As a small business owner, it's necessary to wear a number of hats and/or have different people in key roles with different skills. Not even just in business but in any kind of venture, complementary contributions and ideas are required. It's been said a few different ways, but in this article I'll take the approach of something I heard a while back - that being the idea of the Visionary, Architect and Builder...
All the best companies tend to have good duos at the top. Yes, there may be one driving force or 'face' and many in the background (builders) but a couple of people at the helm that do their part well, and the other leaves alone. A CEO may have all the ideas and bigger picture stuff whereas the COO may be more about the nitty-gritty of operations, ie. applying all the stuff that the visionary has. Making it concrete and actionable. The architect if you will.
Visionary
Could be the CEO. The person with the vision, idea, 'thing' that they want to get out there. There might be all sorts of bits and pieces flying about there and a clear idea of a contibution but not necessarily a roadmap to get there or the hands to make it work. Hype guy, getting out there sharing to the world.
Architect
Taking all these whimsical ideas and big picture ideals and making a coherent plan. Coming up with plans that fit this vision and producing clear blueprints. The bridge between ideas and a finished product. The COO, literally the operations guy.
Builder
The actual doing of the work. Someone (or many people) taking those plans and doing the day to day grunt work to get it done and bring the vision to life. The soldiers, employees, the worker, the hands that make it happen.
All 3 are important, in fact vital. Without the wider vision and constant tweaking of the message, there is nothing to work on. Without the clear plan and someone running proceedings making sure it's all on track, then there's no impetus or bridge to actually make it happen. And without the builders there's just an idea and a plan sat there and nothing built. May be great but needs the hands to work on it and keep doing so until it appears.
This could of course be all one person, and they need to become the relevant person at different times. They may be able to interchange quickly and seamlessly as they go or may take a more segregated approach. And as with a company or organisation, there may be different people fulfilling their roles and working together as one big organism.
I thought this was an interesting way of looking at it, and worth taking a step back on occasion, assessing which you are (or what you need to be) and acting from that perpsective. Getting confused about your role at a given time could give cause to uncertainty, procrastination or a feeling of overwhelm and lack of progress.
We can be all 3 and some people lend themselves to one area and maybe it's best to lean into that whilst honouring the others.
Whilst writing this article it brought to my attention the 2 hats a lot of us need to wear. Not just the 3 characters above but 2 sides that are required to reach any level of success. That being the artist and the marketer.
The creative 'genius' and the marketing maven. The head in the clouds dreamer fused with the functional knowhow and promotion of the buyer.
We're all familiar with the trope of the 'starving artist'. The guy or gal who sits around and paints or writes but it doesn't really go anywhere. They have great stuff lying around, better than much out there... but it's not out there. They love the craft but don't have the nous or inclination to promote it. They may find it difficult or awkward or bad form or inappropriate to shout from the rooftops. Then they're on a diet of ramen noodles to show for it.
The marketer (a good one that is) may not be able to paint or write for shit. They do however understand what makes people tick and buy. How to get things in front of people and get them to take action. They're happy to shout, not least because that's what they do but also they know they can make a lot of money.
These 2 people need to team up... or if it's one person needs to become a bit more schizo about it. Either they move seamlessly between the 2 or separate it out for maximum effect.
With technology streamlining all kinds of processes, one person (or very few) can actually do more than ever but it does come down to the mindset and the application of the individual or team.
Whatever way you go about it, it's important to get all these aspects working in tandem or you just won't have the impact you might want. Visonary, architect, builder and/or satiated artist and marketer, something to think about and lean into!