Here is the Number One Trap that Can Destroy your Business: Doing Everything by Yourself.
Business traps come in many forms, but the one about trapping yourself into a jack-of-all-trades can be destructive to a business. In this article, you will learn why doing everything by yourself is not good for your business. You will also learn about a few ways to avoid becoming this type of entrepreneur.
Why is Doing Too Much Yourself a Bad Thing?
I would be lying to say that it is only a few small business owners tempted to put themselves at the heart of everything. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners are guilty of this. Even myself, I was once doing everything until I realized it was not working for the business anymore.
But to be honest, many small business owners fail to get to this point when they realize they are destroying their business by trying to do everything by themselves. For this reason, you must read this article and find out how it can help you, as an entrepreneur, to trust more brains, eyes, hearts, and hands in your company.
Nevertheless, doing everything by yourself makes your business very vulnerable to many things. Something as simple as you falling ill and requiring two days of rest can throw everything off the rails. Anyone can unexpectedly fall ill, or have some other kind of emergency. When that happens, and you are a one-man band, suddenly, the wheels will start to come off. That is how many solopreneurs get out of business.
More so, just like every small business owner, you also need trusted partners and staff. These are the people who fully understand the business and how it runs. For example, they know where to find vital contacts, such as suppliers, clients, etc., whenever needed. Imagine when you need to contact a vital individual, and boom, you can’t remember where you saved their details? It could result in income loss and more. So, the staff knows where to find these contacts; you need to have them.
In a nutshell, doing everything in your business is doing business badly. Doing everything by yourself can result in fatigue, which will sabotage other business functions such as marketing, bookkeeping, accounting, and any other operations. Just a single business mistake results in the stalling of all these other business functions.
Besides skills shortage and non-diversity (of ideas), doing everything on your own is a startup trap that snatches your work-life balance. Remember, besides being a businessperson, you are also an individual who should spend his or her time and money on leisure and go back home to loved ones. You need that stability; don’t take it away from yourself.
What should you do to avoid being a “jack of all trades” in your business?
The first thing to do is to “Stop basing your decisions on how much it’s costing you and start thinking about how much it will be WORTH!” I saw this quote from one of the Arete Syndicate’s communications. Oh, what truth to tell! I know that I am a numbers person, and am always on my clients’ case, asking them to protect how they spend and ensure to earn more. But I would never advise against ‘oiling’ your business with more hands and brains in your team or teams. That is what your business needs to grow.
But guess what? Some of you will worry about the extra money they pay an extra employee (you need so much) instead of thinking about the benefits you will receive once you hire them.
The second problem to guard yourself against is the “After all, it’s my baby syndrome.” This has driven many entrepreneurs into the ground because they think that since it is their business, they can do whatever they feel like. But this is dangerous and wrong. Businesses that do well have solid teams that the owner values, together with their input or business ideas. Even if it is your vision and your effort that got the business to where it is, still, you would never be in seven different places doing eight things at the same. You need a team for that. Hire, train; trust them.
More so, you can avoid doing everything by yourself by giving your employees authority over tasks. This one is for small business owners who already have employees but still insist on doing everything. This is bad because, besides disturbing you from focussing on the real tasks made for a CEO, it can confuse your teams. And when there is confusion, productivity is undermined. I also have my teams; my job is to only provide them a direction and remind them of the company’s vision from time to time. But honestly, I have no idea how they do every small thing to support the company’s vision. Sometimes they tell me what I should do, and I just do it because now they know where the company is headed, and its history.
Therefore, be hands-on, but do not overwhelm your employees with your constant presence. Give them the authority to make small decisions and complete tasks in the best way possible. This promotes business innovation and keeps the workplace exciting!
And finally, I do take business consulting clients, with whom I share not only my personal experience of growing from being a single, young accountant working on her own to now having a team of more than twenty employees but also valuable business tips tailor-made to suit your company’s needs. If you need to benefit from this, contact me and book your first session.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you destroy a business?
There are many ways to destroy your business; doing everything by yourself is one of them.
- Which of the traps mentioned do you think entrepreneurs should avoid the most?
You should avoid doing everything by yourself. It is impossible to be the CEO, marketing manager, intern, finance director, and social media manager at the same time. That can only result in fatigue, poor quality output, and loss of revenue.
- How do you sabotage a small business?
It is possible to self-sabotage your small business, especially when you do not hire staff to help you run your business.
- How do you hurt a company’s reputation?
Any company can be hurt by poor products and services. Such poor quality is a result of fatigue and lack of expertise. It can also be because of rushed tasks due to a lack of time and manpower to adequately and efficiently complete them.
