Owning a business is amazing, at times it get’s tricky. Here’s how to navigate those oh so uncomfortable “talks.”

For those of us with a small business or entrepreneurial spirit, we understand the unparalleled joy of working for ourselves. It starkly contrasts the monotonous routine of punching in and selling our time for a paycheck. The freedom and control we gain when we work for ourselves or run a business is genuinely life-changing.

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is debatably hiring and firing. Finding good, competent, passionate people who are willing to support your dream and business is challenging.

Let’s be honest. The people we hire may only sometimes share our entrepreneurial mindset. They might be business-minded or have a different passion for your vision or goals. Different strokes for different folks. Understanding not only personality traits, but what someone values in life really helps any group dynamics business or non-profit organizations, school teachers really get in tune with how to work together.

One key mind shift opener came after reading after reading Robert Kiysoaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, and learning about the Cashflow Quadrants.

For some, the comfort of a guaranteed paycheck every two weeks is more appealing than the risks and uncertainties of entrepreneurship. This is the reality one face’s as a business owner, and it’s crucial to understand and manage these differences.

Again, that’s wonderful as a business owner. You’re in the SB—small business owner, B—big business with 100+ employees, and I—investor quadrant. The risk of being a business owner or in a big company sometimes isn’t just the financial investment it also means investing in people. If you are in the owner quadrant you assume all the responsibility and liability, go bankrupt, and lose of stable income for families.

Your energy in your work place environment or teams chemistry to work toward a goal while creating a fun and safe environment for employees can be some of the best times, hands down. Yet at the same time, team and group dynamics are where the most difficult and the most significant opportunity for growth exist. 

With this crucial difference in perspective, our employees are valuable to the operations of our business, large or small, and freelancers alike. And ideally, we all can work very well together.

The majority of people are E-employees. Working 9–5, gaining benefits like insurance, a stable hourly wage, a healthy work environment, and somewhere where their talents and genius can shine. What’s the hold up when most employees are being taken care of?

How do we have difficulty finding “good” people to hire as a business owner?

First, let’s look at some stats. According to The Small Business Council and Entrepreneur, there are roughly.

“48 percent of all US employees work for small businesses, down from 52 percent in the early 2000’s. 18 percent of all US employees work for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Small businesses accounted for over half of net job creation in 2014.

And the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, shows that...

“Employment–population ratio, 59.7 percent; unemployment rate, 4.7 percent in May. In May 2016, there were 151 million employed people among the 253 million that made up the civilian non-institutional population. The employment–population ratio was 59.7 percent.”

We see that 48% of our population works for small businesses and that about 60% of our total population is employed.

According to Fundera, small business owners comprise 99.9% of all U.S. Businesses. This means that the majority of businesses in our country are small, highlighting their significant role in our economy. ‘There are 30.2 million small businesses in this country.’ That’s a lot of capital! Thirty million own a business, contributing to job creation and economic growth.

How is it hard to find and keep employees, especially post-pandemic? And what do you do when you need to FIRE someone?

You know these are the questions we have and the real problems we always handle. When hiring, consider the origins of your employees.

Do they have an E mindset or see the B and I side of our business? Are they fans of you? Would they stand by you? 

How much time, effort, and training do we invest in someone if we are uncertain they may just quit in a few weeks or if an unexpected life event — like death, divorce, or health issue comes up? 

What about your star employee who has to leave? 

Or if the people you are investing in and developing are excellent and full of heart but need to be equipped with the capabilities or skillset to handle the job hired for?

These are challenging situations. 

We live in challenging times, especially as you develop a relationship with your employees.

As business owners, it comes down to leadership. How are you handling the growth of the business vs. your relatability, processes, and team development?

I speak on leadership because it takes a leader to make and execute uncomfortable decisions, have the conversations you don’t want to have, and see the potential of your employees. Also, no matter how much you invest in someone, see their growth, and put your heart into them, sometimes it must be reciprocated. It’s like the never-ending chase of pursuing someone who just isn’t that into you.

One of the hardest things about being a business owner is being able to take a step back, reevaluate, and fire someone. It could also change your business’s productivity, energy, and outcome. It’s a double-edged sword and uncomfortable. Handling certain situations requires not only strategic intervention but also wisdom. Yet, as a leader, those decisions must be made sometimes.

Getting uncomfortable is part of leadership.

In these moments or times of discomfort and stretching, true growth happens. 

Unconsciously, we often keep people—employees, friends, and even family—who are unhealthy, uncoachable, and unreliable because we grew up with that behavior—leaning back into comfort and ease so as not to rock the boat. 

Familiarity sometimes causes us to overlook flaws, weaknesses, and behaviors we wouldn’t otherwise tolerate or consider acceptable. We recognize those people we grew up with and learn to love them in all their flaws. We accept this as reality and take them for who they are because we love them. As we grow, we understand that being around certain behaviors probably wasn’t okay.

Growing up is similar to growing as a leader and business owner. Your ability to hold a state emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually, and financially will depend mainly on your ability to choose to grow and develop or to stay the same, which ultimately manifests in your business.

As owners, our business is an extension of the creator, designer, writer, business owner, physician, drafter, law enforcer, etc. As entrepreneurs, we make the rules—unfortunately, all our baggage comes into our business, too. It’s not unloving to say, not right now. It’s part of setting boundaries. Setting the bar of excellence means not only walking your talk. It also allows for accountability for all parties when we uphold the consequences of misconduct in a group or organization. 

Business boundaries.

Those boundaries allow you to grow as a leader and develop more compassion in your interpersonal relationships—and yes, even with our employees.

A leader must know when to let go of an employee. The business depends on understanding the chemistry as a whole and the opportunity for growth, as well as when a disruptive pattern of behavior stifling progress occurs.

When we have that known uncomfortable conversation, we must let you go. 

It releases the energy that you know in your gut is the answer you and your business need to achieve. 

When you step into empowering, and yes empowering, uncomfortable situations, trust that the universe will work for you. You release trust back into the energy that binds us all. In doing so, we regain trust within ourselves. Trust that it will work out for your employees and that it will work out for you, too. 

A good leader keeps the relationship and fosters friendship, despite the loss or not so equitable outcome. That’s something and someone extraordinary. I see this trait in my business partner and husband, Bryan as we keeps relationships open even when they have been deeply difficult to bear. An ability to frankly forgive, and see clearly that on the other end of a not so good situation is a person who desperately wants to be seen even if circumstances didn’t permit for them to flourish.

And as hard as those decisions can be, they can also be the most liberating.Sometimes letting someone go, can be the best wake up call and gift they could have gotten. And also the best for your business.

It doesn’t get easier.

We simply grow into our leadership and remember that some things and people aren’t meant for you. Nor you for them. Make tough decisions. And find clarity in the transition.

Remember letting go of someone is part of leadership.

Again, this is how we understand that business leadership is more than being business savvy, it’s about developing you and your team to become better conscious business owners, but more than that it’s about an ability to remain humane under unfavorable circumstances, that defines our souls growth.

Till next time,