In business as in life, it is so important to surround yourself not only with the right people who can help you reach
the next level but with the right structure as well. What do I mean by this?
Let's say you have a business with a great product or a nonprofit with a worthy cause. Things are going well: you're picking up new customers, profits are increasing, donations are pouring in, and you have volunteers lined up to help you achieve your mission. The future looks bright and you feel like there is nothing you can't do.
But then...you realize you're chasing down your customers for payments because you don't have a proper billing system in place. Someone asks you for a set of financial reports because they're interested in investing in you or you're seeking financing to expand your business, but you can't provide them because you never set up any monthly reporting. Your nonprofit is on the verge of losing its tax exempt status because you never filed a Form 990 or 990-N with the IRS or even realized you had to...these are all signs of not having the right structure in place.
There's nothing wrong with not being able to do these things yourself, but there is something very wrong if you don't recognize that these things have to be done and that you need to find the right person to help you do them.
Running a successful business or nonprofit takes more than a good product or mission, it means knowing your strengths and playing to those and knowing when and what to delegate to others. The right structure involves surrounding yourself with the people and processes that serve your organization well and allow it to expand, grow and get back to the things you really love!
