What are you good at?

When I consult with a new business owner I ask what they like to do. A cafe owner may be the best example, or most universal. Many cafe owners have a talent for cooking. We all know that we have gone to some places where the food is good, and other where the food is secondary to the experience.

Some cafe owners have a talent for making customers comfortable, other have a design flair, while some put together a dining performance. There are all kinds of places that fit into niches. I'm choosing a small business concept so hopefully you can relate.

Most cafes fail. I have consulted with hundreds of cafe owners who are some of the most gifted people on earth. The question that I ask every one of them is, "what do you like to do?" What floats your boat, what gets you excited, what makes you wake up in the morning? The answer in the very most cases is something other than owning a cafe.

So let's talk about you. What I would do with you is take a sheet of paper and write Plan across the top. While you talk I make notes of what your business plan is. Where do you see yourself in five or ten years, financing, marketing, or competition, all the standard questions come first. As you wind down on your plan, I start probing your commitment to the business.

When you finish, and I have all the notes, you have assured me that you are on the right path, we start talking about what you like to do. Even if your business plan is solid, you need to find a place in it. There is nothing to say you have to run the company; you can simply own it.

As much as you may have a talent, what you are good at doing may be different from what you like to do. I like being the boss. I'm good at talking with people about difficult life choices, but I like being the boss. My talent is motivating people outside of their comfort level but, what I like to do is be the boss.

What you like to do can vary greatly inside of your business structure. There are people in the world who love paper work, they like to do it. Some people like managing the day to day routines. Many people like painting the broad strokes of the world they want to dominate while leaving the details to others.

The people who do what they like to do tend to stay in business longer, become more profitable, then feel comfortable sharing success with others.

For many years I fought being the boss. I was uncomfortable telling people what to do. It seemed to be an unkind thing to do and I for sure didn't like being told what to do. My turning point was when I agonized over being told I was caustic and abrasive, it hurt me.

In hind sight, I moved on and that business never progressed. It is the same today as the day I left, feeling bad. Who we are and what we like to do may be contrary to our talents, or skills. For sure it can be directly opposed to what we want to do. I have thousands of examples of people who like to do one thing that they won't even share with a loved one. 

So, if you like talking with people, sitting in a cramped room making drawings, cooking while chatting with people, or making political commentary, you have to own that. You have to come to grips with it, and work it into your business plan. It's the single thing that will keep you coming back every day, even on the days that you may want to be elsewhere.