The daily tension founders face with working in, on, and talking about their business
Every day, I talk with founders about the tension between working in the business, working on the business, and talking about the business.
The truth is, I totally struggle with this myself, too.
I think for most of us as founders, working in the business comes naturally—a love for the work or the product we sell is what led us to build a business in the first place.
Working on the business doesn’t come so naturally for many of us—or we tackle it in fits and bursts and only when we feel like we’ve neglected it.
Similarly, talking about our business can be difficult—even if we’re passionate about what we do and why we do it. It’s not that we don’t have a lot to say and share—it’s more that we haven’t found our voice, aren’t sure where to publish, and don’t have a rhythm and cadence for doing so.
All of these tensions and struggles tie back to the ultimate challenge, which is developing a balanced discipline of giving each of these the attention they require.
Working on, in, or talking about our businesses in isolation won’t help us find the traction and build the momentum we need to build the businesses we dream of.
Like training for a marathon, we need to put our shoes on, stretch out muscles, and run regular to build up stamina and endurance, and develop a rhythm and cadence that forms good habits. At first, it’s hard, it hurts, and it’s not much fun. But, over time, the rhythm and habit becomes more natural and we get stronger and feel better and enjoy it more.
It‘s the same with building businesses. We need to develop regular, repeatable rhythms where we’re giving adequate attention to all three of working on, in, and talking about our businesses and the work we do.
I’m pretty good at alternating between the first two but I struggle to consistently talk about my work in a way that will amplify my message and build connections with the people I have the best opportunity to help and serve.
How about you? Do you struggle with this, too?