WORKING "ON" VS "IN" YOUR BUSINESS
I know there's a trend out there to just "jump in to business" without a plan but there's a difference between working on your greater business vision vs doing the actual craft of your business. One part of you is the 'worker bee' and the other part is the 'boss.'
When you're just beginning, it helps to remember that you've got to start growing your 'boss' inside of your business, so that you drive your business in the best direction.
In my 20s I worked as a freelancer, and I'd had smaller business ventures. That gave me enough insight to realize that if I wanted to establish a serious business, I'd need time and a plan. I knew that if I quit my full time job without a solid plan for income, I'd be freaked out!
So in my mind, I shifted my understanding. I imagined that I was essentially "changing jobs." I was going from working for someone else, to working for my own 'boss' self.
When I thought of it that way, it made sense that I would need to ultimately be able to show up 40 hours per week for myself in my own business. If I could do it for someone else, I could certainly do it for my dream!
I created a casual, manifesto-like business plan in those first weeks of my business, and it was my greatest power. It kept me on track with being a boss and entrepreneur in creating my business, and it helped me to get clear about what I needed to know.
If I came up with ideas outside of my plan, I learned to put them in a folder for later so as not to get sidetracked. That was me, flexing my 'Boss' muscle and holding the sacred space necessary to grow a focused clear business. I felt inspired. It didn't *feel like work because I loved it. But it really took quite a bit of time and patience to grow that part of me.
Balancing Boss Mode and Worker Bee Mode
If you primarily work on your own, or if your business is in its first stages, it helps to become aware of when you're in worker mode vs boss mode. Each mindset has its time and place, and both are needed. If you stay in worker bee mode too long, your business loses vision and alignment over time. If you stay in boss mode too long, your business will lose money as you fail to take action in fulfilling your craft.
A Worker Bee In Business is:
Seeing Customers
Fulfilling Orders
Following Up
Making Sales
Processing Paperwork
Doing Taxes
Promoting
Applying my systems
Working for that A+ in everything I do
A 'Boss Executive' in Business is:
Reviewing the greater vision of my business
Reflecting on what is working, and what's not
Clarifying important changes that need to be made with my business strategy
Identifying what kind of help I need, and where I might find it
Shifting inner resistance or fear so that the business can continue to grow in a healthy direction
Weaving a long term 100 year plan (ie what is the Legacy of my creation)
Tossing the A+ mentality for something that has never been achieved before
Attending peer networking events and leadership events
The Secret Stabilizing Power of These Roles
The boss and worker bee stabilize each other, and keep a business strong.
If your business vision wavers as a 'Boss,' it's still important to keep your worker bee taking action based on older orders until your new vision is crystal clear. A lot of time new business owners will come up with a new idea and then believe that's a good enough reason to stop doing what they've been doing for their business. Their inner worker bee stops doing its job because the mandates from their inner boss are in flux. It takes discipline to keep going until the boss has figured it out, but if you're a smaller business, it will keep you on track. While the worker bee fulfills orders or services, the money continues to flow, the business stays fluid, and the boss has space to get clear on greater vision.
Think of it this way--if you were working in an office and the boss was out for a week, you'd still want to keep working, otherwise the entire business might fall apart. When your inner 'boss' is formulating a new vision and direction, your worker bee needs to keep with the old, until the new vision is established.
However if your worker bee is always working and the boss energy is not present, then your inner 'worker bee' will start to burn out. This happens to the best of us. Burnout in your 'worker bee' capacity is a sign that your inner boss hasn't had enough time to see the big picture and to set appropriate priorities. Your working self is taking on way too much, and you need to stop, break, and get into visionary space with your business before you continue. That's easily done by taking a couple of days off and returning to the focus and actions of your inner Boss.
PRACTICAL STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:
I found it helpful to actually designate time when I was first starting my business. I wrote out everything I planned to do, and I highlighted my 'worker bee' time with a green marker in my calendar. My 'Boss' time was in purple. And my general admin tasks were in pink. Doing this allowed me to see at a glance when I was not balancing these aspects of my business.
If you're having trouble bringing in income, look at how much time your inner 'worker bee' is actually spending on connecting with other people and expressing what you do. Are you working consistently in those spaces, or could you make a few small adjustments for greater success?
Finally, set regular working hours. If you were working for someone else, you'd tell them when you planned to show up, and what you were intending to accomplish. Do the same for yourself. Decide what time you go into "worker bee" mode each day. Is it from 10AM-2PM? Or maybe you like to knock things out late at night, from 7PM-12Midnight. Once you set your hours, show up or reschedule, just as you'd do if you were hired for a job elsewhere.
Continue to play with the different hats you wear inside of your business. As you are first growing your business, hold your vision and implement it for successful growth. This is one of your most important actions!
DAILEY LITTLE is a highly skilled life & business coach who specializes in helping new and established businesses reach their full potential.
With a unique blend of energy healing and marketing strategy, Dailey guides clients through the foundational phases of business for financial stability and growth.
She is particularly passionate about helping creatives and healers clarify their dreams and bring them to fruition.
Dailey provides clients with the tools and strategies they need to achieve success in their business and personal endeavors. Her ability to help business owners work through their limiting beliefs and negative patterns, in addition to her creative approach to market strategy, helps business owners become empowered. To help her clients achieve this goal, Dailey has created a magical 90 day program called "Healers in Business" which helps individuals to align their healing practice with business success. If you're interested in learning more about Dailey's work, or connecting with other like-minded individuals, join her active Facebook group today!