Knowing what to do next

We are not talking about domain specific professional advice here like legal or tax advice. Rather those instances where you are trying to learn something new – like learning to walk figuratively speaking. Taking that next step is what you need to do – even should you fall, you get up and keep on going and learning.

You know what to do.

It is tempting to pass responsibility to someone else. Ask a friend what you should do. If it doesn't work out at least it wasn't your fault, right? No, it is. Because you passed the ball when you knew what to do.

When you are working for yourself (or when you want to achieve anything extraordinary) the buck stops with you. Not as productive as you'd like to be? Then fix it. Not getting as many sales as you would like? Find the problem and fix it. Not where you thought you'd be a year ago? Then determine where you want to be and work to get there.

I found a new definition of work the other day: "Work is what you do to get you where you want to be." If there is something in your life that isn't the way you would like it, then work at it to get it to such a place.

But is it the best thing to do? If your second option brings you closer than the first option and moves you in the right direction, then yes, it is the best thing to do. Too much choice and you might get stuck with analysis paralysis. Remove options till it is easy to choose (3 is a good number). The crucial thing to know before you start any endeavor is to know where you want to go. Then you can evaluate whether a specific action will bring you closer to it or not.

What is holding you back?

In the movie, The Matrix, the hero Neo goes to see the Oracle to find out what to do next. But the Oracle tells him that he already knows what he came to find out. In that same vein, I want to tell you you already know what to do next. But you seem to be waiting for something. Find out what is holding you back and do something about it.

Examples of things that might be holding you back:

• Fear / Doubt. It might fail or I might look silly. View it as a baby step in the process of learning to walk. Yes, you might fall but you can learn something, get up and keep going.
• Time. A perennial favorite “I just don't have the time.” Really? Perhaps you don't really want to? As with a lot of other things, if you really want to, you'll make time.
• Memories. Last time I tried this or that happened. Identify what exactly caused the stumble last time and do it differently this time.
• Responsibility. Perhaps one of the key reasons for delay and looking for the answer elsewhere – if someone else told you to do this, then you can at least blame them if it doesn't work. But if the choice to do it was yours, who do you blame them. Start accepting responsibility for your choices and where you are in life. If you own your choices you can pro-actively direct where you want to go in life.

Just Do It.

Know where you want to go. Know what you need to do. If something is holding you back, identify it and determine a way around it. Then all you need to is act on it.

Accept the responsibility for the outcome – whatever it may be – and do it, because you already know what to do next. Go and just do it.

Wealthy thoughts:
The Myth of the Entrepreneur
– inspired by Michael Gerber

What is the E-myth?

Michael Gerber defines this entrepreneurial myth as:

1. The mindset that anyone that starts a small business is an entrepreneur.
2. Thinking that because you know how to do the work of a business, that you can run such a business.

People who start small businesses do so for a variety of reasons. Just because you start one, doesn't make you an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur is a visionary and knows what needs to be done to make the vision reality. So starting a small business without a vision for the business is asking for trouble.

A lot of people who don't want to work for a boss decide to start their own business. And so they become their own boss. Because they've been doing the work anyway, it shouldn't be too hard to transition to running the business yourself, should it?

Actually, working in the business and working on the business requires two completely different skill- and mind sets. And that is what the E-Myth book is all about. Moving from the mindset of working in your business to the mindset of working on your business.

There are three different cognitive levels involved in running a successful business. The technician, the manager, and the entrepreneur. Understanding these levels and knowing where you fit in is the first step. As an aspiring entrepreneur we aim to be at the entrepreneurial level, so if you aren't there yet, determine what you need to do to get there and do it.

1. The Technician: When you know how to do what the business is about – the skills to do/make the product or service. If it is a bakery, the technician knows how to bake the bread. If it is a mechanics workshop, the technician knows how to fix cars. In a programming business, the technician writes the code. In a nail salon, the technician does the nails.

   When you as owner are still doing all the work, the business is still in its infancy. The work you do might be the very reason you went into business for yourself, but if it consumes all your time and energy, something has to give. Often that something is the long term success of the business.

2. The Manager: So you decide to get some help in running the business – great, you are moving forward. At the manager level, you realize you can't do everything yourself. It might be tempting to get one person/manager and ask that person to do everything. This is called managing through abdication. And it doesn't work.

   Now this is where you start to define the roles that makes up the business and assign clear tasks to each role. Answering phone calls taking up too much of your time? Define a secretary or customer support role whose task it is to answer the phone. Group the tasks into logical roles and appoint someone in that role. If you can define all the tasks that make up your business and assign them all to appropriate roles, then you have a system or business model that you can manage.

3. The Entrepreneur: The visionary – why you went into business in the first place. Knowing the vision of the business and rallying managers who can execute the vision is the role of the entrepreneur. It is seeing what the whole of the business needs to look like and then deriving the parts needed to construct it.

   As an entrepreneur, you look beyond just the skills you have, to the actual marketplace. Identify a need that a specific market segment has, create a solution that fulfills that need, and run a profitable business doing so.

What does it mean for my business?

Personally I'm still in the technician phase and trying to grow into the managerial phase. So my first take out is to move on from the technician phase using systems and checklists. Define the tasks that you do on a daily-, weekly- or monthly basis and group them into logical roles. When you have a clearly defined role with associated tasks, you can outsource or delegate those tasks. This I've started doing now.

Next up will be moving from working in the business (manager) to working on the business (entrepreneur). Asking the question: "Can this business be sold?" And getting it to the point where the systems and roles are running profitably without me as the owner needing to be present. At that point it will be a business that can be sold. It is the way franchises are developed: building a profitable business system that can be duplicated without the need for the original owner to be present.

You might like to do the technical work of your business, but to build a profitable business that can be sold, you need to look beyond that. Determine the vision and direction of the business as a whole, the parts needed to make the whole, and then make it happen. That is what it means to be an entrepreneur.

1. Live within your means. First get you spending under control, then expand your means (income) so that you can afford to spend more.
2. Know the difference between price and value. Price is what you pay for something (or sell something for). Value is the difference it makes from other options. Taking a cab when its raining might be justified by the value of not getting soaked if you chose to walk.
3. Use cash. Handling your money using cash feels more real than if you are removed from it through say using credit cards. Doing this you'll often find you spend less and value income more.