When you first started your business (and even if you are just starting up) you probably had a wish list that included these things:
I want to do [insert your thing] my way.
I don’t want my future to be in the hands of [insert name] company.
I want more freedom.
I want to be my own boss.
You probably wanted to be your own boss because you had a vision of how to better serve your future clients or customers in a way that was much different from the existing businesses in your industry.
You wanted to be your own boss for the greater good.
I get it.
Recently, I had a business (and probably life) altering revelation that made me realize…
“Patrice, being your own boss is not what’s best for your business.”
Let me tell you what happened….
I recently had to make some huge staffing decisions. I needed to hire a new legal assistant for Creative Genius Law. As I was writing my job description for the role, I realized there was one thing that I wanted more than anything else. I wanted to hire someone who had more experience than me in the legal industry. I realized that I’d reached a turning point in my business where I’ve maxed out on my ability to grow my firm, at a reasonable pace.
I’ve taken classes.
I’ve hired consultants.
I’ve read books.
I’ve studied up on the business of growing a law practice and would ultimately do really well with my learnings, and prior work with consultants. But, I’m looking to shorten the learning curve and accelerate the growth, where possible. Why not?
Previously, when hiring, I’d hire people with little to no experience because they were moldable (which I felt was important with creating an innovative law firm model) and they brought value to the table in other ways.
But, we all know that crew behind the scenes are the real gems in an organization. They often know much more about what makes a business “go” than the peeps at the helm. They have the important answers that others don’t (yep, the secrets). They keep the ship afloat and are often the difference between it sinking or sailing.
This time, I realized, I want to hire someone who not only had done this work before. But, I wanted them to be my boss. I wanted them to bring their years of experience to the table and tell me what we needed to tighten up on, or tweak behind the scenes.
See, the person (or people) you have in your supporting cast can help your bottom line, if you let them.
For example, streamlining processes can reduce your costs associated with serving each customer or client. A decrease in cost equals an increase in profit. Simple, right?
So, I hired someone with nearly 30 years of legal industry experience, with start-up law firms.
I thought my desire to not be my own boss was a fluke, until I made my second hire – a content marketing assistant. I found myself telling her, “I just want you to tell me what to do.” That’s when I realized the shift was real.
My new growth strategy is hiring people who are well qualified to be the boss of me.
Now, let me tell you what this doesn’t mean…
This doesn’t mean that I won’t shape the vision of my company.
This doesn’t mean that I won’t make the final call.
What it means is that I will lean more into other people’s expertise so they can help catapult my business to the next level.
It means that I will use my discernment and know when others should lead.
It means that I won’t let wanting to be my own boss hold my business back from its full potential.
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