5 signs that your business is running you instead of you running it

Have you ever observed a business that seems to be in chaos? Maybe you don’t know what that looks like. Maybe that business owner is you and it still doesn’t appear that there is a problem because you feel like you are in complete control.

Many business owners that think they are running their businesses are actually being run by the business and may not be aware. Here are some common signs that you are being run by your business:

1. You never have enough time – This maybe the biggest sign. You do not have time to work on things like business strategy, finding new business and marketing. These things are essential to growing your business. As a small business owner your time is likely your most valuable asset.
2. You overlook important things regularly – Important things fall through the cracks and are overlooked frequently. The result could be penalties, fees, fines, missed business opportunities, etc.
3. Problems keep resurfacing – The same issues are constantly recurring because you are giving those things 75% of your attention so you are a superhero at the moment but 3 days later the same issue is back and worse because it was not addressed with the proper amount of attention the first time. This is also known as running fire drills.
4. Your team does not make decisions without consulting you – You are either micromanaging or not providing your team with proper direction. If every decision in the business requires your involvement then you are a bottleneck to your business and it is not running as efficiently as it could be.
5. The business can’t function without you – If you get sick or want to take a vacation the business falls apart. For a start up business this is somewhat understandable but if you are running an established business with a team then this should not be happening. If you need or want to remove yourself for any reason, your business should run on autopilot with minimal or no help from you.

If this is you or someone you know and you want to change that. I wrote a post on automating your business by eliminating repetitive task that may help.

I also have an upcoming book where I talk about systematizing your business and discuss the topic with software entrepreneurs that have done it successfully so that you are running it more efficiently.