As a women's business coach I tell my clients, whether they are launching a new business or growing an established business, continue to say to yourself:

"I AM NOT MY BUSINESS!" "I AM NOT MY BUSINESS!" "I AM NOT MY BUSINESS!"

Starting or growing a successful business only happens when the business concept is feasible and is worthy of an investment of time, energy and cash. As the entrepreneur, you are the investor in the business (your business) as it is your time, your energy and your cash being committed.

Michael Gerber says it best: "work on your business rather than in it." Entrepreneurs who make the mistake of branding themselves rather than their small business miss the opportunity of growing a business that can be licensed, franchised, duplicated, and eventually sold. If you are your business what happens when you are sick, have an accident, drop dead suddenly or, less dramatically, are busy doing something else? If you are the business, the customer wants to do business with you - the business may be an after thought.

So how do you put this concept to work for you?

First, write a business plan and leave yourself out of it (except in the appropriate place under management team). I can't tell you how often I have reviewed business plans and every other sentence begins with I. "I offer _________ services to ____________ customers."

What a business plan needs to say is "ABC Accountants offers tax accounting, management accounting, and QuickBooks set-up and training for small business clients." Obviously as the managing partner, and only employee, of the firm you will be providing the service but your business plan is about the business not about you.

Your plan must also specify who competes with your business in the marketplace. Every business has a competitor no matter how unique its products or services. Once again, the question is not who do you compete with! The question of competition is what business is getting the $$$ that your business plans to go after and what differentiates your company from the other. Remember, sell benefits not features. The best way to answer this question is to know that your customer only wants to know: "What In It For Me? (WIIFM) to do business with your company.

The most important tip any entrepreneur can learn is to separate herself/himself with the business. As your business becomes more successful so will you.....and maybe you will sell it and move on to start another one and another one!

I recommend all entrepreneurs read and learn from Michael Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited.