Tag-You’re It: Accepting Your Role as CEO of Your Business

When I first started Expert Office, there were certain realities I had to accept about running my own business. One of the biggest shifts I had to make was recognizing that I am the CEO of my business—and I needed to start behaving like one. I remember having the “what just happened” moment and realizing that if success was to happen, it was on me.

What It Means to Be the CEO

Being the CEO means you're responsible for everything. You have to look behind the scenes at your numbers, evaluate how your business will progress, and keep an eye on the bottom line. Are you making money? Are you spending wisely?

As the CEO, you make all the decisions from top to bottom. You have to roll up your sleeves and run your business like a business. That means reviewing everything coming in and going out—your revenue, your expenses, and whether you're spending money on things you can actually afford.

There's no one standing around waiting to tell you what to do. The bottom line starts with you and stops with you, especially if you're a solopreneur.

When you don't have a team yet because you haven't scaled to that point, everything that happens in your business falls on you. If things don't move forward, that's on you. If things are slow, that's on you. If deadlines aren't met, that's on you.

As a solopreneur, you quickly realize you're the absolute everything in your business. You're the maintenance person, the treasurer, the marketer, the CEO—all of it.

From Employee to Decision Maker

For those of us coming out of the corporate world where we worked for other people, this is a major shift. We're used to being told what to do: "You need to do this, you need to do that." But now, as the CEO, you're the one making those decisions. You have to get into that headspace. You have to think: "Wait a minute, it's all on me now. What would I do?"

Remember when you used to complain about how things were done in corporate? "If they would just do this, then things would work better." Well, now you are "they." Now it's up to you to make sure all of those things get done in your own business.

The Sweet Spot of Ownership

There's something sweet about saying you have a business. But there's something even sweeter about saying, "I'm running this thing. I'm making the decisions. I'm making all of these things happen—all the things I used to complain about when I was in corporate."

Now you have the opportunity to make a change. You can't look to other people and ask, "What should I do?" You have to do your research. You have to roll up your sleeves and run your business like a business.

Embrace Your CEO Role

Remember: you're the CEO. If it's happening in your business, it is all up to you. Accept that responsibility, embrace that power, and step fully into your role as the decision maker and leader of your business.

Need more help behind the scenes in your business? Book a discovery call and let’s chat.

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