Some people plan to be business owners; others come into it via circumstance, maybe because of a redundancy or a need for more flexibility around family responsibilities.
However they turn to it, it is usually with the idea of relying on their industry expertise to gain customers and generate revenue.
Which is absolutely the correct idea; leverage your skills and experience and make them work for you. But what this concept overlooks is all the ‘other stuff’ that goes with running your own business.
You don’t grow your business by being an expert plumber; you grow your business by applying solid business principles, something most business owners have little understanding of when they start out.
And often, all this ‘other stuff’ takes them by surprise.
Keen to explore this more, including how it impacts small business owners, I recently asked some of my clients this question, “What surprised you as a new business owner?”
Here are some of the answers.
What surprised me as a new business owner?
I have to be a salesperson – this realisation can be a pretty hard one for most business owners, but it’s a crucial one. Without sales, there will be limited growth for your business. So while it may be true that our expert plumber has no experience in sales (or even fears just the thought of it), it is an area of business they should rank high on the list for development.
It’s hard work – initially, yes, it can be. You are starting a business and have to juggle delivering to your clients AND running the business. Sometimes it can feel like you work all hours of the day, and family life can take a knock. I can reassure you though, that things do ease up once you begin to put the processes and team in place that allow the business to work without you getting entangled in the daily operations.
I have to do it all myself – well, no, you don’t. It may feel like when you start out, but there are ways to share the load without it necessarily costing you an arm and a leg. There are affordable outsourcing options. You could consider hiring someone on a part-time basis to manage areas of your business you have little interest in (for example social media), and you could, in fact you should, turn to friends and family for input and support.
Recruiting and managing staff is tougher than I thought – I often coach clients in management and recruitment skills. Many small business owners have never interviewed candidates before starting on their own and find the prospect quite daunting. When they follow a robust recruitment process, we’ve found it certainly contributes towards finding quality candidates. As their teams grow, we then look at the different dynamics and communication styles within the team and how best to manage these in a complementary manner, creating high-performance teams. I highly recommend DISC Profile Assessments for all team members, by the way – you can claim your free one here.
I get paid last – we all know this shouldn’t be the case, that you should pay yourself first, but if suppliers are calling to be paid, it’s all too easy to slide your payslip to the bottom of the pile. If this becomes a regular occurrence, it’s probably time to have a close look at your numbers and pricing structure.
I really love what I do – the best surprise of all. Most entrepreneurs have a real passion for what they do and thrive on seeing their business and teams, achieve incredible results. They love getting up in the morning, knowing that all the ‘other stuff’ about running a business is being taken care of (at least once all the systems are in place!)
Join the conversation, what is the one thing that surprised you most about being a new small business owner?
