I recently had the epiphany, sparked by conversations with an entrepreneur friend experiencing growing pains of her own, that I am mostly acting like a clerk in my business when I want to be a CEO in my business.
What's a clerk?
A clerk works IN the business. Clerks attend to details. What clerical tasks have I been doing? For starters: racing all over Chittenden county delivering shortbread, data entry, running my own article marketing campain (and not submitting many articles), doing my own bookkeeping, doing inventory in the bakery, cleaning the bakery, answering phones, responding to every email that lands in my inbox, shuffling huge piles of paper, racing to the post office and the bank, placing orders for office supplies...there's more, but I'm too tired to list them.
What's a CEO?
A CEO works ON the business. CEOs plan. They understand the big vision. They write the business plan and then seek out the support they need to carry it though. They delegate. They analyze data from their efforts and then realign and tweak when the data doesn't support the current effort. They see their businesses as separate entities from themselves. They love their businesses AND they are able to step outside and look in as an objective observer. They outsource the tasks they don't know how to do or don't have time to do. They have organized desks. They budget their dollars not from a scarcity standpoint, but from a potential ROI (return on investment) point of view. They don't make hasty decisions that might jeopardize their business or their wallets. They trust their instincts. They act confident even when they're quaking in their boots. They don't give up. They are human and take care of their physical bodies because they recognize that there are no awards given out for martyrdom. They are humble and honest and freely admit when they've made mistakes without perseveration. They have excellent senses of humor, often making fun of themselves (in a compassionate way).
Lori Davis coined the phrase "guppy or shark" in her blog. It's a little more creative than "clerk or CEO", but the sentiment is the same, I think. I'm a little bit CEO, but mostly clerk at this point in my entrepreneurial lifecycle. (I'm sorry, but I just found myself humming "I'm a little bit country, you're a little bit rock and roll" from the old Donny and Marie Show and found it hilarious). I want to be more CEO and less clerk. I know I must make this shift if I am to grow into a shark...ummm...CEO. I haven't really understood how to do that for a long time because I was stuck in a scarcity mode of thinking and because this entire exercise is so new, unfamiliar, and uncomfortable to my brain!
Sometimes, especially when you're first starting out, you have to just suck it up and be BOTH roles. However, there comes a point, when you have to decide, "Do I want to a guppy or shark, child or grown-up, clerk or CEO?" While I have nothing against guppies, children, clerks...I didn't start my business with the goal to be a guppy, child or clerk. Heck, I'd be employed by a big corporation for 60 hours a week until I retire if I wanted guppidom or clerkhood!
Come test the CEO waters with me. It's a little scary and exciting. So, what's it going to be for you, small business owner? Clerk or CEO?
Ann, Vermont Shortbread Company's sometimes clerk, sometimes CEO
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