The Pain of Being AverageThe pain of being average is what plagues most small business owners, the world over. But “being average” is a preventable condition. Recently I heard a gospel minister say, “When we don’t pursue our best, and we settle for average, there is a consequence.”

In fact, he said, “When the pain of being average becomes greater than the fear of greatness, THEN you will rise to the next level.”

It reminds me of a statement made by Michael Gerber, who challenges small business owners to “look inward for outward problems.”Gerber wrote in his business book, The E-Myth, “You are the problem, you’ve always been the problem, and you will always be the problem until YOU change.”

In other words, to move to the next level in business, we must first address the root cause of settling for average. Which is US!Years of seeing small business owners, struggling daily with the pain caused from accepting average (“business as usual”), makes me want to shake them, to WAKE UP!

Here are a few pain points of being the “average” small business owner.

Working long hours to keep up with daily operations.

Mistakes and miscommunication causing frustration and bottlenecks.

Wearing too many hats, due to poor delegation know-how.

Having little time to grow; much less, work ON the business. As to improve operations, by implementing Standard Operating Procedures.

Unable to leave the premises without their cell phone exploding,

Sadly, for most small business owners, this is a SHORT LIST of pain points. And incredibly, all of this is preventable.

But again, when the PAIN becomes too much to bear, owners will hopefully seek the next level. What IS the next level in business? It is removing EVERY business frustration caused by being average—one system at a time.