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Running your own business can be fun, easy, and profitable- but only if you keep yourself in check! Handing over control of your company is hard at times, especially when it’s someone else’s idea that they wanted to run themselves.
As CEO, there will come a time where you have to let go and trust others to do their job. And while it may feel like you are no longer in command, staying engaged and aware will take away some of the stress.
It’s also important to remember that even though you don’t hold the title of president or chairman, you still deserve an excellent amount of respect. You built something people want and spent most of your life working towards that goal, so recognize that and celebrate it.
Running a business isn’t just about making sure everything runs smoothly; it’s also about ensuring those under you succeed as well. By acting with confidence, keeping communication open, and listening to what needs done next, you’ll find success both personally and professionally.
A few years ago, I was asked by a friend if I could help her start up a new business. The business offered no products or services but she had a great idea that she wanted to put into action.
Her idea sounded pretty simple — she wanted to make money off of giving away items for discounts. She called this business concept “Give Away Items For Discount” (GLADD) and said you can run your own GLADD site.
I gave her my honest opinion: don’t do it!
Why? Because I have seen this done before and it never works. People try to promote their product through social media sites and they are drowned out by all the other giveaways on sites.
Their competition is too strong. It takes time to build up the community base that makes these types of sites successful.
My friend disagreed. So we parted ways. But what I didn’t realize at the time was just how invested she would become in this failing business model.
Now that we have covered some of the reasons why owning a business can be expensive, let’s talk about something even more important: don’t get involved in their business!
Business owners will often times ask you to do things for their business or take actions on behalf of the business. This is totally normal, but it should be with condition that you are willing to walk away.
If you ever feel like you need to involve yourself in the business, make sure you keep an eye on your exit strategy. You want to make sure there is nothing holding you up before you call it quits.
This goes both for personal as well as professional relationships. Make sure you are aware of how much investment you have made into this relationship and what your next steps should be.
As mentioned earlier, being able to identify potential opportunities is a great way to strengthen your business. By staying in constant contact with your past customers, you’ll be exposed to new opportunities that might come from them.
By offering a good service and helping others, your future self can find ways to make more money.
As we know, running a business includes marketing, sales, and leadership. Being familiar with these parts of the business makes it easier to pick up some of the slack when someone else steps down.
Leadership can mean anything from taking over a department to leading a team of people. Marketing means different things to different individuals and businesses, so there are always resources available to learn. And research is integral to selling products or providing services.
Sales is about connecting with other people and understanding their needs and weaknesses so you can put yourself in their shoes and determine if they will buy what you're trying to sell.
It's also important to remember that not everyone will necessarily want your help after reading this article! But if you've got something going on that could use their input or guidance, don't close the door.
A lot of people have a hard time letting go in business. You put your blood, sweat and tears into creating this company and it cost you lots of money, so why would you want to give up?
It is totally normal to feel attached to your ideas and dreams, but there comes a point when you need to let them go and move onto something new.
This can be very difficult if you’re not careful, but don’t worry – you are not alone!
Many successful entrepreneurs were never able to pull themselves away from their businesses even after many years. What I will share with you now is some helpful advice on how to hands off business.
Sometimes, even the most well-intentioned people in your life can’t seem to let go. You spend so much time thinking about them that when they finally do get around to leaving, it hurts.
They’re in their position now, but they weren’t then. And although they might think they’ll always be there for you, things happen — big changes that force them out.
If this is ever true of someone who has helped you launch or grow Your Business, give them credit for being supportive and valuable.
But if they don’t make an effort to reduce ties with you, it could cost you money. More likely than not, they’ll lose you as a customer once they stop receiving benefits from you. But they could also hurt you in ways you never expected.
By letting others handle your business, you limit your exposure to what they have going on (and maybe why they wanted access to you). You risk not knowing whether they’ve got good reason to believe they are being supported by you, or if they just want something more from you. Either way, you’re limiting your chances of success.
As hard as it might be, try to separate yourself from these individuals. If and when you need their help again, you’ll know how to ask for it.
It is very important to understand that even if you are not involved in running the business, there are things you can do to keep it going. This includes offering financial advice, helping with marketing or finding new customers for the company, etc.
Running a business takes a lot of time, energy and resources. If someone else has done most of this work before, they may be able to help you by lending their expertise and tools to make the business more successful.
By being aware of these opportunities, you show respect for the owner’s efforts and at the same time start building your career.
It is also worth noting that just because you offered great support once upon a time does not mean you get to take control now. As hard as it might be, try to let go and trust others to handle the business so that you can focus on other things.
Ideas are one of the most valuable assets in business. In fact, they’re the key asset. Without them, you can’t succeed.
That is why it is so important to “keep an eye out” for other people’s ideas and not take them seriously until you have made your own.
It happens all the time. You launch your new business and discover that someone has done something similar to what you want to do.
You could try to squash this by developing your idea or finding ways to make yours better, but more likely than not, others have already thought about these and worked on them.
If you’re really passionate about your product/service, then go ahead and develop it, but don’t waste energy trying to beat others at their own game. That will only hold up progress for you.
The best way to avoid this is to just stay away from brainstorming with others. Don’t invite colleagues over for coffee to talk about projects, don’t ask if anyone knows of good suppliers, etc.
This isn’t saying that you should never share ideas, but you need to be strategic about when you do. If you wait too long, you’ll lose momentum and invest too much time into things that won’t work.
Sometimes, even the most dedicated business owners hit a wall – they run out of motivation to keep working hard.
Maybe you’ve been struggling to find new clients for months now, or your current clients are just about done paying you. Or maybe it's time to start thinking about starting your own company.
But before you dive in, make sure you've thought through all the potential ramifications of quitting.
You don't want to start another business unless you're prepared for the loss of income that it could potentially bring in, nor do you want to launch if things aren't completely stable for you.
