As an entrepreneur, you wear many hats. You’re not just the visionary behind your brand; you’re also the strategist, the marketer, the accountant, and often the one who handles customer service. This multifaceted role can make it challenging to find the right balance between working on your business and working in your business. Understanding this distinction is crucial for your business’s growth and sustainability.
Working In Your Business
Working “in” your business refers to the day-to-day operations that keep your company running. This includes tasks such as:
Customer Service: Engaging with clients and addressing their needs.
Product Development: Creating or improving your product or service offerings.
Sales and Marketing: Promoting your products or services to generate revenue.
Administrative Duties: Managing finances, payroll, paying bills and other essential paperwork.
While these tasks are vital for your business's immediate functionality, they often consume most of your time and energy, leaving little room for strategic thinking, risk mitigation and long-term planning.
The Risks of Overcommitting
Spending too much time working in your business can lead to burnout and a lack of innovation. You do not spend enough time putting processes in place to make your work easier. There’s validity to the saying “every minute of planning saves ten minutes of execution.” You might find yourself caught in a reactive cycle, where you’re constantly addressing immediate concerns without taking the time to consider the bigger picture. This can stifle growth and prevent you from seizing new opportunities.
Working On Your Business
On the other hand, working “on” your business involves strategic planning, priority management and long-term visioning. This includes:
Setting Goals: Establishing short-term and long-term objectives for your business.
Strategic Planning: Developing a roadmap to achieve those goals.
Networking: Building relationships with other professionals and potential clients.
Market Research: Understanding industry trends and consumer behavior to inform your business decisions.
This aspect of your work is crucial for sustainable growth. Let us make this clear: sustained business success does not come from chance, fate, or good luck. To run a successful and profitable company it is critical that you understand, implement, and value the process of effective business planning. By stepping back and assessing your business from a higher vantage point, you can identify opportunities for improvement, innovation, and expansion.
The Importance of Strategic Thinking
When you dedicate time to work on your business, you empower yourself to make informed decisions that will drive growth. Where can you increase our competitive advantage, gain more market share, even enter a new market altogether? Do you buy new equipment, hire additional staff, invest in new facilities, or possibly buy out a small competitor? These are tough questions and the very nature of a business plan is to help you in directing the allocation of resources with a higher degree of confidence and decreased levels of risk.
Just as critical is it is for a plan to help you focus on what you should be doing; perhaps even more valuable is that a good business plan will help you have the courage to decide on what you should NOT be doing! What projects and people should you move away from? What should you not be spending time or money on? What markets would not be right for you, even if it looks exciting and tantalizing? If you try to be all things to all people, you will become nothing to anyone. If you are always trying to keep all of your options open, you are also not fully pursuing the best options. One of the most essential skills of a successful business owner or manager – is clearly determining what not to do, and your business plan is a valuable tool in making those key decisions.
Finding the Right Balance
Achieving a balance between these two crucial areas is not just beneficial; it’s necessary for your business’s success. Here are some practical strategies to help you find that equilibrium:
1. Schedule Time for Both
Just as you would schedule meetings or client calls, set aside specific blocks of time dedicated to working on your business. Two full days a year for an in-depth planning retreat, and perhaps one day each quarter for monitoring and adjustment is all that is required to build and maintain an effective business plan. If you’re screaming that you don’t have that kind of time available, the reason is that you are so insanely busy constantly reacting, you have no time. That’s not a recipe for success. Treat this time as non-negotiable.
2. Delegate and Outsource
Identify tasks that can be delegated to employees or outsourced to freelancers – apps like Upwork or Fiverr make this more accessible than ever . We know this costs money but in the long run, the cost of delegating is far less than the cost to not setting aside time for planning and working on your business.
3. Set Clear Priorities
Figure out what is absolutely most important – and do that first. What tasks are going to return the most in the way of revenue, customers or whatever? Use tools like the Eisenhower Matrix to distinguish between what is urgent and important. This will help you allocate your time and scarce resources more effectively. Figure out what is most important, put it down on paper, read it every day, and follow it. Doesn’t it seem less intimidating when we put it that way?
4. Regularly Review Your Progress
Set aside time each month or quarter to review your business performance. Assess whether you’re spending enough time on both operational and strategic tasks.
5. Stay Flexible
Understand that the balance may shift depending on your business’s needs at any given time. Be prepared to adjust your focus as necessary.
Balancing your time between working on your business and in your business is a dynamic process that requires intention and strategy. By recognizing the importance of both roles and implementing practical strategies to manage your time effectively, you can foster a thriving business that not only meets immediate needs but also positions itself for long-term success. Remember, your business is a living entity—it needs both daily care and visionary guidance to flourish.
If you have any questions about managing your business or need legal advice on structuring your operations, don’t hesitate to reach out. As a Pennsylvania law firm dedicated to helping small business owners achieve their dreams, we’re here to help you navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship.