You have read about the tremendous potential when you divide your life’s resources into various departments – Sales & Marketing, Finance, HR and IT – as part of our Business Model of Life Framework. So if your life is your business, then you should develop the entrepreneur in you and enhance these four departments if you want to be successful. However, these four departments cannot operate successfully without an executive leader such a Chief Executive Officer who will provide the vision and the direction besides growing and managing the business. That responsibility again lies with you! It’s time that you get more business out of life.
The role of an entrepreneur or a CEO might be totally alien to you. You might never have thought of starting a business nor even have the capability of being a CEO. Relax, it’s only a one-person-company with five key roles – You, the CEO; You, the Head of Marketing; You, the Head of Finance; You, the Head of HR and You, the Head of IT. This company of yours is capable of generating at least a million dollars over your entire life span. The alternative is do nothing, and yet so many people complain that they are not doing well in life.
To begin, you need to restructure your life’s operations first and turn it into a proper business. Let’s start by getting you to think and behave like an entrepreneur.
Adopt an Entrepreneur Mindset
Consider the following questions which experts ask that you ponder before starting your own business:
• Are you independent and a self-starter?
• How well do you get along with different kinds of personalities?
• Do you have good problem solving and decision-making skills?
• How well do your organize and project manage?
• Do you have good leadership and motivational skills?
• Do you have perseverance? Is your drive strong enough? How about your health and mental stamina?
• What about your capabilities, expertise and qualifications?
• Any family issues that will affect you?
There are many reasons and rationales behind these questions. Your answers would suggest if you are ready to run your own business.
Pause for a moment and go through these questions. Were your answers favourable? If not, take note of the areas that you found yourself lacking in. These skills can be acquired, developed or trained. These same questions also apply when you are starting out the business of life whether you have started working or are mid-way through your career.
Remember, you have to develop leadership within you. If your life is boring, directionless, meaningless, uneventful, or without progress, you know there is a need to take control of your life.
If you start to think like a leader, then you would automatically feel that you have control over things and have the authority to start making changes instead of constantly blaming others for your failure and feeling helpless. In the Business of Life, thoughts become feelings which in turn can translate into action when you adopt the mentality of running your life as if it is a business! And action means better results. So you can change your life and make it better. Don't leave things to fate.
The Reluctant CEO in You
Now that you know what it takes to run a business of your own, you next need to know the job description of the Chief Executive Officer. This is the most important part of management within a company. The CEO’s main task is to implement the strategic goals and objectives of the organization. He or she is expected to give direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization's philosophy, mission, strategy, and its annual goals and objectives. In addition to leadership, communication, project management, and decision-making skills, the CEO is expected to have the following:
• Knowledge of the daily operations
• Compliance to regulations
• Sales and marketing management experience
• Financial management and fund raising experience
So, are you up to the job? Is there a CEO in you or is the position still vacant? Are you clear on what your goals and objectives are in your life’s business? If you don’t have, starting creating them immediately. You were appointed CEO the moment you stepped into the working world.
Like it or not, you must know how to run your life’s operations effectively and play by the business rules. You will lead your life’s organizational structure supported by the four key departments - Sales and Marketing, Finance, HR and IT.
Yes, you might not be formally trained in sales and marketing. But you are going to be doing lots of selling and marketing in your life (and that’s why you have got to do a good job in managing your personal sales & marketing department). You have to decide whether you want to be a one-product company or develop multiple streams of income to grow your earnings and increase your value year on year.
While promoting what you have to offer might be something you can do easily, managing your finances could be a challenge, especially with the fact that we are not taught about personal financial management in school.
If you don't watch your bottom-line costs, your living expenses might exceed your income as you overspend or pay off your debts such as your student loans. Ironically, some of you even go further into debt by ruthlessly spending on luxuries when you get promoted or after receiving your first pay cheque. If you cannot control your spending, your operations and ultimately, your life’s business will suffer no matter how much you are making. That is the reason why you must manage your personal finance department well!
As the business head, you should also ensure that your HR department continues to grow your potential with life-long learning and that you also take care of your own welfare like your health as well as your family relationships.
In addition, have you thought of applying technology to help achieve your life's objectives? Is your IT department making you more effective and productive? Are you competent enough to use technology and innovation to promote yourself better or derive additional sources of income?
As CEO of your own life, the above considerations are important if you want to run your life’s business successfully. The future is in your hands. You make the executive decisions. And you alone are responsible for your one-man business. There is no one else to blame. The decisions you make today will affect tomorrow’s prospects. You will no doubt make many mistakes along the way. But what’s important is that you learn from them. Let 2011 be the year that you appointed a new CEO of your life’s business.
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