How many times have you heard someone refer to their business as their baby? It may seem like a common analogy given the blood, sweat and emotional tears we may initially put into our businesses, but there comes a time when you need to step back.
When starting out, the stages of your businesses growth may need constant attention but after two years of setting up shop, you should be able to relax slightly. Mentoring expert Bev James givers her three reasons why you should ditch the ‘my business is my baby’ mentality:
Babies are dependent on you, your business shouldn’t be
In the early stages of your business’ growth it may feel comparable to parenting, with long hours, sleepless nights and relentless demands upon your time and energy, but this shouldn’t extend beyond a certain timeframe. One of your primary goals for your business should be to decrease its dependency on you so that you can turn it into an asset, not a job.
If you want your business to thrive it’s vital to delegate and allow others to take control of the steering wheel so they can have autonomy over their tasks. If you get separation anxiety every time you relinquish control you could be stunting your business’ growth. Trust isn’t built overnight; it’s a gradual process which starts by learning to delegate tasks to those who are aligned with your values and vision. As trust increases so too can your staff’s responsibility, allowing your business and your team to evolve.
Emotion over logic
When you start your business it’s essential to seek constructive feedback to help it develop. With the ‘my business is my baby’ mentality all feedback becomes criticism and you are led by emotion over logic when it comes to making key decisions. Passion and excitement for your business is key to success, but emotional decision-making can cost your business. Business support and business advice from experts can help you to grow your business and approaching feedback with a logical mind-set can ensure the best for your business.
Businesses are financial assets
Some people start a lifestyle business and never plan to sell; others start a business with a view to increase their financial return by selling it further down the road. Your business is an investment to give you the lifestyle you want. Making sure you recognise that there may be a right time to sell your business is important.
It’s great to love your business, but it’s also worth keeping in mind that it’s a separate entity from you. When you view your business for what it is, you allow it to grow and develop into its full potential, giving you a sense of satisfaction and achievement instead of separation anxiety.
Bev James is a successful entrepreneur, start up advocate and business coach with more than 20 years’ experience in diverse sectors.
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