How to Transition Your Role as Business Owner to a Manager

March 17, 2015

As an owner and a manager of your business, you wear many hats. You’re in charge of finding new business, marketing your company, and managing the daily operations. It’s a heavy workload, so792_3723993 when it comes time to transition your role from owner to manager, making the switch can be challenging.


Here are a few tips to help you maximize efficiency in both roles.


Establish an Open Door Policy


Let’s face it. It’s easier for an employee to vent about workplace concerns to a manager instead of the owner. When you wear both hats, it can make it harder for your team to feel as if their opinions are welcome and heard.


Establish an open door policy that makes it easy for your team to offer feedback. Use anonymous forms, hold regular one-on-one meetings, and dig deeper to get your team talking about what they like and what they don’t like.


Get Out of the Office


It’s a common misconception that business owners can come and go as they please. After all, aren’t owners meant to be out of the office and on the golf course drumming up new business? Although networking is important, as a manager and owner, you need to know what’s happening in the day-to-day operations of your company.


By managing the schedule, you keep a constant pulse on how well your business is staffed and who you have on deck to serve your customers. Using a scheduling app lets you manage your schedule, even when you’re away at conferences and networking events.


Practice Smart Time Management


Keeping a pulse on who you have working at your office will not only help you get out of the office more, it’ll also help you practice better time management.


Setting the schedule up so that you can take care of the behind the scenes operations of the business will help you keep up the ownership side of business. It’ll also help you avoid overwhelming yourself with a jam packed schedule that doesn’t give you any breathing room.


Leave a few openings on your personal schedule to breathe. This will give you time to focus and time to reenergize yourself so that you can dig in to projects that require more of your attention without getting distracted.


Hire Good People


The people you have working for you can cause you stress or give you relief. Trust the people you have on your team to tackle any problems while you’re away. By freeing up your schedule and having confidence in your team to keep your store up and running while you’re away, you give yourself the downtime you need to replenish your energy supply. Not giving yourself that downtime does a disservice to your business and makes you weaker as both an owner and an operator.


When you blend the role of owner and manager, you put a strain on yourself and your team. With these tips, you can improve employee morale while taking a break from the business now and then, and getting out of the office.


Image: PhotoSpin

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