Teach Your Employees to Be Self-Employed

It seems that not a week goes by that I am not approached for advice on starting a business. Usually, the person asking is a professional who is working comfortably in the corporate workforce. They have an 8-5 job and a fairly stable paycheck – but are filling a lack of control. Sometimes they even have a specific idea of what they want to do in this new business endeavor. When I ask what they are really looking for the answers mostly fall into the category or “I want to be the boss” and “I want to make a lot of money”.

Recently, one of these “future entrepreneurs” asked me over lunch how he should get started in business for himself. I asked him  “How is your current company doing?” He gave me a bewildered look and sharply reminded me that he had been working for AT&T for 15 years. I guess he thought I had forgotten who he was.

So I drew him a picture on a napkin of two circles. The first circle was his new company, the second his customers. I asked him what the financial relationship between his future company and his future customers would look like. He quickly explained to me he would be offering goods and services in exchange for dollars. Good start.

So then I asked him about the financial relationship between AT&T and himself. Without hesitation, he told me he was paid a salary. “In exchange for what?” I asked. “In exchange for work!” he said with a tone as if I was a fool.

So I asked him to reconsider – how was the financial relationship between he and AT&T different from that of his future company and his future customers? He started telling me how different they were – and then he went quiet. After a minute of thinking, he said “They are exactly the same! All that is different is the tax treatment!”

I said, “Congratulations – you have been in business for yourself for 15 years.” So I asked him about his CURRENT customers. Who were they? How did they view his service? How would they rate him? Would he treat his future customers the same way? Clearly, he was disturbed – clearly there were issues in how he was treating his current customers.

Fact is, every one of us who take money in exchange for working is in effect self-employed. We have just willingly developed a contract with a single customer. This is not a bad arrangement – but we have to be clear of two things. First, it was OUR choice and second, we are STILL self-employed.

I have found when employees come to see this truth – they totally transform their relationship with their employer. They begin trying to understand the demands and needs of their “customer” and they begin to understand how they fit into the bigger picture. In short –they begin to look for ways to add real value.

I find a lot of companies are afraid of entrepreneurial thinking from their employees. But in fact, this is EXACTLY what we want from them. We want our staffs to be continually evaluating how to take better care of their customers – in essence – how to take better care of us! Instead of shying away from this line of reasoning – we should train our people how to think like they are self-employed.

* Originally published in Technology Alabama – Fall 2009