My #1 Tip for Maintaining Control of Your Business

Howdy! In today’s article, I want to talk about maintaining control of your business while growing at scale.

I think control is a bit of an illusion. You can influence revenue and manage expenses, but there is so much out of your control when running a business. Whether it be market shifts, supply chain disruptions or global events, there are always uncertainties.

The biggest way a business owner or executive can control a given outcome is to fund it from internal resources rather than seeking outside funding. 

Why? Because when outside investors or other entities decide to fund the initiative, generally speaking, they have partial or full control over that initiative, which can be extremely challenging. They can have the upper hand in decision-making, and their expectations can dictate how your business grows, pivots or moves forward. They can also place your initiative on an artificial timeline that relates to their fund timing or other conditions and not what’s best for your initiative.

My advice: Maintain control as the funder of the idea. This gives you a clearer path to success and ensures you are in the driver’s seat. You can achieve this through three main avenues:

1. Your own money—Using personal savings or profits from your previous ventures. 2. Balance sheet cash—Reinvesting cash to give you the freedom to innovate. 3. Money you’ve earned—Funding new projects with revenue generated from your business.

By using these internal sources, you gain the ability to experiment, shut down initiatives that aren’t working or pivot to new ideas without the pressure or influence of external voices. This allows you to stay agile, adaptable and in control of your vision.

Important Question to Ask Yourself this Week:

Am I making decisions that allow me to maintain control over the direction of my business, or am I giving too much influence to external factors or investors?