I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?
-Benjamin Disraeli
I'm in business for 6 years now and I'm still learning to live the life of a boss. When I was employed, I looked at the owners of the companies where I worked with envy. At the time, I thought that the life of boss was enviable, with the flexible schedule and the delegation of tasks that came with. Now, I know that there is any otherwise.
This text is not an attempt to create the pity around patterns, we hear. On the other hand, certain illusions remain as the pace of life associated with entrepreneurship.
I hear often from people speaking about their intentions to engage in business and finally become the boss and manage their business. Some intangible factors must be taken into consideration before pressing the button business.
The solitude of the Manager
Do you know this expression? To sum up simply, the solitude of the Manager is the perception of isolation felt by persons in position of authority at the crucial moments. When things go less well, the natural reflex is to turn to the person responsible for taking the right decisions and solve the problem.
It is reassuring to have someone to support and validate our decisions, or even take them to our place. What happens when the final hierarchical level?
I felt this loneliness repeatedly and over time, I learned to tame it and take taste. I'd like to believe that when everything goes wrong, if I am the person in charge, I take the responsibilities which come in order to resolve the situation. However uncomfortable it may be, this role is necessary and important. However, it can become using always be the person who addresses the problems which no one wants to deal with. I'm lucky, I have the chance to work with high calibre staff and I often have to deal with serious problems. On the other hand, I am always ready and on the lookout.
The impostor syndrome
June 1, 2008; I show up at the restaurant that belongs to me for a few hours only to regain the reins. I still remember how I felt at the time. A few days only before starting as a boss, I was employed in a large retail company. From one day to the next, I had to move from employee to employer.
It would be lying to say that I was comfortable with this change. Why suddenly I would have the right and the judgment required to give orders and organize the work? My situation is probably little frequent (Fortunately for the company!) but the feeling of Sham remains frequent. How to fix?
Simply keeping both feet on Earth. Talk to a veteran of the armed forces officer and he will invariably tell you the same thing: without the members of the rank of experience, he could never learn and take the stripe. The same thing applies on the labour market. It is by listening to experienced employees and by including them in decision-making processes that it defeats the sense of imposture.
You are the person with the more freedoms and the more constraints
Employer, have the freedom to his schedule. If one day you need to stay longer to set a record, nobody is stopping you. On the other hand, you have an appointment to the doctor the next morning? No need to call to notify of your absence. The good life, no?
Actually, you can do what want you, but as we discussed above, you are still ultimately the person in charge. You want to go on vacation 2 weeks? Make sure that all variables are covered before leaving. You can never leave the fully free head since you still have responsibilities on the shoulders. I don't count the times where I had to move me to trade to solve problems during my days off. I do it with pleasure because it is my business, but it is sometimes more difficult than others.
Stop complaining David
Yes, okay, I know that everything sounds good negative and depressing. Actually I love the lifestyle of contractor and the freedom that comes with. With many projects occupying me, I could not really me attach to a standard work style 9 to 5. Despite the responsibilities and stress that comes with the function, I wouldn't no path for anything in the world.
In fact, I've thought seriously at several stages of my career path. Each time, I realized that to hang my entrepreneurial pads would be the worst thing that could happen to me. I am not different from the minority of Quebec entrepreneurs who work every day to build their businesses.
Next text: Illusion #1: entrepreneurship is only a matter of business and money
