You say you’re a business owner, but are you really?  

Many entrepreneurs put themselves in a position of owning a job, not a business. This can be true whether you’re a solopreneur or have 50 employees.

As a person supporting blue-collar businesses, I see this all too often. An owner comes to me with a company that’s been around for many years, looking to make a change. The business is profitable, and yet they can’t sell. 

How did this happen? 

They didn’t build something transferable. They only built a job. 

Wondering if this is going to happen to you? Whether you’re looking to stay in business, sell, or do something else, you owe it to yourself to answer these three questions.

1. Can your business get a loan?

Are your books in order? In other words, would a bank be willing to give your business a loan (not you personally)?

You might hate doing the books; most entrepreneurs seem to. But seriously, just do it. Or get a bookkeeper. 

You don’t need to spend a lot, either. A simple Excel spreadsheet can do the trick. Even QuickBooks or an actual bookkeeper won’t cost an arm and a leg. 

The key is to be disciplined. Do the books. Know your numbers, and be able to show them to others. 

In addition, make sure all your personal finances are separated from your business finances. Many LLC owners never do this, to their detriment. Having a business credit card, bank accounts, business PayPal, Venmo, and Amazon accounts are all things that will help show a bank your actual cash flow and earnings.  

Yes, your “tax guy” may say it doesn’t matter; that may be true for the present. However, bad habits created today become harder to break the longer you have them. And someday you may need a business loan. (A great resource to consider is Profit First by Mike Michalowicz, a simple financial system that can significantly impact your business.)

There are additional benefits to separating personal and business. Let’s say you want to buy a car or home. Your Schedule C form for taxes might not be enough documentation for your lender, leading to questions about your business’s true profitability. But when your books are in order, you can simply pull them out at any time. This could save you a lot of stress and anxiety. 

2. Can you go on vacation? 

How long can you be away from your business and still be in business? 

Many owners are also the service provider and trade time for dollars. They cannot imagine taking time off. But let me tell you the truth: if you are the “how” for everything in your business, you have a job.

I see this a lot when I coach small business owners, and it significantly detracts from the value of their business. 

One way to move you away from being an employee is looking at support from virtual assistants (VAs) and on places like Upwork or Fiverr. Outsource tasks that are outside your areas of genius. (For more information, a great read is the book Who Not How by Dan Sullivan.)

Getting clear on your areas of genius is a critical step in unlocking the full potential of being a business owner.  Too many people try to do it all. I’ve heard every excuse. “No one can do it better than me.” “I don’t have time to train someone.” “It’s just easier to do it myself.” 

Even if these were true, my question to you is: What are those excuses costing you? What could you be doing with that time instead? 

To bring those costs out in the open, try this simple exercise:

1. Keep track of all your activity for one week, noting how much time each task requires. Use a spreadsheet like this one to help you. 
2. Put your cost next to each one of the tasks. For example, in the time it took you to clean the bathroom, how much could you have earned in money-making business activities?
3. At the end of the week, write down what you did not get done. Did you miss out on potential opportunities because you were busy doing something you could outsource?
4. Write down the lost revenue next to each one of these tasks that did not get done. 

It might seem harsh, but adding up the numbers can really bring home the reality of your situation. Ask yourself, would you pay someone the costs for the tasks you completed as a business owner? My guess is you are overpaying by over 50% for you to do your work. 

3. Do you know your niche? 

In the early days of owning a business, it can be scary to focus on a narrow niche. Overcoming the fear of “excluding” others in your message is hard, and it may take many months to figure it out and be comfortable with it. 

But here’s the hard truth: If you try to be everything to everyone, you are nothing to no one. By trying to appeal to everyone, you don’t become memorable, you don’t have a clear message, and you can’t be good at anything. 

As a business owner, you should want to be #1 at something.  

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re an accountant. You also happen to like cars, and you live in southeastern Wisconsin. One way to narrow down your niche is to combine those facts. Become the #1 accounting firm for car enthusiasts in Southeast Wisconsin. 

It might seem overly specific. But it’s not. It’s perfect. Now everyone knows you are the accounting person for car people in your specific area. 

You and your staff have a clear message. Your networking partners know how to talk about you. There is a differentiation between you and the hundreds of other firms in your area. Being crystal clear in your message tells everyone what you are good at and the people you enjoy working with. 

Because of that clarity, the right customers will naturally gravitate toward you. They’ll hear your messaging and think, “They get me! I want to do business with them!”

Answering yes to each of these questions takes work. It won’t happen overnight. But with diligence, you’ll start creating a valuable business that can work for you. Soon you’ll be able to say you truly own a business, not just a job.

When you are ready to quit having a job and own your business just let me know.