Why It Is Important to Work On Your Business, Not In It | Ep 04

Welcome back to another episode of the Delegate Your Way to Success Podcast. My name is Kristy Yoder, your host and today i am gonna talk to you about why it is important to work on your business, not in it. I have a question for you. Do you still remember the giddy feeling in your stomach when you were just starting out your business? You can’t sleep, you can’t even sit still. You want to just glue yourself to your desk and work so many hours. You even post clips and post-its of your goals in your corkboard! That’s how motivated you are...at least, back then.

Take a moment and think back to those early days. Days when your mind churned out ideas faster than you could write them down. Days, when you knew the road ahead was going to be tough, but you were energized to roll up your sleeves and get right into the hustle anyway. Those were the days when having a clear strong vision was all you needed to encourage you to press on, and every small win was worth celebrating. 

But soon enough, those earlier days unavoidably plateau into days enveloped by the nitty-gritty things that you should be delegating but still aren’t. Days that find you grinding instead of growing, putting out fires instead of prioritizing the big picture. 

Maybe it’s the pride in your heart forcing you to ignore the tiny voice in your head, telling you to assign it to someone else. Or maybe because you just don’t trust someone else to do it the same way you do. You still go on with the routine, hoping that the voices go away, only to hear more of it, this time telling you to rest and regroup.

Have you found yourself in this position? Or are you in the middle of this exact season right now? 

I hear you, and I feel you. It’s a part of growth, but that isn’t to say that it’s what growing should always look like. Dear entrepreneur, now is a good time to step out of working in your business and into working on your business. And of course, I am gonna tell you exactly why. But first, let’s differentiate both of them.

Working In vs. Working On

Let’s start with working in the business. Working in the business means that you are focused on the internal workings of your company: from filing reports, hiring capable staff, and more tasks that are related to keeping the workflow up and running.

While there is nothing bad in working in the business, especially if you are starting out, it can take its toll on you, the CEO, over time. Because the company is laid squarely on your shoulders, the growth of your business relies on you and only you. What if something happens to you? What would become of your people? Would they still be able to produce the same quality output even though you are not around? It’s not a healthy strategy in the long run.

On the other hand, working on your business means going out of your own company bubble and expanding your horizons. It’s building networks with other people in the industry. It’s finding new strategies to solve problems that you found within your team. It is basically looking at the bigger picture instead of stressing over the tiny details; details that someone else can focus on.

To have a better picture of the difference, let us create a scenario. For example, you tried to set up a beauty salon. As the owner, your main job is to find opportunities to expand your business, hire capable people, and bring in customers; NOT to paint nails and cut the hair of the customers yourself (and policing the employees who can’t seem to do it the same way as you). While this is not bad once in a while, this is not your main role as the CEO. 

Working in the business or providing manicures yourself prevents you from working on the business bringing in customers. The former impedes your growth as a CEO and as a person, while the latter sets you up to success.

Let’s talk more thoroughly about the benefits of working on the business rather than in it. Firstly…

It Empowers Your Staff to be Responsible

Do you know what separates a business owner from an empire builder? The former works within the CEO's strengths; an empire builder surrounds herself with a team whose strengths she can work with. 

Before we start diving in, you must take this to heart: you are not alone in this. Right beside you is a team made of capable people. Contrary to what we CEOs think, we cannot do everything on our own. We need people who can focus on the mundane tasks so that we can go full speed ahead to our business goals.

Building a business is like parenting. You give birth to it, nurture it with your bare hands, clean up its messes, and help them grow into something you aspire them to be. The difference is that, instead of actual human beings, you are taking care of a fully grown group of individuals who can think for themselves. They mess up. They infuriate you sometimes, but they do get the job done, at least most of the time. And that’s okay. That’s all part of the process of growing up, both as individuals and as a team. What you need to learn is to let go and let them do so.

I know and understand that it’s not easy. Most of us business owners treat our businesses like our children. We just can’t seem to let them go. But we have to, for the sake of the business and for our sanity.

Learning to delegate and then trusting your team to take ownership and deliver on their tasks is both daunting and liberating as a business owner. Take that step, know that it won’t be smooth sailing straightaway and that fires will still need to be put out, but be confident that this will surely foster growth and development among your people and in your business. 

Not only does this empower them, but it also shows them that they can trust you to take care of the big picture and drive the business towards greater heights. 

It Forces You to Look Ahead

Now that the internal tasks are being handled by your team, what do you do now? Speed through, of course! Let your managers handle the audits, paperwork, and all of the internal affairs. It’s time to map the course on where you want your business to go.

This is the time to ask: what is your vision? Where do you want to see your business five, ten, fifteen years from now? What are the steps you have to do to get there? These are questions that you must grapple with as the leader of your company. Remember, they are relying on you to take them to greater heights.

While you can get your employees and your customers on board with your vision, no one else can nurture it and broaden it quite like you. You are accountable to your stakeholders, the employees, and customers alike, for the expansion and advancement of your vision, your goals, and your overall strategies. 

In the long run, focusing on this enables you and your business to stay relevant and be excellent. Let’s face it, getting stuck in every in and out of running your business will rob you of time that could be spent planning for the future, setting new goals, or developing strategies.

It Prevents You From Burning Out

Have you ever reach the point of burnout? I know I have. When I was just launching the business, I was so energetic and excited about what's ahead. Every day is filled with purpose and meaning.

But then it gets tiring and stale. I gradually dreaded seeing all the Excel files, the same old topics to discuss during meetings, the same old tasks to finish every. Single. Time. It just never seems to end!

One way or another, I’m sure you can relate to this. No matter how much you want to change the pace of your life, you just can’t seem to do so because, at the back of your mind, you’re thinking about the report that has not been filed or the task that is not yet done. You can’t seem to relax and enjoy your off-days because you are always worried. And you are tired of feeling that way.

That is why you have to learn to let go. As mentioned earlier, you can’t do everything by yourself. And again, that. Is. Okay. It’s okay not to be okay. You are no Superman...or Woman. You are human. And you do get tired.

It takes humility to admit that within ourselves. But believe me when I say that it’s liberating. The irony is that admitting that you are weak and in need of help is true strength. Not everyone dares to do that. So lay down the pride and ask for help. 

It Fosters Growth

The fact is, you are less likely to be able to do this when you are always in the box. Everything has a learning curve, including your business. If you don’t want to stagnate, you have to go out there and seek growth. You can’t do that if you are staying within the same box you are currently in. You’re not water in a glass; you’re a whole freaking river! So go and flow your way into nooks and crannies where opportunities lie.

As the business owner and leader of your company, you want to find ways to innovate your processes, your products, and/or your services. While the members of your team may contribute to this once in a while, it is your responsibility to have this mindset consistently. After all, you are the face of your company. You represent them into the world. So go out! Explore. Build contacts. Find more effective strategies to make your workflow efficient.

Free up your brain space for the creative things of leadership by resisting the urge to micromanage and recognizing that the big picture needs your constant attention too. 

It Sets You Up For Success

Finally, with all these things in mind, plus A LOT of hard work and perseverance, success becomes inevitable. Once you start working on your business, growth will surely come. Trust, been there, done that.  

Just remember: surround yourself with the right talents, go outside the box, and explore! Success and growth are not just measured using the reports you have on your desk. It’s also seen by the impact you can see both inside and outside of your organization.

Remember those early days when your mind churned out ideas faster than you could write them down? They aren’t things of the past, dear entrepreneur. Make that conscious effort to work on your business, not in it, and see how that propels your company and its people forward in ways both expected and unexpected.

How have you been feeling about handling your business lately?