If you are thinking about starting your own business, you may think that you do not need a job description. After all, you will be taking care of every detail of the business, so why would you? There are actually a few ways in which writing a job description for yourself before you start your business can help you to succeed.
The first thing that writing a job description for yourself does is it makes you organize your thoughts about what kind of business you are creating. It also helps you to get an idea of how much and what kinds of responsibilities are involved with the day-to-day operations of the business that you are creating. A third thing that writing your own job description can do is to help you identify areas where your business-to-be requires a little more planning than you have done already.
If you have already started your business and you have not yet written your job description, it can still be a useful exercise for refocusing your efforts and identifying areas of concern so that you can take action before a problem develops. For example, as part of writing a job description for herself, Jane finds that many clerical duties that she takes care of each day have gradually began to take up so much time that she has less time than she used to for doing actual work. Since Jane has identified this as a potential problem, she can explore potential solutions and find the one that best meets her needs before a crisis arises. She could hire an assistant or virtual assistant to help with phone calls and correspondence, or she could minimize the impact of phone calls, mail, and email on her work time by designating certain times of day to check and return messages.
Have you written a job description for yourself yet?