School's Been In for a Few Weeks but for Technology Business Owners It Should Never Be Out

Once a kid gets out of high school, they can decide to continue on to get a number of different degrees and certifications.

For those that choose to be business owners, true entrepreneurs, school never stops. Sure you need a "vacation" and "holiday break" but stopping your education is not an option. And I'm not referring to your technical education either.

The best business people out there keep learning, regardless of how many businesses they own or the size of those businesses or the industry they are in. For the most part, that may be the only true difference between you and them.

Some stick with the same mentor that they follow around and/or have a speaking relationship with. Others combine that with hooking up with people to meet short term goals like getting to a certain income level or business size. Then they move on to the next person that has been to, and can get them to, the next level on the list.

Especially with technology business owners (engineers, IT, computer services, etc), I find that they are much more interested in keeping up with the technical world than the business world. That's very disheartening since it's a true sign that they have more of a job than a business. Honestly, for most of these people, they would be better off just sticking to working for someone else since it would probably greatly reduce their stress levels.

When I was still the owner of a 10 person engineering and IT business, I quickly learned that I need to hire people to do the technical work if I wanted to get anywhere or I should just get a job. Something I strongly did not want to do and actually have never done.

Now don't get me wrong. I still kept myself in the tech loop every once in a while by jumping in on a project so I could keep up my knowledge of what my clients needed but my job was to run the business on a strategic level.

Even if you're a 1 person show, you still need to hand off as much as possible to contractors and part time admin help. If not, you'll be looking for ways to work 30+ billable hours and 20+ "business" hours. What's the point of that?

What ends up suffering is your business potential and your business education, which you need to reach that potential.

I'm all about helping technology people have a true business and the first step is to understand that you actually have a business that needs your attention. And that includes taking the time to keep learning.

By the way if your problem is no time, then make the time to first learn about time management. When you figure out how to save yourself 5 hours+ a week, then you can dedicate more time to running your business and getting the rest of your business education.

To Your Business Success-

George Sierchio
The Consultant's Coach