What They Wish You Knew–Dads

What your dad really wish you knew….

People who have great skills often make poor business owners. Take the case of a great cabinet maker. He has a love of wood and design. When he finishes a product there is awe in the beauty of the process of creating a work of art which is useable to the client. The cabinet maker can work in his shop for hours without tiring. Everything about cabinet making appeals to the cabinet maker. So, the cabinet maker opens the ACME Cabinet company.

In the first week there is a hassle about the form of the business. Will it be a partnership, a Corporation or a sole proprietor? Then there are the permits required to open a business inside a county or city. Then the government wants him to file the paperwork to get a tax number, an employer number and proof of insurance. The insurance drives him crazy trying to figure out what is needed versus what is being sold. Since the Cabinet Maker needs someone to answer the telephone and book the orders, he must hire the first employee. Now he is dealing with workers compensation and OSHA laws governing employees. It seems every attempt to grow the business results in more details which must be addressed. Finally the Cabinet Maker looses the desire to be in business for themselves, it is just too much of a hassle.

Dad wishes his child would have confronted the complexity of business before turning a love into a chore. The complexity can be managed, it just takes a different mind set to run a business than it does to wish they were in business. The successful business person understands running the business is a different process than producing a product. Each requires specific skills. If a person does not have both skills sets, problems can be avoided by retaining someone to work under the owners direction to handle the details of the business process.

John Webb (one pretty cool dad!)
State Farm Insurance
Phone: 714.522,1590
Web: http://online2.statefarm.com/b2c/sf/agent/75/3196