Are you wearing all the hats?

Business owners often wear many hats for all the roles that are needed to keep a profitable business functioning. This is especially true for start up and small businesses... just because they are small doesn't mean they don't need all of the roles that make a business work well.

I’ve been there – doing it all myself. Marketing, finance, strategy, content, client work, compliance… all while running a home and looking after small children. It didn't feel like running a business... it felt like just going to work and getting trying to keep the clients happy while running myself into the ground.

"I feel like I'm tugged in so many directions. Who needs sleep right?!"

It took a lot of mindset work and a bit of a health scare to start thinking like a CEO rather than a Operator (one who does the work). Oh boy has it been a revelation.

Putting on the CEO hat isn't something that we usually do on purpose. We dip into it when we’re exhausted or in crisis mode. We make CEO-level decisions reactively, not proactively. And it shows... in our cash flow, our overwhelm, and the sense that we’re just spinning plates.

Many of us have taken what we are good at and started a business to do that thing on our own terms... forgetting that we are now business owners. No matter how small a business venture is... it's still a business! Plus if you've incorporated and also have the shiny title of "Director" that comes with extra baggage.

The CEO hat isn’t about being corporate or having a team of ten. It’s about leading with intention, even if it’s just you (and your cat) running the show.

So let's pick up the CEO hat and ask...

• What is working well?

• Where is this business heading?

• Are we building something sustainable?

• What is draining you?

• What needs to change to make space for growth?

While I still wear most of the hats I am now more strategic and as such am developing a business that actually works for me!

Each week I have a CEO check and ask all of the other roles (also me):-

1. How is your area performing?

2. What challenges are you facing?

3. What do you need?

It gives me a better oversight of the whole business and changes the thinking processes.

Branding recently got her butt kicked for spending so much time on colours! Operations got to speak out about her need for a new software solution, along with a plan for how to implement it. Finance threw her toys out of the pram about late paying clients damaging cashflow! Well-being made her thoughts clear on the fact that the daily walk was essential not a luxury.

Once everyone had their say we worked together to create a reasonable and manageable plan for the week ahead. The priorities became clearer and I stopped reacting to the chaos!

Then the CEO felt so much better that the plans for the week had direction, they were backed by logic and took a balanced approach into moving the business forward.

Yes it feels nuts talking to yourself… but actually I think embracing the power of it is wonderful and very freeing too.

Want to try it for yourself? Grab my CEO Hats Toolkit - a weekly prompt sheet to help you check in with all your hats.

While you are checking in with your Business Hats... don't forget all the other hats you might be wearing - some of which are harder to take off! These are the ones that often go unseen, but they weigh just as much (if not more).

• The Parent: Nurturing, guiding, chauffeuring, refereeing.

• The Chef/Nutritionist: Planning and prepping meals.

• The Cleaner: Laundry, dishes, floors, repeat.

• The Life Admin: Appointments, school forms, birthdays.

• The Emotional Anchor: For your kids, your partner, your friends.

• The Friend/Partner/Sister/Daughter: Relationships that matter.

• The You Hat: Rest. Hobbies. Health. That elusive ‘me time.’

These hats don’t come off when you clock in. They overlap, blend, and sometimes clash. That’s the real life of a modern entrepreneur.

Sometime it feels like you are failing. You are NOT! You’re multitasking across identities. And while the world loves to tell us to “just outsource” or “automate”... the real power is in recognising the hats, being honest about the weight, and choosing where to put your energy today.

Some days the business hat wins. Other days, it’s the sick-kid or broken-boiler hat. It’s all a massive juggling act of overlapping priorities.

If this is you please know I see you. If you’re feeling stretched, you’re not alone. If you’ve dropped a hat or two, that’s normal. The goal isn’t to wear all the hats perfectly. It’s to know which ones matter most right now - and to give yourself permission to take one off once in a while.

Can I help you with the Finance hat while commiserating about the sick kid hat and what are we going to eat today hat?