The freedom of not having a boss is a motivating factor for many people who start a new business.  The dream is to have lots of free time through financially independence.  One common mistake entrepreneurs make is that they work in the business more than they work on the business.  The solution lies in a change in mindset.

Warning Signs

The surest sign you are working in your business is that the business cannot operate for very long without you.  You are both a business owner, and an employee.   You are working in your business if you are:

1. Required for Production:  If you open a bakery, and no bread can be served unless you are required anywhere along the production chain.
2. Required for a Decision: If you have employees and you do not give them the authority or confidence to act without you.:
3. Required for Customer Communications: If only you speak to your customers, and no one else is trusted or trained to do so,
4. etc
5. etc

Basically:

6. Required for the day to day operations to operate.

Good Excuses

Of course entrepreneurs should work in their business, especially in the early days of a company.  Here are reasons that can be acceptable in the short run:

1. The company or project is new.
2. The company does not have the cash for new people.
3. An employee is not available and operations must continue. 

Questionable (Bad) Excuses

We are all very good at deceiving ourselves.  Here are a few questionable excuses:

1. The business will fall apart if I step away.
2. I am the only one who can do this task.
3. I cannot find anyone who will do it as well as me.
4. Nobody cares about my business like I do.
5. I like to work in my business.*

*This last excuse truly is questionable.  The easiest example is an artist like a sculptor or a singer who often seem to “be the business”, but I contend they “are the product”, and there is still a business that they many times ignore at their own peril.  But this is another article for another day.

Working On Your Business

Working on your business typically means a whole bunch of activities that are not involved in the day to day operations.

1. Hire the right people.
2. Set standards and the corresponding culture.
3. Train your people.
4. Define Standard Operating Procedures.
5. Remove the Wrong People.
6. Delegate work (accept a different standard than your own).
7. Reduce Personnel Turnover.
8. Be open to feedback from All levels.
9. Think about strategic next steps.

The Rewards

If you work on your business, you are bound to reap many or all of the following rewards:

1. More time.  The owner has more time for new initiatives.
2. More Scale.  The business is ready to grow.
3. Easier Exit.  The company can be sold more easily and for more money.
4. More Enjoyable.  Planning and Execution replace Reaction and Fire Fighting.
5. More Profitable.  Efficiency and quality lead to higher profits.
6. Lower Risk.  Taking the time to think about strategy lower risk.
7. Less Turnover.  People stick around with the proper culture of success.

Conclusion

Work in your business in the early days and in exceptional circumstances when you must.  Other than that, to truly reap the rewards, make sure you spend time working on your business, and success will come.