Written by Farissa Knox, COACT President

Whether you own your small business or are in the seat running one for the owner, it is a sophisticated dance that includes balancing riskier with safer moves, spending on vs. investing back into the business, and time spent working on the business vs. in it that when done on beat, can deliver profitable results. Over the years of owning and running a small business, I have made my fair share of mistakes and have learned lessons that continue to support how I make decisions today. I highlighted below some of the major things I wish I knew to think through earlier in my career, that for me, came with time and missing the beat. 

Identify whether you are creating or running a business to exit or live a lifestyle. 

I learned halfway into running my first company that it is easier to get where you want to take the business if you build the foundation with the end goal in mind. It can be very difficult to restructure things to fit where you want to take the company if it wasn’t part of the original infrastructure. A business built to be valuable at exit is a very different business than one built for personal financial/professional freedom.  

Hire for the skills you don’t have vs. to do more of what you know how to do. 

A lot of times small business leaders don’t think about hiring until they, or their staff, is overworked and then wind up hiring talent that does what the current staff is already good at instead of thinking about what the current staff needs to be removed from their plate so that sometimes better at it can do it and then do more of it, adding to the profitability of the company. 

Solve future needs while managing the day-to-day. 

Sometimes it can be hard to see past the current minute or crisis you might be solving for and, as important it is to be focused on these day-to-day items, it is equally as important, and in some cases, more important, to keep an eye out on the horizon and what will need to be solved for 3 to 6 months from now. Identifying it and calling in support who can start solving it now, while you handle it today (or vice versa), prepares the company to move strategically when the time is right.  

Ask for help as soon as you know you need it. 

I used to think I was bothering employees, my network, my mentors, or even my friends if I asked them to help me. Help me think about something. Help me accomplish something. Help me figure out the next steps. Help me do something I just didn’t have the time, capacity, or enough knowledge to do on my own. The moment I got comfortable asking for help and recognizing vulnerability as a strength, I started to understand that people wanted to help. They had the time, capacity, or additional knowledge that I didn’t, which then led to far better results than what I could accomplish on my own.  

Focus on the least number of things possible. 

People who run or have started a small business tend to be good at multiple things, and it can be hard to determine which of those things, in and outside of the business, to focus on, and when. Determining what and when to lean into for the business is a skill that must be mastered, or nothing will ever get accomplished to the magnitude that it needs to make an impact.