You’re the Boss Now: “Avoid Becoming Your Own Worst Enemy”

Read e-mails in your pajamas. Hire your best friend to spearhead your marketing initiative. Hold conference calls from the tub and take two hour lunches. Yup, you are your own boss now. In fact, you are in charge of your whole company. What you say goes, and the possibilities for growth and success are endless.

You’ve finally got a chance to turn your dreams into a reality and make a lasting mark on the world. And, I’m sure that you want that mark to be one that clearly and positively identifies who you are. So, maybe you can’t hire an old buddy to take on that marketing plan after all. In fact, maybe you find yourself re-thinking a lot of your original decisions.

The moment you realize that you have complete control over your own success, and that every action you take is a direct reflection on your new business is the moment you can officially consider yourself “The Boss”. As the boss – it’s perfectly okay (and often necessary) to put your foot down. Even if that means deciding to do things differently than you initially planned.

Dreaming about being the boss and actually becoming the boss are two completely different frames of mind.

The transition from meaningless part time gigs in corporate America to a life where you call the shots can be a harder one than you may imagine. I vowed to permanently become my own boss in April 2006, after many on-and-off years juggling “real” jobs along with my entrepreneurial ventures.

I dreamt of a protocol–less lifestyle – where I didn’t have to jump through hoops to express my opinions. See, I always saw room for improvement in my places of employment. But, my advice was never really welcomed with open arms. My decision to put all my efforts into my own dreams and create my own business was partially inspired by my frustration with the man.

So, I thought I’d do EVERYTHING differently than my employers. I didn’t think I’d set such rigid rules for my employees and I was really looking forward to setting my own schedule. I saw how my employers often progressed into robotic replicas of their original selves, and I vowed to maintain a constant human connection with my employees, partners and clients. The human touch was definitely one of my first priorities and I figured that everything else would just flow from that.

I was completely sick of struggling to get to the top of another guy’s ladder. I was sick of competing with others who brown-nosed their way to promotions with fake smiles and over-use of the word utilize.

People would want to work for my company because I would treat them like family. And, I would think of them as family. I aimed to create a company that is based on enthusiasm and teamwork, and my team is going to profit and excel together. I felt then, as I do now – that a teamwork based company could prove to profit more than companies who don’t give special care to their employees.

I began work on my literary magazine immediately after the idea came to me, and left my day-job almost immediately after that. Now, literary magazines are not exactly notorious for being millionaire makers. But, I knew that I was going to have to make some serious money in order to pay my bills and keep my team satisfied. I wanted the best of both worlds: an almost hippie-like company based on love and passion for writing, and a profitable business that did more than just make my ends meet.

I was going to have to be completely different than any other lit-zine editor that I knew of, and completely different than any boss I’d ever had.

In order to be a great boss I had to scrap a lot of my allergies to protocol. Rules, protocol, structure – these are words that I hated. But, they are concepts that we need as bosses. Rules work because those who work for other people need a bit of direction. We naturally adapt to patterns and can produce better work once we have a routine. You are not selling out if you suddenly realize that you need some pretty firm company policies.

Chances are that many of your employees will not be entrepreneurs themselves and will appreciate guidance from their fearless leader – YOU. So be fearless.

The first time I was called boss I kind of threw an internal fit. I knew that the voice on the other end of the phone was sincere, and that I was truly beginning the life I’d always wanted. But thoughts like — I’m still just a kid, and Half of my team is older than me — they know so much more than me — kept rolling through my mind. I was experiencing the opposite of letting it all go to my head. I was wondering why it was all happening.

Clearly, it was all happening because I had set it in motion. And, if I was going to keep it in motion I would have to find trustworthy people who could fill in my blanks. We all have fears and weak points – and we also all have our own expertise. But we all have one role in our business – and that is the role of boss.

You cannot be the boss and the marketing guru and the lawyer and the janitor forever and have a successful business. If you’ve gone to school for marketing, your degree will lead you into making the right marketing decisions, but ultimately you will need to establish a person or group who handles that leg work for you.

In the beginning of your start up – you will be multitasking in every aspect of the business. Heck, you may be multitasking in every aspect of your biz until you retire. But you need check points. You need qualified individuals who can advise you, spread your word and get down and get done with work that you leave behind.

You also need people to look over your work and tell you how to improve. That is, if you intend on becoming as famous as I intend.

