The first-time business owner has a lot to learn and not much time in which to learn it. Whether you have a team or one or twenty it’s always a bit lonely at the top. Here are a few things that can help you settle into the top dog’s role.
Get Ready for the New Position
There’s always a bit of time between the decision to buy or start a business and the day the doors actually open. Use this time wisely to study the marketplace, the customers and the products. It’s also a time to make sure your personal skills are updated in areas like technology and time management.
In this increasingly litigious world one aspect can’t be overlooked and that’s the legislative environment that will apply to the business. Industrial relations and occupational health and safety are two critical areas that every business owner needs to know about.
Nobody Likes a Dictator
Owners naturally make decisions about everything from purchasing to pay increases. This doesn’t mean you need to decide everything entirely on your own. Seek the advice of your team whenever it’s possible and send them a signal that you’re open-minded. If you have just one approach to everything in the business you’ll miss out on some good ideas that can benefit you.
Stay Sociable and Network
Especially if you’ve gone from the position of employee to the loftier role of business owner, it’s easy to lose touch with personal relationships and in so doing become isolated. Networking is an essential element of owning a business and should be seen as part of your marketing.
Get to know your team members as well. They’re individuals who need to feel recognized as people rather than just a source of talent or labor. It may require a bit of effort to tear yourself away from your own desk and visit someone else at theirs but it’s all part of making the business run smoothly.
Office Politics
Every workplace has its own culture, and that�s likely to include some office politics you’ll have to deal with. There are always those who will try to sway you to their way of thinking, often about other members of the team. Be wary and don’t accept what you’re told without doing some observations of your own.
The Fear of Changing Horses
If you’ve taken over an existing business you shouldn’t automatically assume that the performance of the team will continue as before. Everyone reacts differently to a change in leadership and there can be as many negative reactions and positive ones.
If a change is necessary discover this necessity as quickly as possible and act on it before too much time has passed. Dragging out the replacement of a key position in your team is likely to reduce the overall performance of your business.
The Mad Scientist Approach Doesn’t Work
By all means experiment with elements of the business if you feel something can be done better. But don’t make it seem as if everything in the business is being tinkered with at the same time.”One thing at a time” is the best way to tackle change, and when you’re trying something new or different be sure to articulate the reasons to your team. Get their buy-in or you can get confusion instead of a change for the better.
Playing”Follow the Leader”
If you’ve taken over the CEO’s role from a successful predecessor it’s tempting to just keep on doing what they did and hope it works for you as well. The only trouble is, you’re not that person and your team looks to you for individuality in your approach to leadership.
By all means find out what the former CEO was doing well, but make it a point to try and improve on even their greatest successes. You’re the captain of the ship now and the course you set for your business has to be seen as yours, not someone else’s.
Copyright 2004, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.
Chris’ combination of academic credentials, career experience and temperament ideally suit his calling as a business development advisor. Clients say he has a mind for business and a heart for service.