This month I celebrated six years in business, a significant landmark for a business, given that four out of ten businesses in the UK don’t make it beyond five years.
This statistic has been constant for the last twenty years and whilst there are often ‘valid’ reasons for this, I believe that many could have been foreseen during the planning stage of the business. I read the book The E Myth more than thirty years ago and was struck by the premise that, many small businesses fail because the owners are working ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ their businesses.
It’s a well-used ‘mantra’ still, but what does it mean to work ‘on’ your business? I believe it’s quite simply managing the business, i.e. ensuring the right strategy, structure and systems are in place and being entrepreneurial.
