Exam Info

Thinking Like a Business Owner

If you're an independent examiner, there's a subtle change in your way of thinking that has to occur before you're going to be successful. I call it "thinking like a business owner." As opposed to thinking like an employee.

If you're an employee, your concern is putting in your time, getting your defined job completed, and leaving your job behind when you leave. That's how it should be.

As a business owner (even if the business is "you"), you have to think differently to be successful. Your concern as a business owner is making the whole work structure happen efficiently. Your concerns are the whole of the work, not the parts.

It's Sunday afternoon. Someone just left a voicemail, asking about an appointment on Tuesday. I called them back, and set the appointment up for Tuesday evening.

I would not ask an employee who wasn't at work or on call to return a call on Sunday afternoon. But I'm not an employee. The call took about 5 minutes.

Now Sunday is generally my only normal day off. I don't work on Sundays, because I think everyone (even me) needs one day that's generally without work concerns. But I don't mind an occasional call.

I'm not trying to make a rule for you. If you're eating dinner with your family, you don't have to jump to answer the phone. If you're playing a video game with a buddy, folks can leave a voicemail. What I am suggesting is that you -- as a business owner -- be a bit flexible. Be willing to make calls a little out of the ordinary. Be willing to bend your routine. It's that flexibility, that effort to be of service that sets you apart, and the effort that keeps customers calling back.

posted by Jim Huffman @ 1:44 PM