The age-old challenge of being an entrepreneur is figuring out how to simultaneously grow your business while doing the work of your business. I’m in a mastermind with three other business owners and we recently got into a discussion about this dichotomy around prioritizing effort.

I shared my practice of breaking down work into two big buckets: WIBs and WOBs.

WIB - Working IN my Business

This is the stuff you have to do and it gets you paid. Every day, you show up and get the work done for your clients or customers so they have their needs met.

It could be ordering materials, completing deliverables, or anything else that goes into delivering the products and/or services you provide.

This work is high priority because it’s directly tied to the revenue you generate. Anything that fits into the operational aspects of doing the work and getting paid for the work fits into this big bucket.

• Deliverables

• Sourcing materials/resources

• Promotion

• Bookkeeping - invoices and expense tracking

• Managing contractors

• Meetings with clients, prospects, or partners

I have a whiteboard next to my desk that lists out my WIBs every week. The list is never extremely long, because my work is rarely task heavy like that. Whether there are two items or ten on the list, all I have to do is turn my head to the right to see what my highest priorities are.

WOB - Working ON my Business

The WOBs are a different story, especially since I’m sort of starting from scratch after hanging out in the corporate world for a few years. I’ve got a lot of work to do to establish processes, regular marketing activities, and planning for the future of my business.

But, oh, how I love this work. Good thing since I help my clients with the WOBs in their own businesses. Strategic marketing, at its very core, is working on your business. It’s how you draw in the right clients and customers who need your services.

WOBs are all about the thinking, clarifying, and planning for the future. The goal is revenue, but revenue isn’t always a direct result of WOBs.

Remember that whiteboard next to my desk with the WIBs? I have three behind me to list the WOBs. The big blank space is where I’ve completed a few items just in the last few days.

This list is not for the faint of heart, nor is it possible to complete in a day. Or a week. Or even a month.

So, basically, I’m typical of every other business out there.

There’s a lot I want to outsource. Ironically, my first step was to hire someone to help me with marketing. Not because I don’t know what I’m doing, but because I do. Not only does this show I know what I’m doing, it confirms that I know how very important it is.

(Next up: bookkeeping. Oh, how I hate bookkeeping.)

What’s more important? WIBs or WOBs?

Definitely the WOBs. But that doesn’t mean the WIBs aren’t important. If I didn’t do that work I’ve been contracted to do, I’d be in trouble as a business. WIBs come in at a very close second (like, just barely not a tie), but if you do nothing but WIBs and never leave time for WOBs, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable to stagnation, slow growth, and boredom.

Working on my business is what energizes me and gets me excited about the future. Who doesn’t like dreaming up all sorts of cool things to do?

WOB your way to a better business

One of the best parts of owning a business is getting to be the captain of your ship, steering your course wherever you want to go, deciding the clients you get to work with, and the work you agree to do. Part of that is also being the person responsible for coming up with the ideas that will keep your business thriving.

Make time and leave space for intentional work on your business. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently about how you can make a difference to your clients and customers.

And enjoy the gift of clients who share your vision when that happens, too.