Working On Your Business vs. Working In Your Business: What's the Difference?

What does it mean to work in your business versus work on your business?

When you're working in your business, you're doing tasks, such as client work or admin work. It's everything you do day-to-day to keep your business running.

Working on your business involves thinking more strategically about how you can move your business forward. This type of work may not have an immediate financial benefit, but you're taking the steps to make a change or build something for the future.

As a solopreneur, it's hard to set aside time to work on your business. I've certainly struggled with this over the years, especially when I feel like taking a day to work on my business reduces the amount of client work I can do (therefore reducing my income). But I've come to realize that it's critical to work on my business if I want to reach the goals I've set for myself.

Here are four ways to think about working on your business.

1) Learning and development

Working for a company often comes with a professional development budget, and (if you're lucky) time to build your skills while "on the clock."

Being a solopreneur is a bit different because you have to dedicate the time and money to learn new things. I have a monthly budget for professional development and set aside money in a separate savings account.

I'm careful with how I spend my money: I don't want to buy a course, for example, unless I really think it will have a tangible outcome. It's not only an investment of my money, but also my time. If you buy a course or a resource, commit to finishing it within a particular timeframe (especially before you jump on the next course you see).

Development may also come in the form of outside help, such as hiring someone to do a website audit and giving you actionable tips to improve it. That's something that would help your business, but not something you want to take the time to learn. Be mindful that if you go this route, you need to commit to taking the advice of the person you hired. Some solopreneurs also hire a business coach to help them brainstorm new ideas or challenge limiting beliefs they may have.

You may also learn from peers or potential clients. You can open up your calendar for coffee chats or conversations to validate your ideas. Amy Porterfield talks about this in a podcast episode, in which she talks through an idea for a potential course. Rather than developing a course based on gut instinct alone, she interviews a potential enrollee. That time investment gives her a better understanding of what students may need, so she doesn't go down the wrong path when she creates her course.

Whether you're creating a product to sell or thinking about offering new services, these research activities are necessary so you can better position yourself.

2) Creating systems

Creating repeatable processes often falls by the wayside, especially if you're working by yourself. You're not forced to do things the same way every time.

But over time, this can hinder you in a few ways. One, you should create systems before you need them so you're not overwhelmed as your business expands. Two, you'll appear more professional to your clients if you have obvious systems in place (such as an onboarding process or project management). And three, you're better positioned to hire fractional help in the future if you have a process that someone else can follow.

Not only that, but handling work in a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants fashion takes a mental toll. You have to think through, "How should I handle this?" rather than knowing how to handle it based on your existing systems and processes.

You should set aside time to:

• Implement apps and tools that can make your work more consistent
• Document your processes with standard operating procedures
• Audit your systems and tools, to see what can be improved.

I am a tools geek almost to a fault — sometimes I'm distracted by "shiny object syndrome." Documenting and reviewing my processes is harder. I have time set up with a fellow solopreneur — a systems "power hour" — every two weeks. During this time, we do virtual co-working and spend time improving our systems.

3) Networking

Growing a sustainable business means you can't exist in a vacuum, even if you are a solopreneur. You can create all the plans and goals you want, but without people, it'll be really hard to achieve those goals.

Your network is critical when:

• You have a downturn in business and need new clients
• You want to move upmarket and reposition yourself
• You want to launch something new

People in your network will be your biggest cheerleaders. Take time to connect genuinely and network with potential clients and fellow freelancers.

My friend and fellow solopreneur Ryan Baum writes:

Generosity + Gratitude = Impact.
This will get you further than you can imagine.
I am a fanatical believer in gratitude. In giving folks their flowers while they can still smell them.
In acknowledging that none of us do this life alone.

I use a personal CRM (Clay) to keep track of my relationships. My CRM suggests people for me to reconnect with each day. I also spend time engaging with people on social platforms. As a result, my network is invaluable, and most of my client work is inbound due to my online presence and these connections.

4) Strategic planning

When working on your business, you think about what the "next level" looks like and whether that's achievable with your current bandwidth and resources. Strategic planning involves thinking about where you want your business to go next and the steps to get there.

If you don't change the number of hours you work, can you scale if you pay for the right tools? Can you hire some additional help? Both of these have associated costs, so you'll need to factor them into your budget. You should also think about the return on investment (ROI), which is the point at which you earn more than you spend paying for tools or additional help.

Another option is to add just a few more hours per week to reach a particular goal. I'm not a fan of hustle culture on the whole — I think it's a quick path to burnout — but I think it's ok to hustle temporarily if you're trying to achieve something specific.

Put a timeframe around your strategic plan. Quarterly goals are good because they give you enough time to work on a particular project. If you've set your sights on a much larger goal, break it down into smaller milestones over several quarters.

Set Aside Time to Work On Your Business

For many people, working on the business feels like unpaid time. And truthfully, it can be because your work doesn't immediately generate income. It may never generate income directly (such as building solid processes for your future self).

That doesn't mean it's not critically important to work on your business. Those that move to the next level are those that have their sh*t together.

In addition to my tools/systems "power hour" every two weeks, I set aside time every month to plan my upcoming month's projects, always tied back to my quarterly goals. I've even checked myself into a hotel for the weekend (away from distractions from my family!) to truly focus on working on my business.

Whatever you need to do to set aside focus time within your schedule, do it.

Check out my free eBook: 17 Smart Tools Solopreneurs Need to Start, Grow, and Scale.