Have You Built a Business or Just Created a Job for Yourself?
I was talking with a business owner last week and they said something I have heard a few times recently:
"I don't think I've built a business. I think I've just created a job for myself."
They didn’t say it with bitterness, it was more with resignation for their situation.
On the surface the business is successful. The client base is growing, there is revenue coming in, people like the product. But the owner can’t take time away, handles all of the decisioning making and the idea of taking the business to the next level seems too daunting to tackle.
The more I reflected on our conversation, the more I realised there's nothing inherently wrong with creating a job for yourself – as long as you have built the business you intended to build.
As a consultant working closely one-to-one with clients I don’t need a lot of infrastructure around me and after years of running a high performing team I am enjoying the change of pace being accountable just to myself. By design my business is 100% reliant on me, but it is also profitable, rewarding and provides the lifestyle I want.
Where it becomes challenging
Most business owners aim to grow a business with a stable income stream servicing clients or solving a problem. Where it becomes challenging is when the goal is to build a business that isn’t entirely dependent on them, but the business doesn’t quite get there.
Until you are running a business and facing all of the day to day pressures it presents, you can’t actually understand how challenging it can be. If at the end of the day you tally up the numbers and realise you are earning less than you would be if you were working as an employee it is no wonder people start to question their choices.
Some of the key signs you have created a job not a business
If you are not 100% all in things slow down or grind to a halt
Most decisions require your input or approval
Key client relationships sit almost entirely with you
You are responsible for any growth or sales that occur
Growth means you work longer hours rather than improving systems or capacity.
Taking a holiday feels stressful rather than relaxing
If something unexpected happened to you, the business would struggle to continue operating
You could earn the same money (or more) if you went back into employment as opposed to running a business
None of these are necessarily a problem – the question is whether they are happening by choice or by circumstance.
There's a big difference between choosing to be deeply involved in your business and feeling unable to step away from it. One is a conscious design choice, the other can leave you feeling trapped. It becomes even more difficult when you have invested significant resources (such as time, money or energy) and decisions about how to move forward become more complex.
Success looks different for different owners
Not everyone wants employees or multiple locations. Not everyone wants a business that can be sold for millions of dollars (although that would be nice!).
Some owners simply want meaningful work, good clients, flexibility and a healthy income. That's a perfectly valid definition of success.
What matters is knowing what you're building and making sure your business supports the life you want to lead.
What if you've built a job rather than a business?
The first thing to do is to get really, really clear on your goals. Personal, lifestyle, financial and business. What is the dream you are chasing?
Secondly to sit down and take a critical look at your business and map out what it would need to look like to achieve your goals. That might be increased revenue, reducing owner dependence, changing the structure, reducing costs…. there are likely many things to consider.
Finally are the changes required both realistic and worthwhile? Is there potential in the business to grow? Do you have the energy and appetite to make the changes? Is there enough cash flow or capital to support the transition? Most importantly, will a different business model actually bring you closer to the life you want?
Some people want to build a larger organisation with systems, staff and the ability to step away. Others want meaningful work, good clients and the flexibility that comes from running a business on their own terms.
Neither approach is right or wrong, and sometimes in the course of building a business our perspective on success changes.
What matters is understanding what success looks like for you and making conscious decisions that support that outcome.