My business has been running for a decade - here's what I've learnt along the way: Jen Workman
My company Business Owl is 10 years old this month. Looking back, I’ve worked with over 70 businesses; leased an office; worked in a home office; worked in client offices and co-worked.
I’ve built a team; worked with associates; been an associate and run as a solo business. I’ve also won a regional award and been a national finalist. Alongside many businesses, I’ve navigated external circumstances that none of us would have ever thought possible 10 years ago.
Highlights also include achieving Carbon Literate accreditation and creating (and now implementing) the Business Owl Green Pledge.
Additionally, there are many lessons I’ve learnt from business, but there are three I’d like to draw out.
Trust the seasons - I have an allotment and understanding when and what to plant, when to let the soil rest, when to expect a return or sow ferociously, is key to nature’s cyclical process.
Similarly, business isn’t always about moving at 100 miles an hour or working hard all the time. Smart working involves enjoying the downtime (hard to do when uncertain of what’s next), pruning what’s not working and understanding where to put your efforts. It’s also important to know what you want down the line, so you can make the decisions now to support these outcomes. Small, repetitive actions that make a big difference down the line.
Embrace the pivot - ‘Pivot’ is probably not a phrase that existed in a business context before Covid, but a concept that has existed for much longer. The ability to adapt to the external environment and evolve into a more efficient and relevant entity is something I’ve found both challenging and necessary. Throughout the entire decade of my business, it seems the economic climate has been consistently volatile: Brexit and the uncertainty surrounding Britain’s departure from the EU in the year the business was founded; Covid; the inflation and cost-of-living crisis, compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy turmoil that followed; repeated changes of Prime Minister; difficult Budgets; and the US invasion of the Middle East. These are events that might have spanned several decades in times past.
While the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’ may not be a cookie-cutter fit in this context, I’ve observed the need to be agile, pre-empt and react well, but not necessarily quickly. However, I also acknowledge there are a number of businesses who fit this profile and have still had to make difficult decisions.
Build for longevity - it’s easy for running your own business to be seen as glamorous; ‘do life on your own terms’; ‘solve a problem’; or ‘do something you love’. All great mottos and ambitions. But what is less talked about, is waking up in the morning and just doing the next right thing. I’m currently supporting businesses whose time is being taken up by getting up to speed with new legislation. Not glamorous, but necessary.
Putting the support and resources in place to withstand mandatory processes, will pay off and put you in a strong place in the good and lean times.
This decade has been far from perfect, and there are times when I wondered if I’d make it (or what the next best step should be), but an underlying theme in these areas, is intention. As I head into the next decade, I’m encouraging my clients (and reminding myself) to focus less on doing more, and make space for what matters most.
Jen Workman is founder of Business Owl