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You are here: Home / Become Your Own Boss Tips / The Entrepreneur’s Job Description PART I

The Entrepreneur’s Job Description PART I

January 11, 2010 By Melinda Emerson 7 Comments

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It will take every bit of enthusiasm and energy you have to grow your business into a viable enterprise and a powerful brand.   If you think you work hard now with a job working in corporate America, you are in for a rude awakening once you start your small business, particularly if you are used to having a large support staff.  This is the first of a Two Part series of blog posts on what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

cover_becomeboss_11-16-09This blog post is excerpted from my forthcoming book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months! A Month By Month Guide To A Business That Works! The book will be released in March 2010 by Adams Media.  Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months! is organized by month to lead you step by step through the process of how to transition from a job to small business ownership. In other words, it’s a 12 month planning guide to fire your boss and start your small business.

What Does It Take To Be an Entrepreneur?

1. Chief Visionary Officer You must visualize what you want your small business to become over the long haul. Stephen Covey’s most famous concept is “Begin with the End In Mind!”  This is true in business and in life.  This is the step that gets people in trouble all too often.  Don’t get excited about making one initial sale.  Take the time to plan out your business model and write out a business plan. Think about what you want your business to be ultimately in terms of number of employees, number of locations, and amount of revenue etc. this will dictate everything you do as you start and grow your business.

2. Chief Sales Officer Nobody should be able to sell your business better than you. You need to be a selling machine.  Networking feeds the sales of your business.  People do business with people they like and know.  If you are known more internally at your current job than externally, spend the time to build your network before your start your business.  If you are really not that great at networking, there are two options: get a partner with a great rolodex who loves to network or take some sales training courses to develop a structured system to get it done.

3. Marketing Manager Your marketing efforts are the life’s blood of your business.  You must market strategically. You have limited time and limited resources. The narrower your niche market, the easier it is to focus on where to engage your customers. When you are just starting a business you should do marketing activities weekly.  Social media marketing activities must be done at least three times a week.NameTag_CVO

4. AR/AP Manager (Accounts Receivable /Accounts Payable) One of the most important things you need to do to have a successful small business is to stay on top of who you need to pay, and who owes you money.  You should develop a set policy for when you cut checks to vendors and payroll such as every two weeks.  When you can, try to negotiate credit terms with all of your vendors. Push for Net 45 if you can.

5. HR Manager All part time, full time and contract employees will be hired by you.  That means you will need to develop job descriptions for each position and conduct interviews for all positions needed. If you work with a temp agency you will still need to provide a job description.  No employees should be hired until you can afford their salary, taxes and benefits for at least six months. A year is even better.

What other jobs do you think a small business owner needs to do?  Please leave a comment.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Melinda Emerson “SmallBizLady” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Expert and Social Media Coach who hosts #smallbizchat on Twitter.  #Smallbizchat is the trusted Twitter resource to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business.  Melinda’s first book, Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-By-Month Guide To a Business Than Works! is scheduled to be released by Adams Media in March 2010.

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Filed Under: Become Your Own Boss Tips, How to Start, Mompreneurs, My Recommendations, Pink Slip Entrepreneurs, Solopreneurs, Starting A Small Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: business expenses, business planning, hobby to business, melinda emerson, Qualify the business, small business, small business info, smallbizlady, start a business, success tips

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About Melinda Emerson

Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social selling, and online marketing strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, her Philadelphia-based marketing consulting firm serves Fortune 500 brands that target the small business market. Clients include Amazon, Adobe, Verizon, VISA, Google, FedEx, Chase, American Express, The Hartford, and Pitney Bowes. She also has an online school, www.smallbizladyuniversity.com, that teaches people online marketing and how to start and grow a successful small business and publishes a blog SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. Her advice is widely read, reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She hosts The Smallbizchat Podcast and is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.

Comments

  1. Marcia Waldman says

    January 11, 2010 at 5:42 pm

    Melinda, I think you’ve hit most of the highlights. One thing that I would add, though, is that you also have to be the Chief Operations Officer or Chief Project Manager. Someone needs to be responsible for all of the projects and without a staff in the beginning, it’s a bit like, “Tag, you’re it.”
    .-= Marcia Waldman´s last blog ..Knitting Up a Business Plan =-.

    Reply
  2. Debbie Steg says

    January 13, 2010 at 11:28 am

    Melinda, you’ve illuminated that facets on the diamond brilliantly! #1 CVO is so important! I just gave a talk yesterday at the NAWBO-NNM Santa Fe breakfast meeting on goal setting – and the anology I love to use is the GPS – it will take you there as long as you know the destination you’re seeking. You only start to see the possibilities and options once you’ve set the desired result. The CVO is position is vital and really influences successive decision.

    Reply
  3. Neely Bethurum says

    October 21, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    Enjoyed examining this, very good stuff, thanks . “A man does not die of love or his liver or even of old age he dies of being a man.” by Percival Arland Ussher.

    Reply
  4. strategies for marketing local business says

    January 20, 2012 at 1:54 am

    There is visibly a bunch to identify about this. I think you made certain good points in features also.

    Reply

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