Let me start off by reiterating that I’m the CEO of a small business. I doubt that the CEO of Morgan Stanley has the same list of daily tasks and responsibilities that I do. Lately, I’ve found myself passionate about telling people the truth behind what I do on a daily basis. Do you wonder what life and work is like for someone in my position? For starters, Instagram is probably the worst place to look. I wish that running a company was as glamorous as my Instagram makes it look. I’ve got news: it’s not.
When I meet young women, they say they want my job. They want to be “the boss.” As cool as it may sound (and as cool as it can sometimes be!), being the boss isn’t always what you think it is. So, I wanted to share 10 things that I do as CEO that you don’t see on Instagram. Ready?
1. Payroll.
Every other week, I pull a report from our automatic clock-in system and transfer that information for each team member into an excel sheet that details salary (or hourly rate), how many hours they’ve worked this pay period, and how much they are owed. People have to get paid, right?
2. Taking out the garbage.
I don’t necessarily have to do this every day. But if I don’t take out the trash, who will? I actually talked about this in the Straight up with Stassi podcast. When the trashcan overflows in the bathroom, who is taking it out? Occasionally a team member will help, but more often than not, it’s me.
3. Invoicing.
While some small businesses have a finance department, mine does not. I have to handle the outgoing and incoming invoices for the business. When a client owes money, who has to make that call? Me.
4. Approving purchases.
When we need toilet bowl cleaner for the office restroom, printer paper, a new air conditioner, cupcakes for a team member’s birthday, items for a giveaway… who’s approving all of that? Yep, me again.
5. Resolving technical issues.
Most small businesses don’t necessarily have a tech or IT team like a big company would. So when a team member says they aren’t getting their emails, the internet is running slow, or their emails are going to spam, that’s when I have to jump in and deal.
6. Extra Work.
One of my biggest struggles as a business owner and entrepreneur is creating healthy work boundaries for myself. I talk about this a lot in my new book, GET IT TOGETHER. Because the work never actually stops, it’s up to me to stop it. And to be honest, sometimes I can and sometimes I can’t.
7. Personal Responsibility.
If something goes wrong with a client or campaign, 9 times out of 10 it’s personal. Because I personally spent weeks, months, or sometimes years personally pitching that client on how amazing our brand is. When something not-so-amazing happens, sure, you could say it’s “just business” but it always feels personal and with that comes a lot of guilt, stress, and anxiety.
8. Generating content.
Because I’m not just the CEO of my business, but also the talent and the voice, I’m responsible for constantly generating content. If a client is upset or an employee is leaving, I still need to stay on track content-wise. It can be hard to prioritize the content when other business tasks are calling your name. But it must be done!
9. Hiring.
Again, at a small business, you typically don’t have an HR team. All hiring starts and stops with me. Occasionally, I’ll bring other people into the process. It takes time to go through the resumes, do the screenings, have the in-person interviews, and ultimately make the hire. All things that must be done and no one else is going to do it.
10. Managing.
Along with hiring a team comes overseeing and managing them. It’s crucial to try to give new team members the support they need (admittedly, often a weakness of mine) and to continue to devote time and energy to long-standing team members. Everyone wants to know their work is being valued and taken seriously and it’s really my job to do that for them.
-LB
Featured image by 1390Photo.
Lauren Berger is CEO & Founder of both CareerQueen.com and InternQueen.com, reaching over 6 million people and connecting them with their dream careers.
