Working on the Business

I believe that it was Michael Gerber, author of the E-Myth books, who coined the phrase that business owners should “work on the business, not in the business”.

In virtually every business that I have ever consulted with that has poor performance, the problems can be traced back to the fact that the owner has not spent time “working on the business”. The owners get so wrapped up in daily events of dealing with personnel, trying to sell, fending off vendors wanting payment, that they spend no time thinking about how to be more efficient, how to better market and sell, and how to more effective managing the scarce resources of time and money.

For example, if the business truly needs to get more sales, the only solution that comes to the mind of the owner is to simply spend more time on the phone and on the road. It seldoms occurs to the owner to create a sales strategy to ensure that the right prospects are being approached in the right way; or laying strategy that will win more sales over an extended period time; or to track sales and marketing activities to determine effectiveness; or to even understand the sales process. Without a strategy, it is all too easy to blame the comapany’s woes on the market, or the economy, or competition, or ….

Of course, the same principles apply to every aspect of the business. Every owner needs to step aside from day-to-day activities and ask questions about what can be done better, how things can be done more efficiently, planning for the future, and how employees can be best used and empowered.

The point is, that with just a very rare exception, there are always some direct competitors that are doing well, because the owners of those businesses are, indeed, “working on the business”.

Will Limkemann
Limkemann Business Advisors
440-871-0976
www.neobizadvisor.com
will@limkemann.net