Jackie Zach
July 18, 2024
In this episode of the Tough Love for Business podcast, hosts Jackie Zach and Mike McKay discuss what it means to be a professional business owner. They stress the importance of intentional planning, fostering a strong business culture, and implementing effective systems. Mike uses LeBron James’ dedication to illustrate that professionalism requires full commitment and continuous improvement in skills like hiring and marketing. The hosts emphasize that being a professional involves going beyond mere ownership to gain a competitive edge in business.
Mike and Jackie highlight the concept of “owner plus,” where strategic effort and a commitment to growth distinguish professional business owners. They draw parallels between business success and sports achievements, emphasizing the value of surrounding oneself with skilled support. The episode concludes with an invitation for listeners to reflect on their commitment to professionalism and offers coaching services to help business owners enhance their skills and competitiveness.
Do you want to be a professional business owner? Take advantage of a complimentary business strategy session to discover the opportunities in your business! https://actioncoachwi.com/podcast-ask-a-question-complimentary-session/
Podcast Transcript
Jackie Zach: Welcome to the Tough Love for Business podcast. I’m Jackie Zach, here with my illustrious co-host, Mike McKay. Today, we’re discussing topics from our team meeting. For those who don’t know, the TRT meeting usually happens right before we record, giving us lots of topic fodder. Today, we talked about being professionals—professional business coaches, electricians, business owners. So, what is a professional business owner?
Mike McKay: What do you think?
Jackie: Well, it starts with being a business owner, obviously. But being a professional business owner versus just a business owner comes down to a few things. It’s about being intentional: intentionally creating a plan, having a culture, running the business, and having systems in place.
Mike: It takes a decision to go pro. It’s easy to be halfway into your business, not great at hiring, and say things like “hiring is difficult.” But that just means you haven’t earned the employees you want yet, which comes from culture and leadership. The same goes for marketing. People say it’s difficult because they haven’t become pros at it. Marketing takes a decision to do every step of the program, test, measure, and not give up until it works. It might take 90 days to fully blossom, but you’ll see results if you put in the effort. Being a professional means putting in full effort.
I read about LeBron James, who has played 10,000 more minutes of basketball than any player in history because he plays all the time. His recovery and the effort he puts into keeping his body in peak shape are astounding. Business, like basketball, is a team sport. You can’t win with one superstar; the whole team needs to be capable. If you can say with a straight face that you’ve done everything to become professional at hiring, marketing, or sales, then you might be operating at a professional level. If not, you probably aren’t at the level we mean when we say “professional.”
For us, it’s owner plus. You can own a business without being a professional business owner. The plus is the competitive edge, the thing that sets you a bit apart from your competitors. In the Kentucky Derby, a fraction of an inch was worth $2.1 million—the difference between first and second place. That’s the competitive edge.
Jackie: Right, and we’ll delve deeper into having a competitive edge in our next podcast.
Mike: Being a pro means seeking that edge. We play the game of business, which is an abundant game. Someone once said, “If I buy really good, it leaves less for others.” But Facebook went from nowhere to $100 billion without taking anyone else’s money; it created more value. The same with Google. Being a pro business owner means recognizing the world of abundance. The more value you create, the more money you can make. Our clients make more money than we charge them, or there’d be no point in a coaching relationship.
Jackie: When you mentioned LeBron James, you talked about two things: he spent 10,000 hours perfecting his craft and continues to do so. He works on conditioning his body and everything else.
Mike: Right. He came into the NBA at 18 or 19 without 10,000 hours but with high-level coaching and development. Trainers, coaches, nutritionists—he surrounded himself with people to help him. He’s continued to grow at the same level ever since. Even in professional sports, what sets people apart is their interest in growing and becoming better. We’ll discuss that as part of being an owner plus in future episodes. For now, ask yourself: which version of you are you bringing to work today? Are you working on becoming a professional business owner or just surviving?
Jackie: And what do you really want to be? Do you want to be a professional business owner? Are you choosing to be one?
Mike: Right.
Jackie: What will it take to become a professional business owner?
Mike: Exactly.
Jackie: That’s what we work on with our clients—becoming professional business owners.
Mike: We’ll leave that with you today. If you want to talk with Jackie about what that looks like, click the link below for a quick 20-minute chat. Until then, make it an amazing day.