A Guest Post
by Bruno Deshayes
Being your own boss is a great feeling. But there is one thing missing. There is no-one to tell you what to do. How can that be a drawback?
The Small Business Juggling Act
If you are on your own running an enterprise you have to be responsible for no less than 3 different functions: the entrepreneur, the engineer and the accountant.
The entrepreneur is the visionary. The one who dreams big plans. The one who has the ability to see beyond our mental horizon. The one who can sense what people really want as opposed to what they complain about.
The engineer is the one who comes up with the goods. The one who disappears in his attic to emerge two weeks later in an eureka moment shouting: “It works!” the geek who fumbles until it runs. The nerd who never sees disappointment as failure but as a learning experience.
The accountant is the conservative type. He has to tone down the other two above. He is risk-adverse and opposes change and innovation. His pride is a good cash flow and a nice steady increase in profits. His idea of the future? Superannuation. His favourite hobby? Cutting costs.
You can see from the start that these people are set for a conflict because their motivations are so different. That could be the reason why small business partnerships fail. Now consider the implications when those 3 roles are concentrated on the one and same person! To juggle those 3 hats you have strong personal discipline and use reporting tools to keep you on course.
Do you have any strategies for keeping all three roles — Entrepreneur, Engineer, and Accountant — on track?
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Bruno Deshayes is a writer, designer and developer who runs an online accounting system, at time-billing and invoicing system and a website to document and keep track of your goals. You can find him on Twitter as @brunodeshayes
Thanks, Bruno! Keeping all three functions going and balanced is important to every business large or small.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!
