While some of us may be used to being in charge, some of us come to our home businesses without a lot of “boss” experience. Perhaps we have always worked under someone else who made all the decisions or we have very minimal supervisory experience. For some of us, it is this desire to be in control of our own work world that spurs us on to even starting our own small home-based business—but it can take some focus to learn how to make decisions and be a strong decision-maker.
Several years ago I had a sales person call me when I was working a more “traditional” job—he wanted to clarify who he was speaking to and whether I had any authority so he asked: “Are you a decision maker in the company?” I thought this was an interesting way of differentiating and categorizing positions. Now that we have our own home-based businesses, we are all THE decision-makers. But, we small business entrepreneurs now have to learn how to do that well and with purpose.
Practice does make perfect and it builds confidence as well. You may need to remind yourself that you are the decision-maker now and everything from what sort of computer software to purchase to which clients and customers you choose to work with are all decisions that now rest on your shoulders. It can be scary, and you might worry that you will make mistakes or make the wrong decisions—but over time, you will grow more comfortable in your role as “boss” and decision-maker—if only for your small business. I know that for me, I do not WANT to go back to having other people tell me what to do and how to run my work world, I like being the decision maker in my little scene!
Also: Who’s the Boss Around Here Anyway?
Home Business–The Cost of Being “Boss Free”
Dealing with Dozens of “Bosses”