I was speaking to a Business recently who’s Owner was ‘stuck in the trenches’ and ready to throw it all in.
The Owner was doing it all, from high level strategic decisions to reconciling payroll to cleaning the kitchen. Quite possibly the highest paid kitchen cleaner on record!!
The Owner was disillusioned because the effort was not driving a return.
So we compared his role today to 6 years ago (when Business was flowing). It was quite the contrast, much more time/energy previously went into speaking to clients…..old clients, new clients, disengaged clients.
This activity drove significant growth in the Business, which was a good thing but also came at a cost. He didn’t keep growing his role in line with the Business.
There are 2 main reasons this usually happens:
- Fear of investment
- Fear of letting go of control
This is a very common pattern. We keep doing things the same way thinking it is the lowest risk strategy, when in actual fact the status quo often becomes the highest risk option.
A useful reflection question to check in on from time to time…..What is your risk profile from 1 to 10 (1 = money in the pillow; 10 = put your life savings on the roulette table)? Do your decisions really reflect that?