The majority of entrepreneurs have a pretty good handle on what their job is and how the company is doing, especially if they have been in the game for very long. Lately, though, I've noticed some speculation in a couple of companies where the company looks, for all intents and purposes, like they are thriving and really killing it with success. Yet when seen on an inside level, the reality doesn't match the perception. These couple of companies (and I am extrapolating these couple of company experiences that I've taken an inside look at into a greater whole) have the upper level guys working their collective butts off to try and keep the boat afloat. On the other hand, I seen a couple of companies recently whom no one would be able to conceptualize how huge the profit margin is. These companies, et al, are quietly fitting mold of the "millionaire next door."
Are You in it For the Long Haul?
We contrast these two types of company experience with the entrepreneurs whom are really, wantapreneurs, who start a business, start to take home a paycheck, and they have in someway missed what entrepreneurship is all about. These individuals check out of their own business too early and delegate all the running of their company to someone else. Maybe even strangers. I have seen these companies become recipe for disaster, and I have come on the scene to help save the company, and it's too late. The company has been gutted.
To see your startup business to the self-sustaining phase, the phase where you need to check in, but you don't need to make every single intimate decision top to bottom (which isn't wise in the first place), we see company heads who micro manager intelligent self-starts and play the helicopter parent/CEO far too long after the company is on its feet, and moving into a settled stage. Lets take a look at some of the signs that your company has made it.
How do You Vacate?
One sign I look for is this: If the entrepreneur has taken a vacation with absolutely no guilt, or without an ensuing disaster, you are likely in a good spot, or at least you have moved far enough along in the business. When you start a business, vacation time does not even enter into your mind and is not a word in your vocabulary. You might as well be a presidential candidate running for the top spot; there is no way you are going to be taking a vacation. If you've found yourself kicking back with a beach hat and a margarita, you have already entered and are likely enjoying the delegation stage. If you have build a company that allows you to be gone for a week without completely imploding, then hats off to you. If, however your partner has insisted you take a break because you are imploding, and on this little retreat vacation you were handcuffed to your computer, tablet and cell phone, then it is time to get back to work until you can really leave these items at home.
On the flip side, if you are not completely itching to go on a vacation and get out of the office, and you are loving what your day-to-day is, but you could take a needed vacation, then you have probably made it.
There are many perks to starting your own business, but most of those perks do not become a reality until the business is up and running and can sustain itself without you hovering. When you can make meaningful strides to take your company from individually automated to self-sustaining, where things won't fall apart if you are not there for a moment, then you have moved into a stable condition and are in a good spot. This means that your employees will likely enjoy what they do, and will share your vision as well.
Stay Up to Date
It's always wise to keep the numbers in mind, and if your check and balances are matching and good, and if you like what you do, this is success that is not measurable, and is considered, "making it." You have made it if the numbers show you have made it. They don't lie, and you need truth more that ever.
When you "make it," you will have steady, consistent growth, tied to your products that are diverse and well established in the market you are in.
In every business, just like the stock exchange, there are ebbs and flows, bear and bull market times. What we watch for is a general trend. Obviously, there are ups and downs, but if you look over the last year and see a general upward trend that is not going in the wrong direction, then you have hit your stride with your business. Keep up the good work.
Honestly look at your company and assess all aspects of it, what do you see? Have you, "made it?"