If you have come out of the corporate world and you are now working your own business, then this message is for you! It doesn’t matter if your business is in retail, restaurants, or somewhere in between these principles still apply to you. There is a difference between being a CEO and being your own boss, once you know the differences you will see how one keeps you small, stuck and frustrated while the other allows you to thrive, move forward, and become the most amazing you!
If you are sitting there confused, don’t worry I was in your seat too! It took years and tears for me to truly figure out this shift that needs to take place. You are not alone, so learn from me!
We have seven differences that we are going to touch on today to teach you the differences between being your own boss and being a CEO.
First, so many people leave their jobs so they can be “their own boss” and there is so much more that happens than people suspect. When you are your own boss you regularly fall into the trap of doing everything yourself. You feel like you need to know everything, do everything, and be everyone. This leaves no time to focus on your vision. Meanwhile a CEO knows that their main focus is moving the needle on the vision–everything is vision based and they don’t get bogged down with all the day to day stuff, AKA they delegate well. Personally, I was involved with LITERALLY every part of my business in the beginning and I was doing everything myself. I learned that it was a waste of my time and I figured out the delegating part of the CEO mindset.
Second, when you are your own boss you are always working. So many people don’t take time off, sometimes not even to eat lunch. You guys! I did this too, I turned down so many invitations because I was more focused on my business. There is something to be said about focusing on your vision and booking for that, but booking appointments all day every day is just going to lead to burnout. Then there is the CEO, the CEO focuses on the main important things that need to be done and they prioritize and then, they let the rest go! They make sure they build without distractions when it is time to work, but then they also protect their energy and creativity by turning their “work-brain” off and scheduling in time for no work. Don’t let a fear of missing out actually burn you out.
Third, bosses focus and build based on what is happening currently in their business instead of where they want to be. If concepts one and two are happening to you then of course you will be experiencing this third problem as well. People, you can’t focus on your future, your vision, if you can’t see through the day to day of what you are experiencing now! The CEO on the other hand is laser focused on the future because the have the space to. There is no successful CEO out there that did absolutely everything in their business and didn’t focus on the vision. when you can break out of that and focus on the future, focus on the vision and stay there and how you’re going to move that vision forward, your team can handle the rest. Yes, you can afford a team–because otherwise you will remain stuck! A CEO focuses on a vision and moving it forward by delegating to their team.
Number four, CEOs delegate because they play to their own strengths. Bosses try to do everything at once by themselves. However, CEOs are not focused on telling people what to do. They’re focused on putting the concept out there and letting people figure it out. If and when they can’t figure it out or something doesn’t go right, they’re there to help pick up the pieces, and reset, and then let them go again. Whereas, bosses feel like they need to be in control of everything all the time, or take absolutely everything on. Trust the vision and empower the people around you to fulfill the vision!
Number five, bosses don’t understand their metrics or are focusing on the wrong parts of their metrics, or they are going on a “feel” that they are getting. That is living within your current circumstance instead of the future! Bosses do this either because they don’t have time. CEOs understand where their traffic is coming from, where people are finding you, what the user-flow is on their website and even as far down into your financing and where your money is going, AKA what season your business is in. All of this allows a CEO to make informed decisions and move forward where needed and make decisions that will keep their business moving toward their vision.
Number six, falling into the trap of the hustle. Bosses have a massive fear of missing out. In my own life I saw a trend of the more times I would volunteer for things the more likely I would be to get that job. Unfortunately this led to be doing all the jobs and having too much to do and working with people who weren’t as invested in their vision as I was. CEOs aren’t afraid to say no to things that don’t align with their vision! Because here is the long and short of it, when you say yes to something you are saying no to something else. If you say yes to “client 12“ that means you are saying no to time of yourself, time for creating, an opportunity that is more aligned to your vision.
Number seven, switching from the hustle to the CEO mindset. Bosses are muddled down in everything they are doing day to day and watching what the business down the street, or around the block is doing. CEOs are clear on what they want to achieve, no matter what everyone else is doing and focused on moving forward. You need to transition from the hustle to doing something different, focus on your signature and grow.
As soon as you can step into that CEO mindset and really let go, amazing things could happen. Things beyond what you ever thought possible because you’re saying yes to yourself, you’re saying yes to your vision, you’re saying yes to your future, and the future of all of the lives that you touch in your business.
And that is how you can really, really create something amazing.
If you enjoyed this episode and in some way it inspired you to start taking action, I’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Send me a DM on Instagram @theresacantley and let me know what your favorite part was.
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If there is a topic you would love me to talk about or a question you may have send it to us at theresa@theresacantley.com and we’ll feature it on one of our future episodes.
LINKS:
Episode 25 – 3 Key Reasons Why People are Successful in Local Business
Episode 24 – What is the next generation of business plus lessons from a Mastermind
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