Working on my business vs working in my business

“If I’m not in the building, the work just isn’t getting done!”

“I go home everyday with things added to my To Do List, and nothing has been crossed off!”

“I spend my day putting out fires.”

Over 8 years of coaching with small business owners, these words have been said more times than I can count at the start of a coaching relationship. Working with leaders that are striving for work-life balance, this is not a tenable situation. Many of us start building a business for ourselves because we want more FREEDOM, more flexibility with how we spend our time, and more opportunities to increase our profits!

Yes, we’re willing to put in the blood, sweat, and tears of building a business…but when do we get to reap the rewards??!!

In his classic business book, The EMyth Revisited, Michael Gerber coined the term, “Work on It, Not Just in It.”

This, my friends, is the key. Working on the business vs working in the business is the way to progress from constantly spinning your wheels in the day to day tasks to being able to reach your goals for business and life.

The Difference Between Working on the Business vs Working in the Business

Step back in time with me to the first moments when you decided to start your business. Remember that hobby on the side that you loved so much you wanted to do it all the time?
Or the friends that asked you to perform a service for them because you’re such an expert?
How about the product idea you had and how much you enjoyed the process of taking it from a sketch on a napkin to the item in your hand?

Where did that initial excitement and energy for your business go? As you put in the time and effort to grow your business it got lost. Somewhere between the invoices piling up, the grumpy customer service interactions, and making payroll you find that the amount of time you spend on working in the business has stolen the joy you used to experience and you’re caught in the drudgery of details that come with running a business.

Before you know it, you’re wearing all the hats in your business, you’re reacting to market place demands with little to no thought to the long term consequences, and you haven’t eaten a proper lunch in…wait–what were we just talking about??

Ok. Maybe I struck a nerve there. I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about!! But, just what does it mean to work ON the business not IN the business? Isn’t that just semantics?

No. This can be a really helpful distinction for how you think about your business growth, set goals for the future, begin to take back control, and gain freedom!

Working IN the business refers to the technical day to day aspects of running your specific business:

• everyday obligations

• janitorial services

• answering the phone/emails

• customer service

• baking the cookies

• making the sale

• designing the graphics

• Counting the money

• Closing the store

• depositing the checks

Conversely, working ON the business refers to the high level strategic decisions that are necessary for a thriving and profitable business:

• making a business plan

• creating strategy

• evaluating the process

• leading the team

• crafting goals for future growth and development

• monitoring company culture

• aligning company values

• ideation for new products and/or services

In other words, we’re parsing out the difference between tactics vs strategy.

I find it helpful to think of it like a continuum, with Tactics & Strategy on opposite ends. As a successful entrepreneur, you’ll find yourself moving left and right on this continuum throughout your time in business. When you first begin, you’ll be deep in tactics–often called “bootstrapping” it.The goal is to move more and more toward strategy, all the while delegating and off-loading those tactical items. You may live on the strategy side for a time before being called back into tactics because of a business obstacle, an addition of departments, products or services, employee changes, a shifting business model,  or any number of other issues. But then, you are back on the road to delegating, teaching, and training so that you can again step more into strategy.

Tips for Making Time to Work ON the Business

Now that you understand the distinction, your next (and very reasonable, I might add) question is HOW DO I FIND THE TIME?? Yes. I do know that you currently don’t have the time to do all of the things that you need to do. But, I hope that you’ll trust me that as you make even slow steps toward working on the business vs working in the business, you’ll find more time becomes available and you get used to the feeling of making the time for things that you would have procrastinated before.

1 | Make a list of the strategies and long term projects that you need to make progress on.

This is a great place to start. You probably already have a list of “SHOULD’s” running around in your head on random repeat. Get out your business notebook, start a new note in your phone, or open a google doc and turn those random thoughts into a list. I guarantee this action alone will relieve a portion of your overwhelm!

2 | Reserve a set amount of time each day/week/month to work on projects

This is your time to focus on business vs work. Start small here. Especially if you are feeling stretched. The key is to make it consistent and essential–NO SKIPS!! 

• A time where you will have the fewest interruptions and enough mental energy to be useful

• Start small and celebrate your progress (the amount of time matters less than the quality and consistency)

3 | Start a list of Items to Delegate.

You probably already have ideas for this running around in your head, too. Go ahead and write them down (even if the thought of delegating a particular task feels unreasonable right now!). Again, you can start small here and prioritize for ease and importance. Delegating is hard work! You’ve put blood, sweat, and tears into your business. You want it to be properly cared for.

Here are some categories you can consider for delegation:

• Systems–What processes or systems can you develop that make a task easier? This is one of the most basic forms of delegation and the beginning of training.

• Technology–What can a piece of software, AI, new equipment, etc take off your plate? Who knows, maybe it’ll even provide more consistent and higher quality service!

• People–Who do you need to hire? How can you outsource in a cost effective way? Contractors, Part Time, Full Time, Temp, etc

You’ll see as you move along the road toward working ON your business you’ll make progress toward FREEDOM!!!

Use that freedom to do something special for yourself or with someone you love.

Need help working on or working in your business? Are you ready to reach more of your business goals? Want harmony with your faith, family, and career?

Schedule a Coaching Chat with one of our coaches today! We’d love to help you in this season of growth.