So, You Own A Business....What Exactly Is It That YOU Do?
What is it that you do?
So, what does it mean to own a business? What’s your job? To use a sports analogy, if your business is a football team, are you the quarterback? Head coach?
Should you be either?
Likening a small business to a football franchise, it is important to understand that consistent success in business requires an ability to score in all phases of the ‘game.’ One must be able to drive profitable sales – many yards and points on offense – but one must also be able to score on defense and special teams – opportunistic expense control, proactive tax planning and effective cash & resource management.
Make sense?
In a small business, the owner typically wears a number of hats. But the owner of a business - when wearing the owner’s hat - is not a quarterback or head coach or even general manager.
The most appropriate football metaphor is that a small business owner is similar to, well, a football franchise owner.
An owner often does direct the daily activities of his team. The owner does indeed serve clients and close big sales personally. As owner, you may act as the head coach or offensive coordinator or star receiver or even water boy but….
….it is important to note that those are roles that can and generally should be filled by specialists. You may hire a great sales manager (quarterback), accountant (special teams captain) or attorney (pass-rusher or safety) to bolster the skill positions on the team, but they will not run the team. Only the owner runs the team. It is the owner – acting as the owner - that is the business’ most important asset…or liability. Just ask any Cleveland Browns fan…and then ask any Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
Ownership matters.
What about White Caps Stewardship?
White Caps Stewardship Group walks along side the business owner. We can be “numbers oriented” but, beyond announcing play-by-play, operating the scoreboard and playing a little defense from time to time, we focus on the strategic import of the numbers and work with ownership to unlock the pathway to realizing long term goals – like a lighthouse pointing the way home. We are, in essence, your general manager. Along with the owner, we ensure skill positions are filled appropriately (Attorney, CPA. Sales Mgmt.) Along with the owner, we let these professionals do their job as long as they are operating according to the owner’s strategic plan. Along with the owner, we want nothing more than to see a well executed plan fill the seats game after game, season after season. Along with owner, we want to use a well functioning organization to drive an abundance of positive retirement/succession planning options.
One game, one season or one life?
In a word, yes. As an owner, you want to put yourself in a position to win or profit each and every day. However, your ability to affect meaningful, positive change on your business increases exponentially with time and planning. What you do today, standing in the role of quarterback pales in comparison to what you can do today as OWNER, planning a future team that finds a way to win every day with a consistency that is ultimately the key to financial freedom and lasting community impact (and HUGE fans).
Make sense?
Now is that a great job or what?
