Michelle Rodger: Stay on top of your business, not in the thick of it

Published on Saturday 31 October 2009 13:56

WORKING in your business, rather than on it, is the most difficult challenge facing entrepreneurs. The age-old problem has been compounded by the recent economic climate, with many business owners taking the decision to cut back and retrench to wait for the recovery.

But when costs and staff are cut, perhaps so much that you end up doing more jobs yourself, you find yourself cornered in your business looking out, rather than being outside looking in.

Focusing on keeping what you've got rather than looking for new ways to make a profit means when things start to improve, your business isn't in a position to take advantage, either because you have missed the opportunities or do not have the staff.

So many of us still find ourselves entangled in the day-to-day tasks, rather than the extraordinary tasks that could take our companies to the next level. I suppose we can take comfort in the fact that successful entrepreneurs the world over experience the same difficulty.

Scott Allison, who recently exited his telecoms business, admits it is "so easy" to get caught up in the doing. But that, he reminds us, is what your employees are for. Allison believes you are letting them and yourself down if you cannot focus: it is what to do that is important.

Newly returned from a business trip to the United States, Allison was lucky enough to hear business guru and author Michael E Gerber speak at an event. Gerber recognised the importance of being able to work on your business, with an outside perspective. He describes the dilemma concisely in a YouTube video (www.youtube.com/watch?v>F9SPxSeJMbA) which is well worth a watch. Just a few minutes long, the wisdom imparted is invaluable.

Gerber's isn't the only advice available for entrepreneurs and business owners struggling to grow their business. It's such a common dilemma that there are pages upon pages of tips and techniques on the internet, but these tend to focus on how to stop working in and move to working on. So how do you avoid falling into the trap in the first place?

Entrepreneurial Exchange director John McGlynn says it's important not to believe your own hype. He reckons most entrepreneurs believe nobody can run their business better than they can, and warns that is a dangerous myth. The reality, says McGlynn, is that true entrepreneurs cannot run businesses well. Their efforts tend to be a combination of blue-sky dreaming and a lack of attention to detail, and there is an abundance of great people who can better run a business than a true entrepreneur.

The trick is simply to employ great people and ensure they are in the right role, doing the best job for the business, so that the entrepreneur can do what they do best – be entrepreneurial.

McGlynn, founder and chairman of the Airlink Group, says: "It really is all about people, and the painful lesson is that it's a moveable feast. Just when you think you have your dream team something changes, maybe a major deal, and the dynamics change. "To stay 'on' your business you sometimes have to shuffle the pack, change roles and responsibilities and, painfully, sometimes you have to let people go. Not because they are not good people, just that the dynamics have changed."

So you have to focus from the outside, and take time out to gain a sense of perspective and learn from other markets, competitors and global best practice.

Family business owner Fiona Scott Thomson puts it very simply. A business, she says, is like our baby and nobody can care for our baby as well as we can. Or so we believe. We believe that if we take a step back and stop caring directly then our baby will die. But it's not true.

Trust is key. Like McGlynn, Scott Thomson recognises the importance of surrounding yourself with people that you trust to look after your baby. And often, she says, you discover that other people can actually do parts of your job better than you can.

Taking a step back meant Scott Thomson of Scottoiler was able to sign a unique deal that increased unit sales to one customer from 3,000 a year to 10,000 a year. The increase in turnover – and profitability – gave breathing space during the recession and saved jobs.

McGlynn jokes that in a small business, just as you begin to make ends meet, someone moves the ends. We've all experienced that I'm sure, and it isn't really funny at the time, but as long as you can see the move from an outside perspective, you should be just fine.