Be a Business Leader, Not Just a Business Owner

by Dominic Basulto, contributing writer

 

 

When you are growing and launching a company, one way to stand out from the crowd is to become a business leader, and not just a business owner. That’s a critical distinction that many people miss, especially first-time entrepreneurs.

 

Business Leadership

First and most importantly, you need to be the leader of your business team. When you are first starting out, you may only have a few employees. And these employees will look to you for leadership and guidance. In the early days of running a company, you’re bound to have your ups and downs, and your employees will be looking to you not just for guidance, but also for hope and inspiration.

 

You also have to be thinking about ways you can become a leader amongst your peers in the industry. In some cases, this might mean become a “thought leader” – someone who is asked to speak at business conferences or industry events, or someone who is sought after by journalists and members of the media after any breaking news event for your commentary, insight and analysis.

 

Sharing Your Knowledge

This is not about “showing off” or demonstrating your brilliance to the world. Rather, it is about getting the name of your business mentioned by others, at not cost to yourself. Within the marketing industry, this is known as “earned media.” Instead of paying to run advertising in media outlets or on billboards, you are essentially getting free advertising every time you or your company is mentioned in the media.

That’s why so many entrepreneurs and startup business owners have embraced social media to establish their own unique voice on industry trends and developments. If you haven’t already done so, think about creating a dynamic presence on a platform like Twitter or LinkedIn: these are the two most popular social media platforms for business thought leaders. You’ll be surprised at just how quickly you can start to develop a critical mass of people who follow you and believe in your company once you start to make yourself available online.

 

Strive to be the Best

And, finally, you also need to be thinking about ways that your company can become a leader in its industry or niche. What is your company doing that nobody else is doing? There are various ways to show your leadership in the field. Maybe it’s adopting a new technology that nobody else is using. Or maybe it’s taking advantage of a growth hack to do things cheaper, more easily, or faster than the competition.

 

Of course, it’s not always easy to stand out as a business leader. The good news is that you can tap into the industry expertise, knowledge and experience of a business coach to get the inside track on clever, innovative strategies or “why didn’t I think of that?” business tools. A business coach is someone who can help to transform you from being a business owner to being a business leader. You will be leading your business team to success, all while demonstrating why both you and your company are leaders within its industry. It’s an unbeatable combination, and one that can push your company forward to future success.