My grandfather traveled back and forth between San Francisco and China as a fireman on a steamship. He was on a team that stoked the fires that kept the steam engines running. Stokers also worked on steam locomotives. The rider on the back of a tandem bicycle is called the stoker. The sole focus of this role is to add power and potential for increased speed.
For more than a decade now we have been advising business owners and entrepreneurs to add a stoker to their teams. We call this role the Small Business Xcelerator (or SBX). After our clients successfully fill this role, they all say the same thing:
“We should have done this sooner!”
An inspired stoker/SBX will radically accelerate your progress as a business owner, and help you balance your life in very real ways.
- Don’t look for someone like you. We need our stokers to cover our blind spots and be great at the work that we struggle doing.
- Time is money. Look at your time and attention allocation for a couple of weeks. What critical work (Revenue, Leadership) is not getting done because you are heads down in marketing/operations/administration for 8-20 hours per week? The stoker you hire needs to be an ace in these tasks
- You can’t afford not to. If you have a big vision for growth, hire a part-time resource in February (or adjust a current teammate to cover you part-time). If done well, by July you will need a full-time resource here.
You are probably closer to your next breakthrough than you imagine. Make this hire in February or let us help you find the right stoker/SBX for you and your business.
Ready to stop wasting time and money? Our SBX hiring pro, Fanni Gambero, is ready to help you get there. Click HERE to schedule a meeting and get started.