The Key to Success

Who ever takes the key, returns the key
Here's something you don't think about when you start a business -- how does your staff get into the office? I mean, you aren't a door person, you can't be there to open the door everyday, can you? And who gets the key or code? In our case, we can't have a fancy keypad for our door -- it's glass. We have to use a key. It's safely in a key box. Somewhere. Yesterday, the person who took the key, forget to return it, which led to a call at 830AM from my team -- they were locked out. So, I woke-up and drove across town to open the door. Whoever takes the key, returns the key is the rule. Sometimes rules don't get followed. Which leads to today's theme....

The Artjamz Dupont Studio, 1728 Connecticut Ave NW, open and ready for business.  Photo by Anchyi Wei. 

There are no days off when you are an entrepreneur 
You want to run your own company so you can work when you want. If you're starting a company because you believe that, don't quit your day job. It's a bit like saying, I want to have kids so I can get more sleep and enjoy more "me" time. Ain't happening. Okay, there is some truth to it -- you do decide your hours, no one is telling you when to clock in, its your company, you have no boss. Well, actually, you have thousands of bosses -- they're called customers. And customers, if you are doing something right, want to know about and interact with your business and brand 24/7, when they want, on their schedule. They have a question about your brand at 8am on a Sunday? They call, they email, they tweet, they write Yelp! reviews. And when you're not "on the clock" but your retail business is open,  what happens when the electrical circuits blow?  Your staff calls..... wait for it.... you! How is that day off now?

So, you see, the key to success is very simple -- make sure trusted team members have the proverbial keys to the castle (the front door, the hoot suite account, the phone line and the info email account)  so they can run the business without you.

A business created with "you" as the key to every door will never fully be open.  And yes, that takes a lot of trust.... which is an interesting blog entry in and of itself.