Are You Operating Your Business in a Vacuum?

As a business owner running the many different facets of your business, it’s not uncommon for you to feel as though you’re operating everything “out of your own head.” So when the answers you are seeking won’t appear you’ll often reach out to others around you for a fresh perspective.

You can be positively (or negatively) influenced by talking through a variety of areas of your business with your business friends, networking contacts and other professional connections you meet along the way. There are many entrepreneurs who choose to discuss certain aspects of their business with their staff, vendors or even independent contractors. In my experience with many entrepreneurs, some may even talk through various challenges of their business with their spouse.

In these situations, the result of talking through important - and even critical - issues regarding the nature of your company falls on ears of well-meaning, but seriously unqualified individuals.

Sometimes (ok, most times), the nature of the problem usually involves your employees, your partner, your vendor or even problems at home with your spouse. It’s hard to get impartial advice that gets you “unstuck” and moving proactively in the right direction from the very people who may be at the root of the problem!

So what do you do?

Do you merely check out your local Borders bookstore, Barnes & Noble or jump online to seek out answers to internal business dilemmas? Often the information and solutions offered through publications online and offline can have exactly opposing solutions for the same problem – which is really frustrating!

There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re “alone” in your business even if you’re surrounded by people!

This even affects executives. Many times the C.O.O., for example, can’t go up the chain for advice because they’re already supposed to know what needs to be done and how to fix problems – that’s why they were hired! They can’t go down the chain either because they’re the “boss."

Most times the problem entrepreneurs have is not properly diagnosing the issue - much like an individual finally going to the doctor. Maybe the problem is fear of failure, or even fear of success. There are many instances where a hard-working entrepreneur is unorganized, unfocused, distracted with problems at home, incompetent in a critical area or maybe even not as good with people as they thought they were.

The fact is – nobody has it all together - and the most successful have help and accountability.

Operating a growing, dynamic, ever-changing and complex organism like a profitable business is not a one-seat journey…especially when it is supposed to sustain the financial livelihood of your family and be a source of joy in your life.

Successful business owners, including myself, always reach out for professional assistance. Just imagine how much faster you could expedite your business growth by short-cutting roadblocks, problem areas, easily avoidable obstacles and the “dangerous” curves ahead? More often than not, the anchors that are holding us down are personal (and certainly private) in nature. Most times the problem with operating a business in a vacuum is that you don’t see the internal conflicts within yourself – but boy, do you feel the effects!

The difference between operating your business in a vacuum, and having a dedicated support professional or team – is clear…it’s clarity of vision and purpose; clarity of problems to be addressed; clarity of the steps to the solution; and clarity to the “what”, the “when”, the “where” and the “how".

I encourage you to pop that vacuum bubble, and find that expert counterpart that can help you make large strides forward in your business and personal life. It’s time to take control (or re-take control) of your situation, and you can’t do that in a vacuum by yourself!

Take time this week to have a conversation with someone who is an expert in helping business owners achieve their goals. Trust me, the time you spend determining how to move forward will make all the difference in how much success you can experience throughout your lifetime, personally and professionally.