As business owners, we all have strengths and weaknesses, but how we deal with these issues can be the difference between success and failure of our businesses. Not every business owner is good at every aspect of their business.  To deal with this we need to consider what  our strengths are and hire to offset the weaknesses. First, however you need to do an honest assessment of your skills and your likes and dislikes in the business. It is not only what you like or dislike but also what  you enjoy doing in the business.  Is sales or operations your love, then hire someone to do  other jobs in your company.  But ignoring the issue will not make it go away but only create more frustration in your life.

I once worked for a owner who was great at sales, but claimed that it was awkward for him to sell because customers always want preferred scheduling and treatment.  He never hired anyone else to perform the sales aspect and was frustrated because sells were not improving.  This is a classic example of the point, hire for your weaknesses, build a team.  As we know having all quarterbacks won’t make a good team.  Sometimes it’s not easy to see what the deficiencies are in your company, but look at what talents you have and start building the team from there.  Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the deficiencies in your company, don’t be afraid to hire a Consultant or a Business Coach to work with you on this issue.

As part of your management team assessment have them list what their strong points and weak points are in their own eyes. With this information you can develop a clear view of what positions you need to fill. I believe that too many times in smaller to medium size companies we fail to see the problems or just ignore the problem because we think that it will cost too much to add a position, when in reality the position can pay for its self with increased efficiencies. You may want to consider this for your entire team.  Have the managers rank your crews and your office manager rank the office staff to determine what short comings may be impacting your company’s performance. The team is only as strong as it’s weakest link.

While I can hear you saying, “I don’t have time for this now”, I would respond by saying that you can’t afford not to identify the weaknesses that may be impacting performance in your company.  Whether you decide to address these weaknesses now is another decision that you can make based on the nature of the weakness.  But by identifying these issues now will allow you to start thinking about the fix, it may also be more easily done than you think. When the economy is down is when these issues tend to surface, being ahead of the game is in the best interest of the company and may offer the chance to make an improvement now while the season is young.

This is a classic example of work on your business, not in it. Identifying issues like this will help your company becomes more resilient to economic conditions. It will also improve the overall profit of the business if you make the right hiring decisions. Waiting is not an option, it is important to your success that you identify the issues as soon as possible.

Business can seem like a puzzle at times and finding the right pieces to the puzzle can strengthen your company’s position in the marketplace. Hire the right players for the right position, don’t wait.