Don’t let your business fail (an excerpt from Small to Great) – David Naylor

Only around 4% of businesses survive beyond the initial 10-year

period, and the survival of your business beyond that 10-year period

depends on this simple premise: that as the owner, you progress

from working in the business to working on the business.

For instance, you may need to progress from being a person

doing the actual work – a technician – to becoming a person

who’s involved in managing the work. If you can’t or don’t hire the

technicians to do the work – so that you can get on with managing

the business workflow, clients and your systems – then you may join

the growing list of businesses which fail.
 

As most small business people are trained as technicians in

their respective line of business, it’s a challenge to shift their focus in

this way – but it is critical if you want to succeed.
 

The ultimate goal is to create a business that works so that the

owner doesn’t have to.
 

Therefore, the idea is to develop a business that gives the

owner/s a sustainable cash flow and dividend, and brings enjoyment

to their lives rather than despair. This is a business that works

without the owner. Instead, the owner’s role should be simply to

ensure that the systems are working and the business is getting the

best out of its people.
 

To achieve this, the first thing that needs to change is the

owner’s way of looking at the business, because the business won’t

change unless the owner changes. As the saying goes, the definition

of insanity is expecting a different result, but doing things the

same way – but nothing will ever change if nothing changes.

For a complete copy of the book go to http://www.chan-naylor.com.au/shop/books/

Important notice and general advice warning:

This information is of a general nature only and is not intended to represent investment or professional advice. This information does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation and needs. You should assess whether the information is appropriate for you and consider talking to a financial adviser before making an investment decision. A Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the products mentioned in this communication should also be obtained and you should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire, or to continue to hold, any investment.  

The information contained in this document is given in good faith and is believed to be correct at the time of publication, but no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given and no responsibility arising in any other way for errors or omission (including responsibility to any person by reason of negligence) is accepted by Chan & Naylor Pty Ltd, its officers, employees, directors and agents.