Let’s delve into the second rung of the entrepreneurial ladder: becoming self-employed.
On this rung, your role is quite similar to that of an employee, rather than a manager.
Continue learning and leveraging the knowledge you gained during your time as an employee. Utilize this knowledge to create efficient processes for your business. However, it’s crucial to remember that you must also adhere to these processes. You must ask yourself how you envision things working in your business and then diligently act as the employee to ensure those processes are executed.
If you’re wise, you’ll separate the task of process creation from the employee’s responsibilities. You must be willing to put in the work of an employee, regardless of personal preference. Embrace the role of the doer. During this phase, focus on honing your ability to write, evaluate, and follow processes. Train yourself with the mindset of preparing to train the next person who will undertake these tasks.
Start compiling a list of the tasks you wish to delegate and create a job description for your first hire, encompassing those responsibilities you want to remove from your plate.
Before progressing to the manager level, you should possess the following essential skills:
- Creating simple processes
- Hiring individuals to execute those processes
- A basic understanding of at least one marketing strategy
- Deep knowledge of your target market and your product or service
- Clear and well-defined big goals
Take the time to learn how to lead yourself, either in the same manner or with a different approach than what you experienced as an employee. Remember, you didn’t want to work for an unpleasant person, so ensure you don’t become one yourself.