What you’re good at (and what you’re not)

Chuck Bowen

I realized a long time ago that math was not my strong suit. So, while my friends took physics and advanced calculus, I headed down the hall to journalism class. Now, they’re accountants and engineers and I’m running a magazine. (Still think I came out ahead on this one.) But I’m stubborn. Case in point: Last year I did my own taxes and had to cut a check to the government. This year, my accountant buddy did them and Uncle Sam is sending me some cash. 

In his early years, Mark Pendergast, owner of Salmon Falls Nursery and Landscaping, in Berwick, Maine, thought he could do it all himself. “When you’re just starting out on your own, and you’re a small business, you think you know it all,” he says. “But as you grow, you realize you need other people around you that understand certain aspects of running your business that maybe aren’t your strong points.”

Last year, the insurance company Travelers asked small business owners whom they relied on for guidance and advice when it came to managing risks facing their business. Two of the top three answers were “peers” and “myself.” Nearly a third said they use an attorney; only eight percent said they relied on an accountant.

There are a lot of things you can do really well – closing deals, designing landscapes, managing crews – but probably a few things you can’t. All references to Mr. T aside, every business owner needs his own A-Team – a group of professionals, peers and colleagues he can rely on to help handle things he’s not great at. For our cover story (on page 52), we talked to contractors like Pendergast to find out whom they brought in to build their own teams – folks like attorneys, CPAs, marketers and bankers.

Think of them as a team of white-collar mechanics to help your business run as efficiently as possible. They might be on staff full-time, or you might only talk to them every six months. The point is they bring a level of expertise to your business that you might not have, which gives you the time to focus on what you’re best at: growing your company.

– Chuck Bowen