Ben Franklin on Driving

"Drive thy business or it will drive thee”. Ben Franklin

Wisdom is timeless. Ben Franklin touches upon an enormous problem many small business owners face: being a slave to your business.

I am a firm believer in spending as much time as humanly possible in your business during the first year of operation. But don’t fall into the trap of taking on all your business’ tasks because you feel that you do the job best. This situation is like entrepreneurial quicksand. The harder you work, the harder it is to get out.


It is imperative that you outsource and train employees to take over any task that is not of major importance. This will help accelerate the growth of your business. Once you’ve become established, you can then grow your business by doing tasks that increase existing sales and bring in new customers. Below is a list of suggestions to help you outsource and delegate more tasks to employees:

• Train your employees thoroughly using a training guide.
• Make checklists for your workers to fill out during their shifts. Individuals on shifts with multiple employees should initial checklists instead of just checking off tasks. This forces your employees to take personal responsibility for incomplete tasks.
• Do extremely important tasks yourself. Delegate and check on moderately important tasks. Delegate menial jobs.
• Keep a suggestion and complaint box in stores. Your customers will let you know quickly if your employees are not doing a good job.
• Hire a bookkeeper and accountant if you can afford to.
• Screen sales calls and have your employees take detailed messages.
• Give your most reliable employees management roles.
• Hire trustworthy and personable employees.
• Give out your cell phone number to potential and important customers. This allows you to be away from your business and still receive important calls.
• Use email and text communication for trivial issues.
• Use your website as a resource and sales tool. Answer frequently asked questions.

Take personal responsibility for growing your own business. Analyze your business on a regular basis. Can you develop more outside sales? Do you network in your community? Are you developing relationships that can lead to future sales? Is your web site up to date? Business success starts with you taking control of your own destiny. Do something extraordinary today.