivering you qualified, automated leads every day.
CEO Mindset #2: Don’t Let Outside Factors Impact Your Ability To Take Action
In business there are always a myriad of outside influences that can impact what we do, however CEO’s don’t let outside circumstances take them off track. A classic example of this would be the business owner saying that they will invest in that sponsorship deal as soon as they have secure a new piece of work. Well if you know that sponsorship investment is absolutely the right thing for your business to do and will get you in front of your ideal client. Then surely you should make that investment regardless of whether you secure the new piece of work. In fact just by making the decision to invest and begin hanging out with your ideal client, you may will find that the new piece of work appears as if by magic.
CEO Mindset #3: Don’t Stick Your Head In The Sand and Avoid Addressing Important Issues
As the CEO it is your role to have courageous conversations with your team members, even if it feels uncomfortable. You also need to ensure that key issues in the business are addressed such as having contracts in place, making sure your accounts are completed and other legal obligations. Now I appreciate that some of these things might not fall into your area of expertise but as the CEO it is your responsibility to manage these operations and ensure that your business is compliant at all times. As the CEO you must always be thinking “What is the best for the business”, even if that answer is outside your comfort zone.
You’ll be amazed at what happens when you start stepping up and becoming the CEO of your own business how that has ripple effect on everyone around you. Your new found leadership inspires others to also up level their game and as a consequence business productivity and profitability results.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