My weakest trait is that I often bite off more than I can chew, get overwhelmed and freak out when I have a big project due. You wanna be a great boss? Know your weakest points and do not be afraid to associate with people who can accommodate for them. Do not be afraid to associate with people who are better at what you do than you are. They will teach you and enrich your business.

I’ve struggled with being afraid of getting exactly what I want. I’ve known what I’ve wanted since I was eight, and worked tirelessly at it since I was 16. And now everything’s coming together. My writing is getting published, my magazine looks great, and I’m getting commercial writing gigs. Plenty of opportunity for getting overwhelmed. Plenty of room for stress.

My own weaknesses could mean failure to my business.

I’ve partnered with my husband who both motivates me and critiques my work. He won’t let me slack off. So, am I still in charge? Yes… I’ve made an informed decision to partner with someone who ensures that I follow my own rules. So my business stays afloat.

Choose partners who you feel tightly connected to. Set the rules and pick your enforcers. Don’t allow your fears and weaknesses to stop your business flow.

Now that you are truly your own boss – the consequences for not following the rules are so much higher.

You are not going to get reprimanded or fired if you screw up –- you’re going to have to live in the muck that you’ve created. And you’re going to have to own up to your mistakes. That’s huge. Especially if you’re coming from the cush university life, or from the bottom of some corporate barrel – where you left your job at work.

Tackling your own weaknesses and realizing that you cannot be the one to do EVERYTHING (even if you are an expert) are smart steps that bosses must take to succeed. You are the boss. You are the over-seer.

Take every positive lesson you’ve learned from every phone answering, file clerking, temp job you’ve ever had and make it your own. Remember what its like to be a good employee and employ people who compliment and compensate for you. And balance your fears and weaknesses with human check points.

My team is my greatest weapon against my fears and potential failure. I will not fail because I have designed my business to suit me perfectly. You need to do that. You need to be completely honest and true to yourself about what you need, where you excel and what you are lacking.

I recommend mapping out profiles of candidates who can help fill in your blanks. But, here are some general ones that we all need – that will make any business run smoother and any boss less stressed.

• The Confidant

  This can be your actual business partner or just a very close entrepreneurial associate who will give you constructive feedback on your ideas. You are not afraid to take criticism from this guy. You may even call him a mentor, because you will need to go to him for advice when you’re in a sticky situation. This person is a part of your business to teach you. So, the relationship must be built on trust.

• The Accountant

  Even if you have a degree in accounting and spent all of your childhood summers doing fake taxes just for fun—you need a separate accountant for your business. (Unless you are running an accounting form). But, if it is your intention to be the boss – how are you going to keep up with all current tax breaks and rules. A good accountant knows exactly how to save you lots of money and keep you from getting audited (or in trouble) because that’s their chosen profession. Do not try to do your own taxes – it takes time away from your job.

• The Lawyer

  Lawyers write contracts, review contracts and cost a lot, right? Yes. My brother-in-law is a lawyer and supposedly charges more than any other attorney in the area. That’s because he’s worth it. Do not skimp on attorneys. They will advice you on how to run your INC, LLC and describe the differences between them. In my business, my lawyer also ensures that I get paid enough and on-time for jobs. He handles a lot of dirty work that would take me triple the time and cause me tons of unnecessary stress.

• The Assistant

  A great assistant can really be your start-up’s life saver. You may not be able to employ one for a while – but there are possibilities for internships or volunteers. Think about how much more you could get done if you had even just an extra five hours of help a week. Find someone who loves to do the part of your job that irks you the most. People work quicker when they love what they’re doing.

• The Right Goals

  Set schedules are important. But they’re only good if you follow them. We need to set goals that we can reach. Goals that we can measure the progress of – because we need to see our own progress to keep motivated. Setting short term and long term goals will help you feel less overwhelmed. I think that being overwhelmed is often what causes me to step back and stop working.

• Personal Time

  Personal time comes after work time. You don’t just take personal time when a whole load of work comes in. Set some standard “you” time – like a consistent day off. But also allow for spontaneity. Never forget that you are still young and cool. Getting out and experiencing the world can help free your mind of your fears and help your creative juices to flow – when you return to the office.

You are an entrepreneur – which means you’ve already accepted that you were put here to make positive changes. And, you will continue to thrive with your business. Own up to your role. Own up to you. And every now and then sprinkle some Mr. Bubble in the bath and conference your clients. Because you can.

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