The Entrepreneurial Ladder

The solution to SA’s unemployment crisis lies in the palms of our local business owners and entrepreneurs‼️

The more businesses grow, the more employees they hire! Read our latest blog to learn the importance of moving up the Entrepreneurial Ladder.

Level 0 – Student
Each of us has a different foundation on which our ladder was perched. The level of education achieved, as well as our family, friends, and community environments. 

Think back – do you know of anyone that was taught the principles of business ownership, business finance, etc. during their student years? 

Level 1 – Employee (earning money)
This is the first rung of the Entrepreneurial Ladder and the vast majority of us start here: in a job, working for someone else – someone is paying you a wage and training you with skills you will be needing so be grateful.

Some stay as employees their entire lives and achieve varying degrees of success and happiness, and some take the leap to the next rung of the ladder.

Level 2 – Self Employed (still earning money)
This is a point Michael Gerber describes in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” where an employee hands in a resignation letter and starts on his/her own.

Sadly, the self-employed often reach a ceiling in business – what happens when you want to take a holiday, what happens when (god forbid) you get sick or cannot work?

There is generally only so much one person can do, only so many hours in a day, and only so much the market will pay for our product or service.  

 Level 3 – Manager (still earning money)
So the self-employed business owner now begins to hire staff. A logical step as this can allow the business to take a quantum leap – but were you ever taught the skill of hiring, managing, and retaining good people?

Here the business owner is so busy hiring, firing, training, and running after his team, that suddenly he is no longer doing the work he loved in the first place and starts to hate/blame his team for an unhappy situation.

Level 4 – Owner (making money)
This is the point where a lot of business owners come to coaches like myself for help. In climbing any ladder, a key lesson is that you cannot reach for a higher rung without first letting go of one of the lower rungs.

To be an owner in your business, you have to stop thinking like an employee. Finding time to get off the tools and work ON the business – planning, putting systems in place, financial forecasting, high-level marketing, and networking are all roles the owner must play, but cannot if s/he is in the trenches.

Successful businesses create jobs – but these businesses need the owner focused on driving growth!

Level 5 – Investor (making money)
Imagine walking into your business and the receptionist says: “Hello. May I help you?” – without recognising you and that you are the (sole or part) owner of the business?

Sounds good right? So duplicate yourself and set targets – think of your business/es as investments that should be bringing you passive income along with your real estate, share portfolios, etc.

Level 6 – Entrepreneur (creating money)
At the top/final rung is the point of ‘true’ entrepreneurship. As you have climbed this ladder, three things have happened:

• You have learned how to build profitable businesses that can work without you,
• You have built a reputation for doing this successfully, and
• You have built a network of other investors and business people.

At this level, people come to you with their ideas, money, and opportunities and ask you to be involved in these projects as you now bring significant value to the table.

 The higher you climb the bigger impact you can make, and the more jobs get created along the way.  

Take a little time to work out where you currently are on this journey, and where you would like to be.

* Credit to Colleague Trevor for word-smithing this article for me.

To find out more, why not join me for my next Business Masterclass under the events tab.