Why The Perfect Small Business Owner Doesn’t Exist
June 22, 2010
I had to laugh when I read that the most successful small business owners are brilliant at every single aspect of running their business. I don’t recall where I read it, because I don’t bookmark crap.
You see, I’ve never met any of these perfect small business owners and I bet you haven’t either. The truth is, when you first start your small business, you’ll probably be running every single department yourself and if you’re struggling away and learning from your many mistakes, you’re doing a pretty good job.
Consider the average management trainee in a reasonably large company. How long do you reckon it would take him to become skilled in every single department? I’m betting he would have to spend at least 2 years in each one, including accounts and finance, operations, marketing, sales and HR etc. etc. It would take him several years to become proficient in every single one.
Most small business owners start out running all those departments themselves, so they can’t expect perfection from the word go. Yet so many small business owners beat themselves up because they’ll never be good at marketing, or they can’t get the hang of accounts.
I’ve done it myself. I used to suck at recruitment and training. And all the books and courses in the world didn’t help. It got to the point where I was embarrassed to admit that I’d fired another employee for stealing, or someone else had quit because they couldn’t cope with the pressure. And I felt like a complete failure – I would suck at business forever because I just couldn’t get this one thing right.
The truth is, you can’t possibly run a business and learn to be a genius in all these departments overnight. If you’re learning and trying – you’re probably way ahead of most small businesses.
Have you beaten yourself up because you suck at certain aspects of business? Or are you afraid to start a business because you’re not skilled in particular areas? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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Comments
21 Responses to “Why The Perfect Small Business Owner Doesn’t Exist”
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Successful And Outstanding Blogger
Cath,
This is such truth I am tempted to stand and cheer here in my own living room. Even after 30 years of living in the small business world, I can honestly say I haven’t mastered it all. For God’s sake, you don’t want to hire me as your accountant.
It’s also why so many small businesses fail within the first few years that they get off the ground, and the reason many ‘freelancers” don’t actually work. Somehow they never seem to get the message that just because they are freelancers doesn’t make them exempt from being their own small business owner of one. They are still stuck with the running of their own biz.
There is nothing wrong with admitting you need help, coaching, or a sidekick who can balance you out in the areas where you need a boost. Nobody gets the gift in every area. If they are spinning their energy on the stuff that drags them down, they are costing themselves money in the area where they could excel.
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As Voltaire wisely noted:
“The perfect is the enemy of the good”
No small business owner has time to become ‘perfect’ at everything. Sometimes good enough is, good enough.
I beat myself up all the time and I only live with a household of perfectionists….and I am constantly attempting to write the perfect blog post…
Good post….ok shake out the tension now Patricia! it just needs to be good enough
I think there’s always a gap between an ideal model and the real world. Part of our challenge is always reducing the gap
One of my favorite books that put things in perspective is The EMyth. I like how the author called out how we have to play the role of Entrepreneur, Manager, and Technician and that we might not be our own best boss to work for. It was a really insightful book and I find myself going back to the metaphors and insights on a regular basis.
Hi Cath .. I’ve never run a business .. and I know I wouldn’t be good at some things .. my people skills aren’t that brilliant – but I’m learning!
JD’s comment re Emyth .. I’m sure I’ve got that here – and I must now go and reread it .. !
Enjoy the sunshine .. and good to see you .. Hilary
Hi Cath,
As you know we are small business owners and like John said, sometimes good enough is good enough.
What I find fascinating is what happens when I look at some of our friends who are also small business owners. We all have our strengths and weaknesses with no one being perfect. With so many factors going into owning a business, expecting to get everything right can only lead to discouragement and stress. I feel if at the end of the day you can say you gave it your best, you’ve done good. ‘
And…..some days are easier than others; as you know.
I like to think of owning a small business as a sort of game called “What hat(s) can I wear today?”
Although, sometimes I forget to change hats.
LOL
That’s the hardest part for me – remembering there are other things that need doing as well as the things I _want_ to do. And there are certainly parts of it I totally suck at but I believe there’s value in learning from things I don’t like to do so I do my best with what I have.
Like others said, sometimes good enough, is good enough.
I agree! I never expected to be perfect. I just do my best and learn as I go.
[...] Cath Lawson – Why the Perfect Small Business Owner Doesn’t Exist [...]
Hi Wendi – Thanks. I guess a lot of freelancers fail exactly for the reason you said. They just ignore the stuff they don’t want to do – even though they need to do it. Or they waste energy on stuff they suck at when they could be paying someone else to do it and focusing on what they’re good at. LOL – I wasted so much time in the past trying to fix IT problems, cos I thought it would be quicker.
Great quote John. I guess a lot of folk struggle cos they won’t accept that “good enough” is ok.
Hi Patricia – I guess being surrounded by perfectionists makes it tougher. You could write more if you’d accept that it was good enough.
Hi J.D – I like the Emyth too. I think it needs to be updated though and I don’t think its rules apply to everyone.
Hi Hilary – It is definitely worth re-reading. The sunshine has disappeared already. I hope you still have some down there.
Hi Barbara – It can definitely lead to discouragement and stress if your expectations are too high. And I agree – some days are definitely better than others.
Hi Annie – I hear you. It is always tempting to spend more time on the stuff we like doing better – I’m betting we’re all guilty of that.
Hi Vered – you were smart to realise that from the word go.
Beat myself up? Why would I ever do that? Seriously even Einstein knew that the surest and fastest way to success is to stumble and grope our way forward.
LOL – nothing ever phases you Tom. I was almost temped to google “einstein groping” to see what results I got but there are too many dodgy websites out there.
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