As I talk with private practice educators I am always asking myself, "Why?"

Why are they successful?
Why haven't they made more progress?
Why did they get, or not get new clients?
Why is or isn't the business thriving?

If you have known me for very long (5 minutes or more) you know that there is one book that I always recommend you read immediately - The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. I tell everyone going into business, any kind of business, that it is a must read.

There is a critical point he illustrates over and over that so many business owners just don't understand until they read his book.

I had a couple of conversations recently with a learning center owner who wants her business "fixed." We talked for a little while and I told her that she needed to run and get the book.

She wanted to know what she would learn by reading The E-Myth. I told her, "As I listen to you talk about your business and what you want it to be like, there is a missing piece that will make all the difference for you. From what I'm hearing, I don't believe you have yet accepted the role of 'business owner.' You look at yourself as someone who just wants to teach students and help them improve. If that's the case, then find someone to work for. Otherwise, you need to take on the role of 'business owner.'"

Accepting the role of business owner is a major change in thinking and beliefs that puts you on course to be successful.  Until you accept the role, it is going to be very difficult for you to "get control" of your efforts. 

Every day, business owners lament at the state of their business. Often the biggest problem is that they are negligent owners. (There is the old saying "I'm self employed and I'm working for an idiot!")

Negligent owners are always behind, always overwhelmed, always putting out fires.
They either have too many clients to keep up with or they have too few to make any money. They are always in crisis because they are reacting to everything that happens instead of steering the business through an organized development process.

For educators, there is a natural tendency to shy away from building a "big business." Most of us just want to help some kids. It's a very noble desire.

But if we have selected to help students by opening a business rather than working for someone else, then at some point we have to accept the responsibility of building a business.

It doesn't have to be a huge enterprise. It can still be "just me."

Here is what being an owner really means -
The business owner's job is to create an entity (a business) that accomplishes a task. In our business, we help students overcome learning challenges. Our employees' job is to help our students build the necessary skills to become comfortable, independent learners.

But Jill's job is to build a business that helps students become comfortable, independent learners.

At first, it may seem like a subtle shift, especially if you are the only employee in your company. But it is actually a HUGE change in your thinking. It's really like stepping outside yourself and observing what you do.

This shift in thinking is fundamental. It is foundational. It must be the core of what you do every day.

Again, your first priority is not to help students. It is to build a business that helps students. In that process, you may take on the role of an employee who helps students. But the larger task must always be at the forefront of your "to do" list.

And yes, even if you are the only employee your company ever has, your success will be limited until you look at your main job as building a business that helps students.

Think of it this way...
Think about building a house. You may love to saw and drive nails. You may be a GREAT nail driver and saw-er. You might take me out to a construction site and show me the great job you have done driving nails into boards. You can hold up the straight edged boards you have sawed in spectacular fashion. You can even combine your favorite tasks and saw, then nail boards together.

But without the vision and direction of building the house, you can saw and nail all day without making any progress on your house.

With the vision and direction of the house, you still spend most of the day sawing and nailing. But you are also thinking and organizing on a larger level. Your efforts are now growing something that will serve you the owner as well as others.

What does it mean to accept the role of business owner?
It all starts with your vision. What is it that you want to create? What does it look like? How does it feel? How will your business fulfill it's promise to your clients?

Once you are very clear about what it is you want your business to do, the next step is to get practical about how you will do it.  You wil bring your vision into reality...into three-dimensional form that serves real clients.

Just about any business can be divided up into three basic areas:

1. Sales and marketing (getting clients)
2. Operations (delivering your product or service)
3. Finance (keeping track of and controlling the money)

Start with these three areas to organize your efforts. Even when it gets complicated, you can always find your way again by looking at these three categories.

Accept the role as business owner. Develop a vision for what you want your business to be and then spend the time and effort to take it there.

By going about it in this order, success will find you much more easily.