Many of my clients tell me they do not feel like business owners. They say they have a business and get money from what they do, but don’t call or think of themselves as a “business owner.”
I get it—being a business “owner” feels hefty, uncomfortable, with big responsibilities and a long to-do list. With the business owner title comes a lot of pressure to succeed or perform. For many heart-centered leaders, it feels like a title that belongs to larger corporate-type businesspeople. Except it doesn’t.
It’s important to validate your feelings around being in business, whatever they are. That can mean pride or panic, excitement or overwhelm, revenue opportunities or the burden of multiple decisions. All of your feelings need to be acknowledged; that said, it is also important to use them as a guide to where you are in your evolution as a business owner. And make no mistake about it—if you are charging people money for something you offer, you are not only in business but ARE a business owner. You are just at your growth edge.
The journey of being a business owner
For many, the evolution of owning a business usually begins with this first step, which often looks like putting the proverbial cart before the horse. For instance, many people will receive money before they have business infrastructure, create business cards before they have a clear core marketing message, or know how they can create predictable transformation with a signature system. (Don’t worry, I – along with every other business owner – was a part of that club too! This was part of why I created the Business Evolution Series.)
It might be “accidental” business ownership or maybe more intentional but without knowing what they don’t know. Either is ok. It just means you’ve decided to learn something about yourself and the value you can bring others through your company.
The next step is usually the “outer” journey of business, meaning it’s getting a website, printing business cards, working marketing tactics, watching how-to videos – the things ‘out there’ that people say are good ideas for business people. These are all important. You need to have a framework for your business to function.
At the same time, you need an inner framework that supports your development as a business owner and leader. More than anything, it’s important to feeeeel like a business owner by having confidence in what you offer, how to talk about it, and how you deliver it, by being profitable, by knowing that you are doing good work at a restorative rate. When I say that, it means you have also been honored, energized, and poured into after you have delivered, or given out, value through your energy.
In simplistic terms, these are the three initial stages of business ownership—but there are a lot of other considerations and elements that can make it really uncomfortable to be in any of them.
What gets in your way of truly owning your business
If your first thought after someone says, “oh, you’re a business owner!” is “huh?” or “what?”, there’s still some confidence-building to do through your ownership. Maybe you don’t think of yourself as being authoritative or like other business owners you’ve met or like you don’t know enough to be a business owner yet… but denying your ownership is obviously not helpful in building your brand or in communicating your value.
Business is the transactional cycle of offering products and services to people who want and will pay for them. When you commit to serving others in successfully getting new results through a revenue cycle, in which you get paid for your offer, you become a business owner. Now, you can have a relational business, meaning going beyond a mere transaction-level business; however, at the core of it, business depends on successful transactions being conducted (which, for some heart-centered, impact-driven leaders, can feel cold).
Once you accept money for something you have packaged to sell for repeatable revenue transactions, you are in business. And when that business is your idea and/or you are the main initiator of business, you are the “owner” of that business. I’m not talking about legal entities here; instead, I’m talking about you “owning” the transformation being delivered and the results being generated for both you and your customers.
So not believing you actually are a business owner is how you sabotage yourself in business. Not seeing yourself as a leader, not thinking strategically about how to grow your business, not charging appropriately for your offers, not understanding the impact of your work, not allowing your business to restore your full vitality. These are all ways that you can stall, block, or even stop your development, your business ownership and, ultimately, success.
Claiming your ownership
Now, it might happen slowly – as you build more capacity – but when you step into the role of business owner, that means you accept responsibility for the activities and results of your business, which can, sometimes, be unsettling. How you do it matters too because not setting your business up to restore you means your business will not be sustainable.
The truth of the matter is, business ownership can be draining at times because it takes a lot of time, energy, and resources to start and maintain it. The continuum of business includes everything from ideation to initiation to marketing to sales to scaling to an exit strategy (if you want to take it that far).
It means understanding how to talk about what you do, understanding the true value of your work, being willing to package your offers and have sales conversations, and becoming visible through marketing for the results you offer.
It might mean starting or leading a movement, becoming a published author, or speaking to groups of people about what you do. Any of this can trigger a trauma response where you break into a sweat, freeze, or hyperventilate. And, of course, this all depends on what you want to do… but some of it does innately come with the territory.
You’ve already learned how to own your subject matter expertise. Now, the key is to really “own” your business leadership and ensure you are restored and revitalized through your business. That comfort and confidence doesn’t usually happen overnight. You build your capacity for it with time and intention. And when you have more capacity, you are more resilient and can adapt more easily to dynamic circumstances.
By claiming your business ownership and then ensuring you are fulfilled by it, you become comfortable in the role and can have even greater impact and success as you allow yourself to unfold through your business.
To explore how you can be more comfortable in owning your business, schedule your complimentary 45-minute Life Maximizer Discovery Call.
© 2023 Donell “Donnie” Hill
About Donnie Hill
Imagine a world where heart-centered business leaders and entrepreneurs are well-rested, well-paid, and deeply appreciated for who they are and what they do. For Donnie, business building and leadership development are paths for personal healing and community restoration. As a restorative leadership and business advisor, he takes a trauma-informed, nervous-system-led approach to executive coaching and business growth strategy. Using his 15+ years in personal development, health and healing, coaching, and sales and marketing education, Donnie now supports impact-focused leaders build their business and thought leadership presence in a strategic and sustainable way so they maximize their contribution and leave a legacy they’re proud of without sacrificing their wellbeing.