Are You In the Way of the Growth of Your Business?

Are You In the Way of the Growth of Your Business?
The Entrepreneurial Personality Can be the Culprit
Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D.

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners start out with a great idea that they build a business around. The focus is on making the business profitable or at the very least, keeping one’s head above water before personal financing runs out. During this period, there is often no clear distinction between the business and the person running it as the business needs all of their time, energy and attention to make sure it survives. It’s an exciting time as the entrepreneur gets to do what they love, the way they want to do it. They employ people who are as exited about their new venture as they are and who love the absence of restrictions found in larger, more established companies.

Unfortunately, what happens is that this way of running the business becomes a way of life for the entrepreneur long after the company is established. The work habits that made the company get to where it is no longer work but have become the cultural norm. The entrepreneur keeps doing what they love to do rather than taking a step back and seeing what the business and employees need or what the business might need to get it to the next stage. By nature, the entrepreneurial personality that doesn’t like the limitations put on them by professional business practices has to put them in their own company or run the risk of stopping their own growth and that of the business. This keeps things chaotic and static for longer than they should.

Usually entrepreneurs don’t realize that they are getting in the way of the growth of their business. They continue to do most things themselves, finding all kinds or reasons to not delegate tasks and authority to employees or to build the business systems they need. Instead, they become fatigued and stressed. They blame employees, money, the economy for their problems. Or they throw Band‐Aid solutions at systemic problems and demotivate their employees by not dealing with the real issues.

All organizations go through predictable stages of development and have changing needs throughout their lifecycle. Creating the circumstances for your business to grow requires the following:

RECOGNIZE THE NEEDS OF THE BUSINESS ARE DIFFERENT AT DIFFERENT STAGES
A business is a dynamic growing entity that has different needs at different times. Leading through the first stages is different that the professional type of leadership required as the business stabilizes. Become aware of the stage your business is at and lead based on what the business needs.

CREATE A COMPELLING, CLEAR VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Having a picture of where the business is going and what it will look like when you get there is critical to your success and building alignment of efforts with employees. Make sure employee efforts and behaviors are aligned with your vision and do something about it when they aren’t.

HAVE AN UPDATED BUSINESS PLAN AND STRATEGY
Don’t travel without a roadmap. You need a solid detailed plan to spell out how you are going to achieve your vision. Defining the strategy will help you with the steps that are required for you to get there. Leadership in start‐ups tend to be casual and reactive and needs to change once the business grows to the next stage. Discipline and consistency are critical to growing beyond the start‐up stage. Too often entrepreneurs just keep moving and forget to keep planning.

INVEST IN YOUR BUSINESS
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is not thinking about what the business needs to take it to the next level. They fail to include the development of the business infrastructure because they don’t want to become hierarchical or “traditional” in their approach. This can leave the business floundering at the same level instead of putting in the organizational scaffolding required for growth. You can’t do everything the same and grow at the same time.  Even modest success can overwhelm you unless you build the necessary systems, structures, and business disciplines to support your business’ growth. It takes more than raw talent to take your business to the next level.

INVEST IN YOURSELF
Entrepreneurs can forget about their own need for growth, instead focusing all of their attention on what the business and employees need. To become a professional leader, leading your business at the next stage, you need to build self‐awareness and challenge yourself to go from entrepreneur to a business leader, giving up the often chaotic, seat‐of‐the‐pants challenges of the start‐up business. Know when you are the obstacle that is getting in the way of the growth of your business. Understanding your fears and working to break through personal barriers by challenging self‐limiting beliefs and behaviours will help you achieve both personal and business success.

INVEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES
Motivating, coaching and managing your staff is probably one of your toughest challenges as small business owners. Without your patience, persistence and “people skills”, your problems can multiply quickly. Morale, productivity, and employee confidence can easily be destroyed causing employees to leave and eroding the foundation of the business.
 
Anne Dranitsaris, PhD, is a principal consultant at Caliber Leadership Systems. She has worked with CEOs and senior leadership teams facilitating organizational and leadership growth with her  company’s unique approach to building authentic organizations and leaders. This includes helping them articulate their organizational identity and map their organizational ecosystems in order to build the systems, structure and processes required to garner alignment of behavior and performance and  achieve desired outcomes. She is a published and prolific writer on emotional intelligence, personality type and behaviour in organizations.

2014 TORONTO ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

2014 TORONTO ENTREPRENEURS CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

Were you there or know someone who was?  Over 1300 attendees were able to network, visit exhibitors and hear speakers present on topics such as marketing, mobile communications, HR and Finance.

Check out some pictures at:
http://tinyurl.com/kdplwob

Presented annually by TorontoJobs.ca, this is the premiere Entrepreneurs Conference in Toronto. 
Watch for more information about the upcoming Toronto Entrepreneurs Symposium this November.
For more information email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca.

UPCOMING TORONTOJOBS.CA CAREER FAIRS IN THE GTA!


UPCOMING TORONTOJOBS.CA CAREER FAIRS IN THE GTA!

 

TorontoJobs.ca presents 4 Career Fairs in 2014.  We’ve expanded our reach based on demand.  Our upcoming events are:

 

North York - Thursday July 24th, 2014

Mississauga - Thursday September 18th, 2014

Scarborough - Thursday September 25th, 2014

Toronto - Friday October 10th, 2014

 

Enjoy face-to-face networking with some of the top Employers in the GTA and apply to 100’s of different job openings! 

 

Remember to bring lots of copies of your resume. 

 

Register now with no cost at:


 

For exhibitor information email marc.belaiche@torontojobs.ca.