An entrepreneur’s dream

The ideal scenario is that we start a business that is highly successful, with a unique place in its market, which continues to innovate to meet changing market needs. Others often regard our success in these terms.

But there is very much a personal side to the building of a business. It takes effort, ideas and persistence. Whether a founder of a business, a manager, or team member, we all want to contribute to something larger than ourselves. Ideally we want to leave a legacy – to have made the world a better place in some way. It gives us our sense of purpose.

Our job as founders is also to know when to get out of our own way. And for many people, including myself, we often cannot see this. It means we rely on strong people around us to hold up the mirror. It is now been four years since Jemma Fastnedge was appointed general manager, and with every year that has passed I have stepped further away from the day-to-day operations. I was still in the business, leading, mentoring and building external relationships, because I have always said my job is about vision, values and alignment.

Ultimately, however, the business must grow beyond the capabilities and personality of the founder. It must be an entity in its own right; not dependent on any one person (even its leader).

One of the most confronting things to deal with is when is the right time to pass the reins to someone else. How do you know you can trust them? What if they don’t do things how you like them to be done?

In Built to Last, Jim Collins writes extensively about the ability of leaders of great businesses to choose a successor. And organisations that choose a successor from within are likely to be more successful than organisations that choose from external people.

I find myself in a very fortunate position. To have a colleague who is gifted, talented and prepared to take over the CEO title at RedBalloon. Really on a day-to-day level not much will actually change – in fact it is business as usual – but we’ve officially made Jemma CEO. What a delightful position to be in – to have worked with someone for more than eight years. It means I know very well her strengths, talents and aspirations. And our shared sense of values made the decision a simple one.

So this is the next step in my personal entrepreneurial journey. To have the independence to work on some other things – the next book, board roles – but I get to do what I love for RedBalloon, as founding director, which is building external relationships through speaking, blogging and other media activities.

The dream is coming true.

Naomi Simson is considered one of Australia’s ‘Best Bosses’. She is an employee engagement advocate and practices what she preaches in her own business. RedBalloon has been named as one of only six Hewitt Best Employers in Australia and New Zealand for 2009 and awarded an engagement scorecard of over 90% two years in a row – the average in Australian businesses is 55%. RedBalloon has also been nominated by BRW as being in the top 10 Best Places to Work in Australia behind the likes of Google. One of Australia’s outstanding female entrepreneurs, Naomi regularly entertains as a passionate speaker inspiring people on employer branding, engagement and reward and recognition. Naomi writes a blog and is a published author – and has received many accolades and awards for the business she founded – RedBalloon.com.au.