Aunty, should I plant a veggie patch or overhaul my business?

Dear Aunty B, 

Being the happy recipient of your advice before, I am back for a second bite!

I have a small service business which has been established less than a year. I am pleased that we are gathering a stock of happy repeat customers. Naturally, for the business to grow, I need to develop a competent team. I have packaged my service offering and the team have training, excellent equipment, checklists and operations manuals to deliver our service, which is in our customer’s homes. It is the kind of business that I am hoping to franchise, although I struggle with the thought of that now.

I also have a young family, which as you and many of your readers know is a full-time job in itself! I am attempting to grow the business part-time. So what this really means is I am not able on a daily basis to service my customers as quickly as I would like, nor supervise my team as closely as required.

After an initial good run, they are making small, but expensive mistakes simply by not being thorough enough and making poor judgments that could have potential shutdown implications for the business. This week, I have been tempted to fire my team and start over and I have turned down new work because I have no confidence that my current team can deliver consistently from one day to the next. Needless to say, my family life is suffering too. Yesterday, I forgot to eat until dinnertime. Oops.

My question to you is, do I put an Operations Manager in place to cover the day-to-day tasks where I can’t, leaving me to focus on marketing, training and recruitment to grow the team? It would be a gamble, and frankly we would set ourselves up for a cashflow crunch should the business not grow to justify the expense. Am I just experiencing “dip” or is the reality that I would be better to roll the service side of the business and focus on an opportunity to develop a complementary product line without the hassle of employees, payroll, insurance, etc that I can afford to grow more in pace with my family life? Or should I just plant that veggie patch I have been dreaming about and get some chickens?

Please send a little Aunty B clarity my way!

Best regards,
The Juggler

Dear The Juggler,

I would like to lean through my computer and wring your neck! Of course you are not going to fire your team! And forget that veggie patch. Weeding is so boring and I hate chooks. Smelly, neurotic, diseased creatures that are just good for roasting in my book.

Point one: you have a stock of repeat happy customers! Wow! That’s great. Congratulations! That means you have a business which is more than most people have. Stop for a minute and consider what a success you are. Now I have got past wringing your neck I send you a big congratulatory back slap and a great big kiss on the cheek!

Now while you bask in that little glow, do a quick plan. How is the business going to grow? The easiest and most cost-effective way to grow is to sell additional services or products to your existing customers. What is possible? How much will that cost? How much can you make? And by when?

Then work backwards. See? You can afford an operations manager. Or better still, make yourself CEO and hire a general manager. Then make that general manager responsible for all staff, training, recruitment and operations while you focus on five things in this order: your health (not eating is ridiculous and childish. Make someone go out and buy you lunch so you can scoff it at your desk).

Next is your family. You must make regular time to be with your children or husband and then when you are with them, focus 100% on them.

Your general manager does the rest. But where would you find such a person? I suggest you already know them. Have a close look at your team. There must be someone there with huge potential! How about someone you have worked with in the past? You may have to give them equity but to have a partner who you trust and is professional, competent and can stop you thinking about chooks is worth it!

Otherwise you will have to hire in and that can be more difficult.

As for starting another business, the grass is always greener… it too will come with all its headaches so stick with the successful one you now have. Of course it is hard! It is incredibly hard and we all have chook fantasies.

And you make mistakes! But hey, that’s part of it!

Good luck,
Your Aunty B

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