Being the founder doesn’t always equal being the president

Linda LaitalaBusiness, ManagementLeave a Comment

Pete knew in college that he wanted to be a food scientist. He loved discovering new flavor formulas. After he graduated he worked days for “the man” at a big food producer and nights for himself developing specialty foods for hospitals. But years of double shifts began to wear Pete down. He dreamed of owning his own business and being his own boss   

When he finally made the break and started developing formulas full time, his business took off. Each year his company grew. He purchased equipment and added employees and brought on new accounts. Then the grind set in. He found himself bogged down with inventory details and hiring. When orders weren’t filled correctly he had to step in.

Owning his own business was nothing like he’d thought it would be. He contemplated selling the company, but the thought of working for someone else was disheartening. He had to make a change. Should he sell the company? Should he go back to working for someone else?

Then he remembered why he had started the business in the first place; he wanted to design special food formulas. He wanted to help sick people, not spend his days chasing orders and placating customers.

He looked at the things he liked to do and the jobs that could be delegated. He designed his role in the company around his strengths and added some additional tasks like working one-on-one with customers. He also included mentoring the Entrepreneur Club at the local school; he enjoys working with the kids.

He hired a president to handle the daily management details of the company and he went back to the lab. Now Pete has a job he loves and best of all, he did it on his terms.

 

“I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
– Steve Jobs

Leave a Reply