Simply stated, working ON your business are those times when you’re investing your time and resources on making your business be better and grow. Working IN your business, is when you’re spending time doing the mundane tasks and activities that you have to do each day in order to sustain your business.
The key difference is simply stated; investing time versus spending time.
When you are building a business, you can become easily inundated while working IN your business. There’s so much to be done and it’s easy to fall into the thinking that you are the only one who can do it. Sometimes, you’ll end up working IN your business too much due to a lack of money in order to delegate some of the work that needs to be done to other people because, in truth, you can’t afford to pay anyone else to do it.
Spending most of your time working IN your business is ultimately going to limit how much you grow and you’ll most likely be burned out and throw-in the towel long before you see the results you’ve been working so hard to achieve.
On the flip side, you also need to spend time working ON your business. In this role you are the trouble-shooter and the visionary. You will successfully delegate tasks and you will be responsible for the goals and results that will be necessary for your business to become successful.
But this too brings its own set of problems for you if you are stuck performing this role too much. It can become easy to get caught up in the time-consuming non-stop networking events you attend in order to make strategic connections and find new clients. You can get totally bogged down on profit and expense spreadsheets, market research and other tasks required to do when you’re responsible for the growth of your business. It too can run you ragged and leave you feeling disillusioned and exhausted if it is all consuming.
Ironically, in order to grow your business and move it forward successfully, you may have to take a few steps back.
Your business will only be able to grow within the limits of the person running it; and that’s you.
If you are showing up in one role most of the time, the other role will suffer. The question is, how can you play both roles (while you have to) and get the results you need from both? The answer is balance.
There is a way that you can balance these two roles so that you and your business can grow successfully and do it in such a way that neither you or your business fall apart.
Here’s 4 Ways to Balance Working ON Your Business and IN Your Business
1.Schedule every day with a designated amount of time to work on each role
Don’t burn the candle at both ends and have no strategy behind it. It’s not uncommon that you’re going to have to work long hours when you’re running and building a business. But, give yourself a designated time each day to focus on the different roles. It doesn’t have to be equal time but if it isn’t, you should alternate the amount of time spent so you’re giving it equal attention. You’ll become much more productive thanks to the designated focus.
2.Create and implement short time goals for working IN your business
Working IN your business means you’re completing tasks and getting sh*t done. By creating short term goals and to-do lists, you’ll be able to stay productive on what has to be done to support the business but you’ll also be able to react quickly when things change that can derail you or require a plan B.
3.Create and implement long time goals for working ON your business
Working ON your business means you’re strategically expanding your circle with colleagues, potential customers and community. You’re working towards the future results of your business in this role and that means that you need goals that will help you get there. It’s important to have a measurable game plan in place where you can align both roles of your business on a single success path.
4.Make personal time for YOU every day
This is probably the most important way to balance both roles. Don’t get stuck in the overwhelm without a plan on how to get out of it if you do. Making time for you is going to keep you rested and motivated. Be sure to do things that bring you joy and fuel your energy. Without it, your balance will be off kilter before you even begin your day of tasks and events requiring your attention.
Ultimately there will be a time in your business as it grows that you’ll be able to delegate some of your responsibilities whether you’re working ON or IN your business. You won’t always be in a position where you’re doing everything on your own all of the time. However, you won’t be able to reach growth if you’re burned out trying to get there.