Ten things business owners say (and ten things they don’t)

Do you want to be a business owner? Or do you just want to be your own boss? There's a difference and it came up today in a conversation with a client. Every person who owns a company has to decide whether they want to go down the entrepreneurial road of being a business owner or whether they just don't want to be told what to do. Here's how to tell the difference between the two.

Top ten things business owners say

1. How do we get there? True entrepreneurs have a vision. They enlist their team and advisors to help them determine the best way to accomplish that vision?


2. How much is it going to cost? They are keenly aware of the numbers and measure their return on investment on EVERYTHING, even if they use some unconventional formula to do so.


3. How do we measure it? As intuitive and creative as entrepreneurs are they know that progress has to be able to be measured objectively otherwise they'll end up doing everything themselves.


4. No, we're NOT going to do that? Since they know the direction they want to go entrepreneurs can be single minded when it comes to excluding options that detract from the core focus or mission.


5. Good job. These are not insecure people and they know how to recognize others and give credit.


6. We screwed that up. Security isn't only being able to give praise it's being able to take responsibility for mistakes and use the experience to get even better. Mistakes might be embarrassing but not life threatening.


7. I trust you (just don't screw it up). Good leaders delegate important tasks. They understand that the stakes have to be high for their managers and employees to grow and develop. There's no such thing as "play money" in an entrepreneur's business. Ultimately you will get a chance to prove yourself in a big way, but if you screw it up there will be real consequences, for you and the business.


8. What do you think about this? Back to that whole security thing. True business owners aren't afraid to hire people smarter than they are and when they do they expect to get their money's worth.


9. OK, now let's fix it. Crying over spilt milk isn't in their DNA. The challenge and necessity of fixing screw ups is more important than beating a dead horse.


10. Let me think about it......OK. Business doesn't give you time to be 100% sure. Entrepreneurs know when and how to make quick decisions.