The Entrepreneurial Rollercoaster: Top 6 Questions We Hear From Business Owners
Being an entrepreneur can be both the most rewarding and frustrating ventures in life. How you take advantage of those positives and avoid the frustrations is a key to any entrepreneurs success. At Sweet Financial Services, our team is fortunate to work with some amazing business owners. In our conversations with them we continually hear questions that center on these 6 concerns.
- How do I keep more of each dollar I earn?
The key is to become more pro-active in working with a skilled accountant and financial advisor. Unfortunately a lot of businesses wait until after year end to look at some of these critical components and then it could be too late to make changes that would positively affect your tax liability. Think about setting a joint meeting with both your advisors and set up a plan to address options during the year. Click here to get the top 10 tax savvy tips for business owners.
- How do I get better team buy-in and engagement?
Business Owners and Entrepreneurs alike typically have a bright vision for their company. What they are not always the best at is communicating that vision and therefore aligning their team behind it. This is an important key step to getting your team to buy-in to the bigger picture and get them excited and engaged in what the future holds. It is important for the owner to lead by example and show that not only do they have a great vision for the firm, they have a great vision for the people on their team that are going to help get there. Click here to learn more about our team engagement manual and how it could benefit your firm!
- How do I spend more time working on things I enjoy and am good at?
When you are the owner of a business it is a common occurrence to hear that you’re spreading yourself too thin. If you aren’t overseeing all departments and making sure your operation runs seamless, who will? This is where the importance of hiring great people comes into play. First spend some time brainstorming about the things you love doing in your business. Once you have that list, delegate or automate the rest. Imagine coming to work every day and spending 90% of your time on the things you love and that give you the greatest energy… not a bad visual eh?
- How can I create a self-managed and self-multiplying company?
As mentioned above, hiring great people is the start to allowing yourself to work “on” your company versus “in” it. When you have the right-fit person managing a given department, a person that is trained and clear on the vision of the company, it can allow you the freedom to let go of the reigns and “stay on your side of the line” as Dan Sullivan, creator of Strategic Coach says. Give your team the trust and encouragement to allow them to make decisions (and mistakes) for the sake of growth. By empowering them to take more responsibility you are inevitably creating a company that can run effectively and efficiently without you needing to be there everyday.
- Where do I find the “right fit” employee that will fit our company vision and culture?
Ok so we have talked about how in order to spend time on things you enjoy, engage your team and create a self-managed and multiplying company, you must find great people… well how do you do that? The answer is simple. Create a clearly defined multi-step hiring process that allows you to utilize some amazing tools to gage not only the skills of the employee but of their inherent abilities and who they are as a person. We firmly believe that you can teach just about any skill but you can’t teach someone to be a good person. Hire based on character before ability.
- How do I retain my quality employees?
Here is the golden rule of employee retention: Treat them like your best clients. All too often employers forget what their most valuable asset is… their staff. An engaged, happy employee turns into an advocate for your firm and will deliver exceptional client service because of it. Celebrate small victories along the way and let your team know you truly care about them.
If you need help on any of these topics, contact our team or check out our resources!
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