Eye on The Prize

Why do you need an Office Manager? "I don't have enough room in the budget," or "I only need a few things done," are phrases I hear. A lot. Let's talk about the most important reason.

The not so subtle nuances of a growing business can get quite daunting. If you don't know where to start now that your passion is starting to take shape in a form of business, here is why some help could be more beneficial than you realize.

But where do you start? If you don't have a lot of experience in business ownership and what that entails or you are drowning in all the office work that needs to get done, there can be a lot of benefits to outsourcing the office work.

Why did you start this business? I bet it wasn't to sit in an office and look at spreadsheets all day, that is, unless you wanted to become a CPA...or me. You started because you had a love for something! There is nothing better than finding your niche in life. Something that drives you, gives you purpose, something you're great at! And then, you're finally making money from what you love! Congratulations, not everyone gets to live their dream and it is a lot more special than you think.

You have created the perfect taco, that one necklace design cannot be kept on the shelves, or finally signed the lease for a self service dog wash. That is just the start. You will need permits, you will need to pay the taxes, to pay the bills, maybe hire an employee or two, pay them, calculating sales tax....until one day you are so exhausted, but not in the fun and fulfilling way like the way you dreamed about it. You are spending so much time and energy on the mundane business side just trying to stay afloat you can't remember what kind of taco is al pastor (it's a kind of pork, btw)! Why did you do this?! You're drowning!

Let's stop for a second, because even I am getting a bit anxious at the thought of this. I've helped a few companies crawl out of this mess-it's not fun. But just remember, they did get out and you can too. Let's just take a few deep breaths together....in....out.....in....out....all better? Okay good, me too.

I am sure not everyone has been drowning, but I know all the business owners can relate. There is so much that goes into owning your own business. But sometimes you have to remember why you started doing this in the first place and re-prioritize. That is a great quality in a business owner, to be able to step back and re-evaluate.

Do you really want to sit and scrutinize spreadsheets with a bunch of numbers or do you want to talk to new clients/customers? Wouldn't you prefer to update your menu? Or travel to that convention in Miami? Or book that DJ everyone is raving about?

You love what you do, you put everything you have into your business, your baby. And now there is no time to enjoy what you do because you are stuck, staring at your computer, reading this sentence over and over and over and over.......has the light bulb gone off yet?

You know you can do it all, but how many little joys are you going to sacrifice by doing it all?