System

A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. It’s one of the oldest lessons I have learned while understanding the difference between self-employed and business. When you have the legacy of working in a job for a decade there are some old habits that become a hurdle. The entire focus must be on creating systems working your business and not you working for the business.

The purpose of my life is not to serve my business but the sole purpose of my business is to serve my life. Thus I go to work on my business and not in it.

from the book The E Myth Revisited

I know that I will be running a small business. The definition of a business size is often measured on yearly turnover, the number of employees or the number of customers. Here is my measurement of a successful small tech business. 40-50 employees, up to 1000 clients and more then million pounds in turnover. You may find it as a small or big target but that’s not the point. It’s to create the system that will help your people run the business that meets those numbers.

Treat it like a hypothesis and start with what you have got. For example, if we are making 100K then are we doing it by 5 member team and 100 clients. If you are not then create the minimum viable system that has a trend towards the number. The main litmus test is your business development system, management system, people system, marketing system, operation system, customer support system and system that connects to the rest of them work smoothly.

You are not working and your business is growing is an indicator that makes you a business owner. You own a piece of assets that puts money in your pocket while you are at sleep.