Running a business is a tough gig. Right?
Running a business can be very rewarding and fulfilling. Right?
Running a business is a means to an end. Right?
All true as far as I’m concerned and there is no doubt that the journey of owning a business can be a rollercoaster of emotions as we ebb and flow between successes and failures. True of life in general too.
Let me ask you a question then: If a business is a means to an end, how do we recognise when the end is achieved?
Do you love what you do? Are you riding high on success or do you soldier on in the hope that you can take the business to another level? Do you see your business as a lifestyle business – one where you are firmly in control and have the flexibility you want? Or, is it that you are just focused on maintaining the status quo and the stability of your company in an ever changing world?
Whatever stage you are at, attention should be given towards the end game – the finish line! What’s it all about? When will it be payback time?
Another way of looking at this is how much pain do you want in your life? How much stress are you willing to endure when running your business?
I was stimulated to write this blog, in part, by the experiences of two of our latest clients; both business owners. Different businesses, same issues. Neither had given much thought as to their ‘end game’. They were both struggling with their own key person dependency issues. They had tried to extricate themselves from the day-to-day running of their business but continually faced difficulties sticking to any such resolution due to the demands of the business. They were trapped in a cycle.
On speaking to the wife of one business owner, it became all too evident that he wasn’t ‘fronting up’ about some of the issues, particularly around his health. Working with the business owner and his wife, Blue Sky set about working to ‘understand their number’ – how much they needed and when to live the life they want. The hardest bit for them (and it is for many business owners), was thinking beyond their current situation… Finding the space to consider the possibilities for a way of life beyond the business.
At Blue Sky, part of what we do is to encourage all our clients, but particularly those with businesses, to explore what’s possible and see life beyond their current situation. Often, our work together gives clients the confidence to have a legacy beyond their business.
One of the first stages towards progress, is to begin shaping and positioning your business in such a way that it would still thrive without your involvement. Never easy, but only then can you start believing you can turn your dreams into reality.
