Before consider why technicians struggle to run their business, we need to think about why they bother to go into business in the first place. Why would they start one?

Fundamentally, it’s because they’re convinced that they can do a better job in solving a problem, either by providing a new product or service, or improving on an old one.

Take, for example, Ludwick Marishane. As a teenager, growing up in Limpopo, South Africa, he had a friend who hated taking baths. This was because the water his family used had to be carried by him. One day he and his friends were lamenting over this frustration; how they had to walk for a mile to get a jug of water. Baths require a lot of water, and that means a lot of trips to the place where water was available. This gave Ludwick an idea. Why not create a product that enabled one to get clean without water? DryBath solved the problem for him and his friends, but it also meant that 2.5 billion others without clean water could also get clean.

Here’s another example. Amos Wimbush was poised to enter the music industry as much of his family had done already. One morning, however, he discovered that the screen on his iPhone had turned black. He couldn’t see anything on it. Not only was he unable to access any of the information that he had on it, no one had told him that this was possible. In spite of his efforts, there didn’t seem to be a way to fix it either. It was at that moment that he decided that he should start a tech company. CyberSynchs, was born. It made backups automatic. Although he nearly went bankrupt getting his company going, today it’s worth more than $13 million.

Both of these examples illustrate how technicians get into business, but the latter one demonstrates how close you can come to failure, even if you have a great idea. You see, the problem is that there’s more to a successful enterprise than a good product or service. You need to be able to do a lot of other things, too. And that’s why technicians struggle to run their business. It’s because they’re unaware that technical know-how isn’t enough. When they rely only on it, other things that are as least as important are neglected.

Here are three of them.

1. No plan.

This is something that is well-worn, or even worn out. It’s impossible to plan for everything. Not only that, but plans alone will accomplish absolutely nothing. That’s because they are nothing more than articulated intentions.

There is another reason, however.

Some people like to plan, including technicians. It depends, however, on what is being planned. It’s one thing to draw technical plans about how to improve your flagship product; it’s quite another to create a strategic plan for how to grow the business.

Especially in cases where the product seems to “sell itself”, technicians may feel that a marketing plan or a growth plan is an unnecessary waste of time and avoid it for that reason.

The truth is that if your business is going to succeed, then you have to figure out how you’re going to do it, not only in the short term, but for the foreseeable future.

And recognize this: Plans always require revision. You can plan on it. There is no such thing as perfect plans. You’ll either struggle to create the right ones, or be hard pressed to implement them.

2. Lack of money or in-kind support

Perhaps the single biggest reason why businesses fail is because they have either insufficient cash flow, or they don’t understand it.

You can be a multimillion pound company, but if you don’t have enough cash, the delay between when your debts are due and when you actually receive your money can force you out of business. Given a choice, your creditors will demand money from you that forces you out of business if it is the only way to prevent them from going to the wall.

If you’re a one-man-band, for example, then it will be easier to make your “payroll”; but you’ll still need to make it. And you really will need enough left over for investment in your business – plant, equipment, professional development. In order to sustain your business, you won’t be able to consistently spend everything you make.

That means that you will need to have enough to get you going and then to keep you going at the beginning until your business can sustain itself. Don’t be shy or embarrassed about asking your spouse to help you. Friends and / or other family members may help to support you, too. You might get a loan from one or more of them, or they might become silent partners. It’s possible that they might have some second-hand equipment that you could buy, some office space you could use, or extra supplies. It’s worth remembering that no one is entirely self-made. They all were helped.

3. They try to do everything themselves.

If you’re a technician who’s struggling to run your business, then it’s worth remembering that you need to play to your strengths. Focus on what you do better than anyone else, and then outsource or hire for what you can’t do.

One of the best examples of this is tax accountants. If you’ve ever tried to deal with the Inland Revenue personally, then you’ll understand this. No matter how much of this kind of thing you think you can handle yourself, you’ll find that if you don’t have the letters after your name, which prove that you are a professional at it, you’ll end up in a lengthy correspondence with them. And let’s face it: You have other, more important things to do.

Or what about all the legal requirements that the EU has added has foisted upon you, and which our governments have been historically too weak to ignore?

If you allow yourself to be drawn into these things, then you won’t be able to make the money you need to keep your business solvent.

As some one-man-bands grow, they find that it’s more beneficial for them to hire sales people, or even a managing director so that they can concentrate on the technical side.

All of these things have to be taken into consideration, and it would be unreasonable for you to expect to have the time to learn what to do, never mind to do it in addition to functioning as the expert that you are.

If you shrink from finding experts to help you, then your struggles will only get worse.

Remember, why you went into business in the first place, play to your strengths, and get the help that you need. If you do that, then your struggles will be less.

Do you want to be more effective at personal management? Get in touch with us today.