Sometimes You Have to Get Out of The Way to Allow Your Business to Succeed

Entrepreneurs are creative, energetic, visionaries and risk-takers who see business opportunities everywhere.  In fact, most people who are entrepreneurs wind up as founders of more than one company in their careers because they derive their energy from the challenge.  I certainly fit into that category.  I’ve been starting businesses since I was 15 years old.  There is something about seeing an opportunity and going for it that gets me all jazzed up. Some people think it’s confidence -- others describe it as insanity.    

Whatever you call it, the entrepreneurial mindset is important because it brings innovation to the marketplace, but it has its disadvantages too. First, because entrepreneurs see a world of possibilities, they often get their fingers in too many pies and as a result they lose focus.  Personally, I’ve surrounded myself with people who have an ability to rein me in when I get too far out in left field.  As one of my business partners cautions me regularly, “When you say yes to one thing you effectively say no to something else.”  It is impossible to do everything all at the same time and do it all well.  Something is going to fall through the cracks.

Even more problematic for entrepreneurs is their inability to see their own limitations.  Because their minds are creative, most entrepreneurs aren’t the best at running day-to-day operations.  Once again, this describes me to a tee.  I’m definitely not a detail-oriented person.  I don’t function well in structured environments.  

So in order for founders to allow their businesses to flourish and escalate to the next level of sophistication, entrepreneurs often need to get out of the way.  Easier said than done, and that’s why many small businesses flounder or fail.  The entrepreneur/founder isn’t willing to reinvent their role within the organization.

Why do I describe it as reinvention?  Because it requires a readjustment of your vision of who you are in relationship to the business you started -- your baby.  “It’s difficult and it took me several years to stop trying to turn myself into what the business needed,” explains Mary Quigg, the CEO and founder of Vandover. a leader in the workforce mobility industry. 

Two years ago, Quigg made the decision to reinvent her role in the business she founded in 1985, and hired a seasoned President who had the skills to develop the process and procedures the company needed to move to the next level. 

As the majority stockholder and CEO, Quigg continues to influence the company’s strategy and weigh in on all major decisions.  “I’m learning to listen and learn from others and to insert myself only when I see a course correction is required.  Being a CEO is a work in progress,” she notes.

To help her with her transition, Quigg relied on business coaches.  “I’ve certainly stumbled and failed more than once during this painful process..  Hmmmm -- maybe my next venture will be coaching entrepreneurs about turning over the reins.  Now that’s something to think about.”

Spoken like a true entrepreneur!  

Small businesses would never get launched if it weren’t for entrepreneurs such as Quigg.  But the lesson for all of us is to recognize the need to reinvent our roles and get out of the way to drive the business to the next level.