With so much success from the Rickert Warnelid guest posts (here and here) on project finance and financial modeling, I have been actively seeking out new guest bloggers for here at SF. I met Deborah Koch, Senior Vice President of Gibraltar Bank in Miami, at a breakfast networking event. Gibraltar Bank focuses on serving small and middle market private companies and entrepreneurs. Deborah's understanding of entrepreneurs impressed me so I asked her to do a guest post, which follows.
Remember your first and probably second years in
business? You wore many hats ---
CEO, Sales Manager, HR Director, Operations Coordinator, Purchasing Associate, and
Receptionist, just to name a few.
You took on these diverse roles to efficiently launch your dream; either
you couldn’t afford to hire professionals for these jobs, or just wanted to do
it your way.
In short, you ran the business
of your business. Somehow, you
carried this off in addition to delivering the special skill that drove you to
start your company, whether it be as an inventor, consultant, writer, plumber, or chef.
This is a common entrepreneurial dilemma…how do you maintain
and grow your business and deliver
your unique value proposition? Can
you be adept at both?
We all know success stories that make the answer to this
question a resounding YES; however, these people are not successful by
accident. A close friend who runs
a CPA firm told me it was years before he trusted anyone else to make business
decisions, but eventually he was so busy being a CPA that he had to hire a
professional manager for the firm. In those early years, he spent many late
hours tending to routine responsibilities necessary to keep the firm on the
right path --- everything from ordering office supplies to paying the bills and
hiring staff.
When you are ready to share your dream, here are a few tips
to help you grow into your role.
Trust. Hire smart people
whom you trust. Letting go is much
easier when your staff is empowered to perform.
Delegate. If you
trust your team, let them do what you hired them to do. They may do it a little differently
than you would have, but you never know, it just may turn out better.
Plan. At least once annually, take time away
from the office to plan for the next year, next five years, next ten years. Include your management team however
large or small the group.
I like the clarity and elegance of Deborah's advice. Maybe we can have her back for more guest posts.