Many small business owners do not actually run a business. They simply run a self-employed job!
For example, I remember speaking a while ago with a guy, who told me he ran an oven cleaning business.
I asked him how his business worked and he explained; “It’s really straight forward, Jim. I have some very powerful cleaning products and I travel all over the county, cleaning people’s ovens with these industrial strength products. I’m usually able to get an oven looking as good as new.”
I asked him what happened to his earnings, when he was on holiday. He replied; “I’m only making money when I am cleaning ovens. When I’m taking a break, I don’t make anything.” He then joked that this was why he seldom took a break.
That guy did not run a business.
He ran a self-employed job, with what sounded like very few perks. When he’s too old or too sick to clean ovens, his income stops immediately. That’s not much of a return, for maybe 20 or 30 years worth of work. We all deserve better than that!
How could he turn it around?
If this guy wanted to start running a business, he could decide to hire people to do the actual cleaning for him, whilst he grew the business. That may or may not work, depending on his attitudes to employing people. So, here are a few alternatives, which would turn his time-for-money business model on its head:
- He might want to produce a book or DVD, which shows consumers how to safely clean their ovens, so that they look like new. This scales well and could be used as part of a residual income stream.
- He may want to get a license, to be the official reseller in his country of a range of oven cleaning products. This can be extremely profitable.
- If he went on to develop a successful oven cleaning business, by embracing these business development ideas, he could create a program for owners of other oven cleaning businesses, to show them how he achieved his success. Ironically, this would ALSO create another residual income stream for him.
- He could also sell the above program to other people, who sell their time for money, such as; consultants, freelance designers, trainers, business advisors etc.
The bottom line: The sooner you start running a business, the sooner your “job” stops running you.