I never joined the military but, having worked in the family businesses from a very early age, I nevertheless grew up knowing the value of a good sergeant. They say that sergeants run the military. Sergeants also run the best small businesses. Having good sergeants is the difference between being a small business owner and being self-employed.
The Difference Between Small Business Ownership and Self-Employment
Someone who is self-employed may “own” her business, but nevertheless does everything herself. She’s not afraid to get her hands dirty, but she can never claim all the benefits of being a true small business owner. Since she does most of the vital work of the business, the self-employed person can rarely leave the nitty-gritty of the business. Vacations are usually impossible, as are other high-level business activities like strategy and product development.
On the other hand, the small business owner knows how to get her hands dirty, but doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to. The true small business owner has sergeants. Who are sergeants? Sergeants are well-trained employees who help run the majority of the business, and who are invested in the success of the business. Sergeants keep the business running smoothly and to the owner’s standards, whether the owner is present or not.
The Pros and Cons of Small Business Sergeants
As with everything, sergeants have their pros and cons. The pros are obvious. Small business owners who employ great sergeants can focus more on business development, strategy, and high-level networking. These owners don’t have to spend all their time in the trenches. Plus, they can actually go on vacation for rest, rejuvenation, and inspiration.
There are also the cons. You have to pay a quality sergeant well. Also, good sergeants can be hard to find. The truly great sergeants are in high demand, and are usually already employed by other businesses. That leaves the option of discovering a “diamond in the rough” and training your own sergeant. Developing a good sergeant takes time, energy, and a lot of trial and error. But, the rewards are rich.
I am fortunate to work with one fabulous sergeant exclusively, and two others on a contract basis. Having trained my main sergeant from the ground up over the last seven years, I’m not about to let her go. I offer a handsome bonus each year and strive to make sure our relationship is mutually beneficial. She keeps all three of my small businesses running smoothly, so that I mostly handle any exceptions on a daily basis. I spend the rest of my time on marketing, business development, and product creation.
Have there been rough times in the past? Absolutely. Screw-ups and miscommunications happen on both sides, but that’s just part of being human. We’ve gotten past them each and every time. With my sergeant running the businesses most of the time, I can spend 5 weeks in Mexico each year, and focus on the parts of my business I really love.
Based on the idea of having sergeants, are you a small business owner or someone who is self-employed? Which model are you more interested in? And if you want to be a small business owner rather than self-employed, do you know of any potential sergeants in your network?
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Photo credit: Staff Sergeant Goodwin
Tags: self-employed, sergeant, small business owner
Posted by Stephanie on Mar 11, 2009 in
Small Business Strategy 
What If You Get Hit by a Beer Track Tomorrow?
This question may seem silly to you because you may think that any self-employed individual is also a small business owner. Technically this might be true but the difference in mindset between someone who is self-employed and someone who owns a small business is BIG. So what’s the difference between these two?
Leverage.
If you are self-employed you do everything for your business by yourself. You produce the product, make the sales, handle the accounting and finance, ship out the packages, and handle all the customer service issues. You are the company and the company is you. If you get hit by a beer truck tomorrow then your company goes down the toilet. It’s a bad scenario.
Small business owners, on the other hand, don’t do everything in the business by themselves. They leverage the efforts of other people in multiple ways.
Small Business Owners:
- hire employees
- outsource tasks like accounting, payroll, marketing, and order fulfillment
- partner with other compatible businesses to share marketing and promotional expenses
- leverage investment funds from business partners and/or banks
- hire managers to handle daily administration
In other words, small business owners are like general contractors: they pull together the resources necessary to operate the business but don’t necessarily spend a lot of hands-on time in the business. If an employee becomes unable to work or an outsourcing company fails to fulfill their contract, the business doesn’t die overnight. Other employees can be hired and work can be outsourced to a different company. Best of all, the business can continue to generate revenue and profit for you, the small business owner, on a continuous basis.
Have you taken a look at the way you run your business lately? Are you operating from the self-employment model or the small business owner model? The self-employment model means you are a slave to your business and can never leave to go on vacation. Being a small business owner means you can come and go as you please, depending on the extent to which you have leveraged other resources to run your business on a daily basis.
MLM as Leverage
One way some people have chosen to move away from self-employment and into small business ownership is to leverage the power of MLM, or network marketing. With MLM, the parent company handles product production, order fulfillment, accounting and finance, and often even worldwide promotion. As a business partner you only handle direct marketing and sales, using marketing methods of your choice, and get a check for your efforts. MLM is a very inexpensive way to move into small business ownership because you can leverage the power of a very large parent company for a small investment.
Having said all of that, I have to insert a word of caution here: it’s still possible to run an MLM business from the self-employment model. If you try to handle all the sales and marketing yourself you will still be self-employed. Unless and until you bring in new business partners underneath you in your network who will also do sales and marketing, you haven’t created the maximum leverage in your business. Think about it. If you handle all the marketing by yourself and you get hit by a beer truck tomorrow, your income still goes down the toilet. On the other hand, if you get hit by a beer truck but your business partners are still out there marketing, you still get a check. Again, it’s all about how much you can leverage the efforts of others for your small business.
Photo credit: I Love Hitachino Nest Beer
Tags: self-employed, self-employment, small business, small business owner
