Do You Own a Business or a Job?
You have set up a corporation, designed a stunning logo, and registered your trade name. You have opened a bank account in the name of your company, rented office space, and begun wooing clients. You're a business owner, right?
Not necessarily.
Many people — perhaps even most — who consider themselves business owners don't really own a business, they own a job. Even if you have set up many of the formal indicia of a "real" business, one key factor prevents your organization from being a business.
The organization depends entirely on you.
If you earn money only when you are physically working, you don't own a business you own a job. If your employees are not able to make decisions without your input, you don't own a business you own a job. If your business would fall apart if you were gone for a week (or if you fear that it would), you don't own a business you own a job.
Transitioning from owning a job to owning a business can be a daunting task. You went into business so that you could control your own destiny.
A job creates income; a business creates wealth. A job depends on your knowledge and skills; a business depends on systems, practices, and procedures that can be replicated. When you have a job, your customers are loyal to you; if you own a business, you can sell or transfer your customer base when you retire.
How can you be sure that you own a business rather than a job? Make decisions for the long term rather than the short haul. Don't cut corners. Create a brand that proclaims the ways in which your business differs from the competition. Live up to the high expectations your brand creates.
Develop written systems, practices, and procedures that allow you to replicate the key components of your business. Hire smart people who share your ideals. Treat them fairly. Allow them to innovate and improve your systems and practices. Delegate key responsibilities, and hold people accountable for their stewardship. Cultivate and nurture the next generation of company leaders by giving them increasingly more responsibility. Plan for your retirement or for a diminished leadership role in the company.
Develop a team of advisors to help you Avoid Hidden Hazards and Lurking Liabilities. Ensure that no one person (especially yourself) has the entire knowledge base for any critical aspect of the business. Protect your intangible assets with well-crafted restrictive covenants and other prudent practices.
What would happen if you were hit by a bus? If (after a suitable period of mourning) the company would continue on without you, you own a business. If not, you own a job.
Posted by BiziBoom Blog at 11/14/2009 10:44 AM 
Categories: Small Business,Business Owners,Success
Tags: Small Business Business Owners Success
Categories: Small Business,Business Owners,Success
Tags: Small Business Business Owners Success
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11/14/2009 1:30 PM
uberVU - social comments wrote:
This post was mentioned on Twitter by TradeSecretLaw: New BiziBoom Blog post: Do You Own a Business or a Job? http://tinyurl.com/ycbaxaw
As usual, you are dropping knowledge! Great post. Keep them coming.
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Thanks for your encouragement, Daniel.
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You encourage me.
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Scott, this is a GREAT post. This is a wonderful way to think about the businesses and brands that we claim as our own. Nice job, as always!
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Thanks for your kind words and your constant encouragement, Nancy. You inspire me to be better.
Once you begin thinking about creating a real business (rather than a job), most business decisions fall into place. You must make decision with an eye to the long term rather than immediate concerns. It sometimes requires immediate sacrifices, but pays dividends over the long haul.
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Thats really very nice blog, I am impressed.
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Thats great, I never knew before this blog.
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Wow. Excellent information! I will definitely be following you and if there is anyway I could directly learn from you I would love to find out how!
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Humm... interesting,
This is some great info on the difference between owning a buisness and paying to create your own job,
Anyway, thanks for the post
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I don't get your point. Every person starting out in their own business is more tied to it than they will be in a few years after it is well-established. It isn't merely a "job", it's a fledgling business.
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Thanks for your comment.
All businesses go through predictable phases as evolve from a fledgling start up to a corporate behemoth. The owners may be required to put in more time with their business during certain phases of that evolution than they do at other times. You may be more closely tied to your business at certain phases, but that is not the sole determination whether you own a business or a job.
All "real" businesses have certain key characteristics, some of which are identified in my post. If you aspire for your company to be a "real" business, you must do the things that "real" business owners do at each phase of the evolution of your company. If your company does not develop the key characteristics, it will never be a "real" business. Instead of owning a business, you will own a job, one where you get all of the responsibilities of owning a business with none of the benefits of ownership.
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