Once upon a time . . .
Bob worked in the corporate world until Pink Slip Day interrupted his routine. He packed up the contents of his desk into a little cardboard box and was escorted by a friendly security officer to the front door.
Standing on the sidewalk with his little Cardboard Box he wondered what he would do. He grabbed hold of his Bootstraps and marched himself back home where he dropped his Cardboard Box on the kitchen table next to the Honey Do List.
"Well, I might as well get started on this list while I figure out what's next." He fixed the squeak in the front door. He fixed the squeak in the bathroom door. He fixed the squeak in the bedroom door.
At the end of the day he was smiling and said, "What a good day. I like fixing squeaks." His neighbor heard him through the open window and called out. "Hey, Bob! My door squeaks. Can you help?"
"Sure!" he called back. "I like fixing squeaks."
Word spread and the next thing Bob knew his phone was ringing. People wanted their doors fixed all over town.
He printed up business cards. "If you know someone with a squeaky door, tell them Bob can help."
He had a sign painted on his car. "Squeak No More Doors, LLC. Call today for a FREE estimate."
He had his daughter make a website. "SqueakNoMore.com"
He asked his wife to help with bookkeeping.
Life was good again.
"I like being my own boss. I like fixing squeaks."
Until the Rainy Day came.
Bob bent over to pull on his Bootstraps like he had for the past few years. Only he couldn't get back up. "I'm stuck."
Bob wondered how he could conduct business if he was stuck. Who would take care of the squeaks in his Business? If squeaks are ignored, they just squeak louder and louder. He was the Master Squeak Fixer. But lately there were more and more squeaks and less time to focus on them.
He grew tired of trying to pull on his Bootstraps. "If I could just let go of my Bootstraps. But how?"
Friends and neighbors thought Bob looked Kind of Funny fixing the squeaks in their doors while bending over trying to pull on his Bootstraps. People noticed that it was not as much fun doing business with Bob. His daughter said, "Whatever." His wife said, "We need more." His customers called in more often demanding to speak with Bob because their doors were still squeaking.
Bob did not like the Phone.
Bob got a headache. "This isn't what I thought it would be. I wanted more freedom but I work more than ever. I wanted to earn more money but my sales are suffering. I wanted to have fun doing what I enjoy but fixing squeaks isn't fun any more."
Then he realized that he did not own his Business. His Business owned him. And it wasn't letting go.
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Many talented individuals have caught the entrepreneurial bug and bought, inherited or started a business related to their technical skills. That very expertise, unfortunately, has a strong tendency to suck you into the nooks and crannies of the business. The technical day-to-day guts of the business are addictive and tough to escape. Sadly, a technician’s mindset and mode of operation are insufficient for running a business. These technical assets can be real liabilities and traps for an owner.
Business ownership is all about strategic leadership, not technical doer-ship. It is all too easy to mistake a technician’s orientation for that of an entrepreneur’s.
- They mistake busy-being-busy activity for accomplishment.
- They confuse hard work for intelligent work.
- They have a technician’s addiction to detail work.
- They work and think like employees instead of owners.
- They do the wrong type of work.
- They fail to grasp that running a business is strategic, entrepreneurial, visionary, and requires strong leadership.
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For business to change, the first thing that has to change is how you think about owning a business.
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