Will being a small business owner be right for me? I don't know. I hope. I haven't gotten over the fear yet. Taking my best experiences of corporate life and molding them into a small business model will be hard.
But If I don't lose focus on what's important - the customers, the employees and the business itself - then it should all fall into place.
I've always done what's right for my customers so I believe that will be a relatively easy transition. But I now have 12 employees and their families who depend on me to make the right decisions.
For me, that's an enormous responsibility. And I'm very aware of it. Even though I was in charge of different programs and departments throughout the years, this is different. Sure I had direct reports and had personnel issues. Who doesn't? This is different, though.
I guess I felt more insulated then. Now all aspects of the business are ultimately my responsibility. I'm good enough to earn my employees' respect and eventually their trust.
If I can accomplish that, then I've taken the first steps in becoming a successful small business owner. Boy, running a marketing department or sales team now seems like a day in the park.
Do I now have to get my wife to sign my vacation requests? That's right. Now that I'm a small business owner, I'm not allowed to take any time off.
