Are you a small business owner like myself? Are you also like me that you think that you are doing a pretty good job of it? Well, you may have to think again,. I know I certainly do. At the Intuit Global Conference – QBConnect – this past week, I heard Jason Nazar speak in one of the Breakout Sessions, and it felt like he had been observing me at my business for the last month and then wrote his presentation.
Jason explained how most of us think like business owners, not like CEO’s, and if you want to take your business to that next level, you need to let go of a lot of the thoughts and actions that got you to where you are now.
That’s not easy for me. I’m a creature of habit. I’m a control freak. I need to have my hand in anything and everything and have to know what’s going on in every facet of my business. Sound familiar? Yup. Like I said, Jason was talking directly to me.
Below is the one item that he listed as what Business Owners do, and what resonated the most for me:
Do whatever needs to be done. Nowhere in your vocabulary is there the phrase – “It’s someone else’s job.” You can perform every single function in your business and can probably do it as well or better than anyone else.
So, does that sound like you? Are you thinking that I’ve been following you around for the last month too?
So according to Jason, instead of the above, you should be thinking like a CEO which is a significant shift.
Don’t do any work. Delegate everything.   – I know! Does that make your head spin? It wasn’t even delegate some things. It was delegate EVERYTHING.   You shouldn’t have any responsibility for any functional aspect of your business. If you are, then you (and me!) are the bottleneck for our growth. He acknowledged that this would be the toughest for us, as our self-worth is so tied up in our businesses. He acknowledged it, but didn’t change his advice. The only thing that we as CEO’s should be doing is Recruiting and Financing.
Jason said that what we should be doing is focusing our time and energy on hiring the best talent and pay up. “All of our success in our business is because of people – 1 great person in your company will get and do more than 3 mediocre people”. “Don’t hire people that you think that you are better than, because you will always try and do it instead of them.”
It does make perfect sense though, doesn’t it? Shocking how being a CEO is actually forcing us to unlearn the things that got us to where we are in the first place. The other steps that Jason taught us are just as profound as the first one. If you want to read the rest of the items that Jason identified as you have to change, his article is listed on Forbes.
I’m determined to stop thinking like a business owner and more like a CEO, how about you? I’d love to hear if you resonated with Jason’s advice as much as I did, or if you have any tips of your own. Also if you make the change, let me know how you make out ☺