The Small Business Owner's Dilemma
Hi. I'm new here, so I figured I'd introduce myself before hounding everyone with questions. I started a company from home roughly 8 years ago that has grown into a small business. It has moved from my home into a commercial warehouse space and I now have 4 full time staff members and some part time staff.
I never really intended to be a business owner. This thing is more or less a side-hobby that grew out of control. I quit my previous career to do this full time because the time investment required it. I don't pay myself extravagantly, but certainly more than I'd ever earn anywhere else given my education and experience. I did like most, putting in 60+ hours a week for a long time. For the last couple of years I've been limiting myself to 40 hours a week to have more time for my wife and young kids. I even take a vacation a couple of times a year. Never thought I'd be so lucky!
It all sounds great, but I have concerns about the longevity of the business. As the business scales up, I find myself needing to shift more and more of my work to other employees. But, I'm TERRIBLE at training and managing staff (or I'm just not hiring good people).
Personally, I tend to pick up things very quickly with minimal effort or instruction. I also instinctively troubleshoot and work through challenges myself. I don't think I'm particularly smart. That's just how I've always been. However, apparently I'm the exception to the rule. My workload is growing too fast and I need to divide tasks up between me and my staff, but I am simply unable to train them to perform the same tasks as efficiently or reliably as me. No matter how much I train them, it still takes them longer to do the same thing and they make more mistakes. Also, none of them seem to think for themselves to troubleshoot through unexpected problems.
We have a great employee retention rate, and I feel I pay my employees well and treat them well. I don't bother them when they need time off, question them when they're sick, or contact them outside of work hours, no matter what. We all get along well, and there's no workplace drama. I am constantly told I'm a great boss and it's the greatest place to work, bla bla bla. It's really nice to hear, but I feel like a terrible boss. There are days when I'm honestly losing my mind...
I've been an employee under some pretty awful management, so I really try to be the opposite of that:
- I REALLY don't want to micromanage my employees. I HATED IT when it was done to me in previous jobs. But, I'll lay out a task with specific parameters, and they seem to only do half the job. I constantly feel like I need to micromanage or just do the work myself, or it doesn't get done on time or properly.
- I try to lead by example, following the policies and procedures we have established to keep everything organized and efficient. Yet, they don't seem to follow this example. I constantly find places where they've taken short cuts, skipping steps to save time. But, those skipped steps always cause problems in the future.
- Okay, now I'm just venting. But you get the idea.
I am aware of my shortcomings as an entrepreneur. I hesitate to even use that word because I don't "rise and grind" or promote my business to everyone I meet or anything like that. I'm not that guy. I just happen to own a business. I'm sure these are common struggles with most people growing a small businesses.
If I could phrase this stuff in a couple of simple/quick personal questions to my fellow business owners:
- How did you find competent and reliable people? How did you keep them?
- How did you decide how to divvy up the tasks of your business between you and your staff?
- How do you train your staff to do your job as well as you? Or, is that just an unrealistic expectation?
- How do you get rid of dead weight? Most of my staff are fine, but I have one staff member who is very slow and makes frequent/repeated mistakes. It costs more money to have him on staff than if he just wasn't there. I'm genuinely relieved when he calls in sick or books time off. I've never "fired" anyone and fear getting sued or something like that. Labour laws seem crazy in favour of employees. What is the process here?
Anyways, any help would be appreciated. Even if your help is just to tell me I'm an idiot. All feedback is welcome.
I never really intended to be a business owner. This thing is more or less a side-hobby that grew out of control. I quit my previous career to do this full time because the time investment required it. I don't pay myself extravagantly, but certainly more than I'd ever earn anywhere else given my education and experience. I did like most, putting in 60+ hours a week for a long time. For the last couple of years I've been limiting myself to 40 hours a week to have more time for my wife and young kids. I even take a vacation a couple of times a year. Never thought I'd be so lucky!
It all sounds great, but I have concerns about the longevity of the business. As the business scales up, I find myself needing to shift more and more of my work to other employees. But, I'm TERRIBLE at training and managing staff (or I'm just not hiring good people).
Personally, I tend to pick up things very quickly with minimal effort or instruction. I also instinctively troubleshoot and work through challenges myself. I don't think I'm particularly smart. That's just how I've always been. However, apparently I'm the exception to the rule. My workload is growing too fast and I need to divide tasks up between me and my staff, but I am simply unable to train them to perform the same tasks as efficiently or reliably as me. No matter how much I train them, it still takes them longer to do the same thing and they make more mistakes. Also, none of them seem to think for themselves to troubleshoot through unexpected problems.
We have a great employee retention rate, and I feel I pay my employees well and treat them well. I don't bother them when they need time off, question them when they're sick, or contact them outside of work hours, no matter what. We all get along well, and there's no workplace drama. I am constantly told I'm a great boss and it's the greatest place to work, bla bla bla. It's really nice to hear, but I feel like a terrible boss. There are days when I'm honestly losing my mind...
I've been an employee under some pretty awful management, so I really try to be the opposite of that:
- I REALLY don't want to micromanage my employees. I HATED IT when it was done to me in previous jobs. But, I'll lay out a task with specific parameters, and they seem to only do half the job. I constantly feel like I need to micromanage or just do the work myself, or it doesn't get done on time or properly.
- I try to lead by example, following the policies and procedures we have established to keep everything organized and efficient. Yet, they don't seem to follow this example. I constantly find places where they've taken short cuts, skipping steps to save time. But, those skipped steps always cause problems in the future.
- Okay, now I'm just venting. But you get the idea.
I am aware of my shortcomings as an entrepreneur. I hesitate to even use that word because I don't "rise and grind" or promote my business to everyone I meet or anything like that. I'm not that guy. I just happen to own a business. I'm sure these are common struggles with most people growing a small businesses.
If I could phrase this stuff in a couple of simple/quick personal questions to my fellow business owners:
- How did you find competent and reliable people? How did you keep them?
- How did you decide how to divvy up the tasks of your business between you and your staff?
- How do you train your staff to do your job as well as you? Or, is that just an unrealistic expectation?
- How do you get rid of dead weight? Most of my staff are fine, but I have one staff member who is very slow and makes frequent/repeated mistakes. It costs more money to have him on staff than if he just wasn't there. I'm genuinely relieved when he calls in sick or books time off. I've never "fired" anyone and fear getting sued or something like that. Labour laws seem crazy in favour of employees. What is the process here?
Anyways, any help would be appreciated. Even if your help is just to tell me I'm an idiot. All feedback is welcome.
.