Taking the step from being a solo entrepreneur to a business leader takes hard work and dedication. If you have been able to run a business by yourself, you definitely have the drive to continue progressing to the next level. Before understanding this, you must know exactly what a solo entrepreneur is. The dictionary defines it as a person that runs a business without the help of partners or employees.
Now that you understand what the term means it is time to get into the meat of this article. Key ways that you can use to move into business leadership from being a solo entrepreneur.
1. Admit It Is Time For Help: Being a one-person company has advantages, but it also has some downfalls. You are human, which means that you have limits. When you constantly strive to work until your limits are met you will eventually burn out, sooner rather than later. The first step in your transition would be to accept that you need help to increase the size of your operation to ensure long term success.
2. Set Goals: Goals need to be set in stone, but they must be realistic. A business purpose must be instilled into any employees that you choose to hire, making them drive for success as much as you do. Give incentives and good benefits to keep them happy, and productive. If you need some extra cash to reach some of your goals, you can let an online platform run a personal loan comparison for lenders in your area that will be willing to work with you. All you must do then is fill out the papers and then use the money to push your business to the next level.
3. Team Decisions: Encourage your team to make decisions. If you trust the people enough to hire them, then you need to let them make some decisions without having to run everything by you. The point of having a team is to increase productivity and spread out the work that needs to be done. Giving your people the ability to make decisions will increase the amounts of work done throughout the day, as well as foster a working environment that is good for everyone.
4. Small Teams: Keep the teams small so they have the ability to collaborate with each other. No need to go all out and hire the maximum amount of people that your insurance plan will allow. It is always better to have less people that work hard together as a team.
5. Communication: This is one of the biggest aspects of business management that needs to be drilled in. Always have open communication. Your team should never feel like they cannot approach you, for any reason. Obviously, you need to keep things simple, and professional, but sometimes people will need to discuss their ideas. Stay open and practice active listening skills.
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6. Learning: As a business leader you need to foster a work environment that is always learning. Positive interactions can be a basis for future customer transactions, and failures can be used to understand what not to do next time. Let your team know that failures are going to happen and that they need to accept them, evaluate them, and move on. Learning from them is the key point that needs to be made.
7. Customers: The people that buy your products, or use your service, are the reason that you have a successful business. Just because you have a team under you it does not mean that you can withdraw and leave customer relations up to others. As a leader you must set an example. A good example. Take time to have interactions with customers, good and bad.
Transitioning from a solo owner and operator can seem like a big step, but it is a step that you need to make. It will relieve some of the work strain from you and will allow you to maintain long term profits. Just make sure to choose your team wisely. They will be representing you and your company. That is a discussion for another day.
