There are a lot of good articles for business owners about time management. They promote the virtues of setting priorities, delegating and tracking time. The Small Business Administration even offers training on Time Management. There are countless books on the topic written by respected authors like Stephen Covey and David Allen.
The goal of time management is to free the business owner to work “on” the business rather than “in” the business. This is a significant challenge for most owners since they spend only 32% of their time working on the business versus 68% spent in the business.
While time management is extremely critical, what should you be working on? Exactly where should you be spending your time? The role of the owner in a small business is to be the leader, not the doer. This includes “looking ahead, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your company, hiring talent, establishing processes.”
There is much to do and it must be done consistently well to be successful. But the key is to work “on” your business rather than “in” your business, that is, to create the vision that others can follow.
Understanding and maintaining your role is essential. It is not easy because there will always be issues craving your attention. Consider, for example, your role in the management of your sales representatives. Many small business owners take on this role because they are concerned about growing their business and it is simply too expensive to hire a full-time sales manager. In the process, they lose focus on their strategic role.
Did you know that, alternatively, you can hire a part-time or fractional sales manager? With this approach you preserve your role as the strategic leader of your business, gain better sales processes and accountability, and accomplish this at a cost that is far less than that of a full-time sales manager.
If you would like further insights into how a fractional sales management approach can improve your ability to work “on” your business rather than “in” your business, please let me know. I welcome the opportunity to explore this with you.
