From employee to employer.

 Are you an employee who is curious about the real world of business ownership? Are you an employer who struggles with employees not appreciating what business ownership really means?

All of us have either said it, or heard it said: ‘you must make a lot of money from me’; ‘it must be nice to be the owner’; ‘what are you worried about, it’s just a write-off for you.’ But do non-business owners really know what business ownership means?

Let’s start the discussion with financial investment: Some take their life savings and purchase a building, equipment, materials and labour for research and development, then make products or open doors for service… all with the hope of the customers coming… and when they don’t, they lose everything.

Others borrow money or find investors who demand a minimum return otherwise they will invest elsewhere… in which case there is no business, therefore no job for the employees to go to.

I was present the day a client’s employee made the comment about how much money the client made off of the employee, and the answer was priceless. The owner explained hours billed per day versus hours paid; rework; slow season; cost of benefits such as employment insurance, medical, mandated sick leave, and required pension contributions. Then the discussion moved on to rent, utilities, insurance, repairs and maintenance, advertising… the list went on. When I say it was priceless, the client never took a breath, and quoted numbers including exactly how much the Yellow Pages advertisement cost was for that year.

There is so much more to crossing this bridge, and this only touches on it. 

Then there is the issue of ‘hours of work.’ How many business owners work evenings and weekends? Many! Example; a locksmith who came to my house on a Sunday when I arrived at home to discover my house had been broken into, and he was wearing a suit and tie as he came straight from church… talk about customer service! Then there is my colleague who had to open his store on a Sunday morning because his employee did not show up to work. 

That being said, it is not all gloom or we wouldn’t be doing it.

An important factor to get straight right away, is once you become a business owner or manager, you cease just being whatever your profession is, and there are things you need to know; for example you must understand the basics of accounting and finance, human resource management, contracting and procurement, business continuity planning, quality assurance, and regulatory obligations. For those who say ‘I have people for that’ get a grip, until your business takes off you are doing this yourself.