John Erbert or Johnny as he is better know by those who know him owns one of the most successful lawn care businesses in Colorado, if not the entire US. A few months back, Johnny was interview on the Access Direct blog for some business insights and tips. Here is a portion of the interview:
“The best advice I have to offer is to draw or map out an organizational chart for your small business. This sounds crazy for a new small business, but please hear me out.
List all the possible positions in your business. For example:
- CEO
- Human Resources
- Accounting
- Marketing
- Operations Manager
- Branch Manager
- Receptionist
You get the point right? Someone has to perform all of those functions, so put your name in each position box that will be your job function. If you are a new business, you will realize that your name is in most of the boxes.
At this point, you may have the common reaction, “Holy crap!” This should give the phrase “we wear many hats” new meaning for you.
It’s your job to get other people – employees, sub-contractors, or virtual assistants – to help you with those functions so you can spend your time working on growing your business instead of dealing with all the day-to-day minutia of your business.
When you run a business, the product/service is not what you’re really selling. The true product you’re selling is your business, so spend time creating and perfecting the perfect business model that supports your customers and employees. Focus on all the little details, because that’s what’s important.
I hear many companies say they are all about customer service and then you use their bathroom and it’s a mess. This begs the question: if they really care about customer service, why is the bathroom a mess? It’s because they really don’t care. It’s just lip service.
For the rest of the story, please visit the blog written by John Kinsley.
Johnny is the co-host of Small Business Naked and a hugely successful business owner. We can all learn a lot from Johnny.