Taking Control of Your Business Iowa

If you're married to your business, take my advice: Get a divorce. Your business doesn't need a husband; it needs someone to be the boss.

Marriages are for partners; businesses are for bosses. (I'm talking about sole owners here — partnerships are a different matter.) Being in a marriage means making decisions together with a partner; owning a business by yourself means you're in charge. No one takes the same risks, no one has equal responsibility. The buck stops at your door and no one else's. An employee who can't listen to the boss can't be part of the business.

By the time I opened my design/build company, I had learned what not to do from previous jobs. I knew that the only way to assemble a strong team was to create a structured company. I wanted procedures to be the backbone of the business environment, so I laid out the rules and then did the unthinkable: I demanded that everyone follow them.

I was a boss before I was a friend. My employees didn't have to like me, they just had to follow my rules. That's not easy in an industry where we often hire our buddies and relatives to staff a company. It's not that these people don't make good employees, but the big unknown is whether someone accustomed to being your pal outside of work will follow your orders when it comes to business. The key is to establish clear rules from the outset that distinguish the business relationship from the friendship.

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