Are you working in or on your small business?

Don’t get confused about what you, the business owner of your small business or start-up business, like SOHO-, SME, SMB-, Micro-, Lifestyle-, Home-, DIY-, Hobby-, Boomer- or Personal business, like professional, contractors, freelancer, self-employed, sole-trader and virtual assistants, should be doing? You need to do both of cause!

Unfortunately working in your business, like answering the phone, writing bills, doing the wages, talking to customers and so on is all that most business owners do. Research shows that most believe that this is all their is to do! That is very wrong and also the reason why many businesses fail.

Working on your business means to looking at it from the outside, remembering all these little customer comments, imagining a new type of technology to be employed in the business, changing the way you advertise, in other words making changes to the business, the whole business:-

• that will improve performance,
• enhance external communication with clients,
• improve the clients experience,
• cut costs out of your business,
• and many other aspects of your business.

That is in reality the most important part of what a business owner should do - plan the future. Working in your business, will make sure you you can pay your bills next week or even next month. Working on your business is all about still having a business next year or the years after that - that has to be the most entrepreneurial thing you can do.

Have a vision for the future - work on your small business - have a future! ST.

3 Responses to “Are you working in or on your small business?”

1. Shama Hyder
   http://www.AfterTheLaunch.com
   
   Said on November 22nd, 2007 at 6:56 pm

   Stefan-

   You are so right! And you know, it is easier than ever to work on your business rather than in it. For example-your company’s online office program has helped me save so much time!

   -Shama

2. Stefan Töpfer
   http://www.winweb.com
   
   Said on November 24th, 2007 at 9:49 am

   Shama,

   Thank you very much for your compliment.

   Stefan

3. Andrew Ivey
   http://www.timetomarket.co.uk
   
   Said on December 1st, 2007 at 7:35 pm

   In my experience we commit so much time and effort to working in the business - and not on the business - because we want to get the business to a size at which we can confidently take on more people. Such is the regulatory minefield of employment legislation that recruitment is often delayed whilst business owners continue to work over-time. Forget work life balance - if an employment decision goes wrong the headaches can be so much worse.

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