Think of your product or service as an Academy–Award–winning movie. You are the director and your staff, contractors, and business resources are your cast of characters and crew. The customers are your audience. By learning what part you play, you can strengthen everyone else’s performance and increase the chances that audience members will talk about how great your picture was. It might sound a little easier than it is. Of course, in your own business you’ll play the part of the president or chief executive officer—the boss.
Nobody wants to start building a vision from the ground–floor–up just to hand it over to someone else. But the role you take on as your own boss is crucial to the success of your business. Just because you can do everything, it doesn’t mean that you should.
There are times when you may feel more qualified than everyone around you to do every job there is. This is a natural feeling that comes from the fact that you’ve known how you envisioned your enterprise and the way it should function better than anyone else. Acting on this feeling, on the other hand, is one of the biggest mistakes you could make right out of the gate. Be realistic. While many of us are multitalented, none of us does everything well. So, in learning what part you should play, it’s good to start by listing on paper the team members you’ll need to support your business plan. Even if you intend to start as a one-man or one-woman operation, you should, at least, consider who might help you with an occasional professional service. For example, accounting is a valuable service that everyone isn’t qualified to provide. If you set out to become a carpenter and you plan to take on jobs that would require only your own manpower, it can’t hurt to keep in touch with a person who will review your books periodically. This can help you to determine business growth trends that you may not have recognized because you’re so busy promoting the company and seeking carpentry assignments. Growth trends are what help you determine when it may be time to expand and hire an assistant or a crew.
But for others who know from the start that they’ll need employee support, learning the part to play helps to better establish the team’s direction. Any good boss knows that hiring good people makes him or her look good. So ask yourself: “Who might handle this assignment better than I could handle it?” If you’re a behind-the-scenes boss, it doesn’t make you any less of a boss. Maybe instead of handling the sales and marketing of your company you’ll want your main task to be internal supervision. That means you’ll need to recruit a sales and marketing person to go out and be the face of your company. This person may do anything from writing brochures that promote the business to setting up client meetings. If you recognize that your greatest talent and passion is at a desk in front of a computer, that’s the part you should play.
Just don’t ever fool yourself into believing that you can have so much raw talent, intelligence, strength, or any other natural gifts that you can just instantly carry these into an office, hang a sign on the door and start making money. You’ll regret that you wasted so much time and energy. Don’t you think there are men and women somewhere in the world who are smarter than the richest man in the world? More beautiful than the most famous supermodels? With all the people on earth, there has to be! But did they take the time to develop skill? Are they geniuses who never completed college? Are they gorgeous women who tripped when they walked, instead of training to glide gracefully down the runway? This is the only thing that separates so many of the greatest achievers from the rest of us. If you listen to the best-known personalities, many of them will admit they always thought someone else was better. They’ll tell you they always admired another person, and that person is sometimes one who the world will never know nearly as well.
There’s really no way to go wrong when you determine what part you’ll play early in the game. If it takes a bit of trial and error, that’s OK, but your early moves and decisions will always set the tone. Make this choice a big part of your preparation and you’ll be glad you did. Confidence in your handling of this choice will increase confidence in your handling of the choices to come. Look at yourself in the mirror and simply ask the question, “What’s my role?” Know that throughout history, from ancient to contemporary times, the most victorious men and women have always been those who put themselves in the right position to succeed—whether personally or professionally.
For Love and Money by Dr. Bellandra Foster
Bellandra B. Foster, Ph.D., PE
Author: “For Love and Money: Seven Guidelines for Achieving Success in Your Home and Business”
