Today's article is a guest post from Melissa Bamfo a co-founder of Business Made Simple and her full biography is included at the end of the blog.
Raise your hand if you’re a workaholic.
Most small business owners are. We eat, drink, and breathe our businesses all day and sometimes all night. Sometimes we love it, and sometimes it’s the bane of our existence.
I believe every business should begin with the end in mind. It could look like selling the business, finding an investor or opening multiple locations (franchising). Whatever your game plan is, most businesses make one fatal mistake.
They fail to see their business as the product.
When you have the end in mind, your business shifts from becoming the means to an end (your product or service) to becoming a product all it’s own. A product that someday you might sell, grow or franchise.
That brings up another question--How do you duplicate success?
Sometimes we feel the tasks we do every day are so important that there is no way we could hand those off to someone else. After all, we’re the best at what we do, right? There is no doubt that you’re amazing and an asset to your company because of your unique skills and abilities.
The ultimate goal of any business should be to create a business that works, no matter who is running it. Now I’m not saying that people aren’t important. The right people are critical to running a successful organization. But if you can’t train others to keep it running, then you’ve instantly shortened your business life span.
So, why should a 10 year old be able to run your business?
When we go in to organize a business our goal is to make their operations so simple they could hand it over to a 10 year old and they could figure it out. Think about McDonald’s. They’ve outlined every position in their business so much that whomever is running the hamburger station knows how many pickles belong on a Big Mac and what formation to put them in. It’s that specific.
Getting that specific in your business may seem overwhelming to some, but consider the power it gives a business. The biggest question someone will have before they buy or invest in a business is “Does it work?” and even more importantly, the question that people should ask, “What systems are in place that will support it to work over time?”
A business may work, but until you can automate it to work without you, you’ve only created a job for yourself. Build a business that a 10 year old can run, and you’ve passed the bus test. If you were hit by a bus tomorrow, would your business still run?
To see how automated your business is, click here to get your free self assessment.
Melissa Bamfo is the co-founder of Business Made Simple and a true entrepreneur at heart. After starting her first business at age 15, she went on to build out operational processes for organizations like Excel Entertainment, Weber State University and Ogden City. She has since shifted from working in corporate America to working exclusively with small businesses. Her passion is inspiring people to live their best life. She is the mother of her beautiful daughter Lucy and loves spending time in the Utah mountains.
Photo Credit © Dollar Photo Club / Luis Louro
