Are you an Entrepreneur or a Business Owner?
I was sitting at my desk the other day. And, I threw out a piece of clear plastic, which didn’t land exactly in the trash can. I looked next to the can, but couldn’t find it. So, I thought to myself,
“Oh, it’s cool. If I don’t grab it now, the janitor will sweep it up later.”
– Me
But, then I realized something: I am the janitor. I am also the security guard, scheduler, trainer, and sometimes act as the entire HR department. And, gee- I just thought my job was to create content, sell, and teach. That would have been enough!
Since age 16, I’ve run some sort of business… sometimes for others, sometimes for myself. And, I’ve been the one to do it all. Sure, I’ve hired people to take over certain administrative tasks. But, I can’t hire someone to run my warehouse if I’ve never run my warehouse. I can’t train someone to answer the phones, if I don’t know how to do it.
- Empty the trash
- Clean the counters
- Do payroll
- Sell
- Create
- Upload
- Order and reorder
- Fix
- Etc. (emphasis on the etc.)
Yes, I have ideas. I love having ideas. I love to think about how strong my business can be. But, I also need to remember that nobody is going to do the things I don’t, won’t do, or can’t do. I need to run my business. Like my father and his father before him, I run every aspect of my business.
I had a colleague once who was 10 years younger than I; no degree; no experience, it was his first job. And, he was terminated quickly when we’d sit around in meetings, looking for someone to take notes, get things set up, learn, listen, or refill the coffee (which was his job as an entry level employee/intern), and he wouldn’t budge. He would find me after meetings and go “Is that really job? I thought I was here to learn and be helpful.”
I asked him what he wanted to be when he earned his degree and he replied:
“I have a lot of ideas about businesses I want to start. I think I want to be an entrepreneur.”
– Employee
I think this is something that I lot of us preach, but don’t practice. We all want to see our visions move from dream to reality, but don’t want to run the business to get ourselves there.
Are you prepared to run yours? Or, do you want to sit in a conference room and have ideas?