A common question I get asked is “what do you do at work every day?”. What is a very simple response for most people, is actually one of the most difficult questions for me to answer. I get asked that question often because we’re a remote company and I work from home, which is a new concept to most people. From an outside perspective, it probably appears like I do nothing all day, and that I’m living the life, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I try and answer the question by processing what my last few days looked like, and I almost always have a tough time mustering up a decent response, because my work days are always different.

Operating a growing business includes a lot of moving parts, involves a lot of unexpectedness, and wearing of multiple hats. Although you’ll certainly have a plan for each day, it’s not too often that those plans follow through in the precise way that you envisioned. This is why organization and discipline are very important traits to have.

I’m responsible for the operations side of the company. Generally, my days consist of focusing on the following broad topics:

  1. General management
  2. Financial
  3. Strategy
  4. The unknown

General management

I like to have my nose to the ground in every department, each and every day. This allows me to continuously look for strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in all areas of the business. A lot of that involves providing support to department managers and team members, as well as offering suggestions when they are needed.

At the end of the day, the CEO is responsible for everything, whether it’s good or bad.

The greatest benefit of having a good general overview of the day-to-day operations, is that it allows me to understand what our customers are saying, what they’re asking for, and ways we can better serve them. Each department’s needs are different, and the expectations from clients are different in each stage of the client-life cycle. Keeping an eye on all of this allows me to shape ideas and better understand which direction the business should be taking in the long-term.

Financial

Given my background in accounting and finance in University, I was naturally inclined to manage the finances of the company. Managing cash-flow is probably one of my most important financial responsibilities. As a bootstrapped company, we had no choice but to be very conservative with our money, especially early on. We got really good at stretching a dollar. Having a conservative financial management style, is what helped grow our business from two kids out of a basement, into 16 full-time team members (and growing), all while making sure the cash flow was positive, and the business was profitable. That’s certainly an achievement I’m very proud of, and an objective I will always strive to uphold no matter what.

As a SaaS company, there are several important high-level metrics that need to be analyzed and kept up-to-date every week/month. Analyzing these SaaS metrics helps ensure the ship is running smoothly and the business is healthy. Metrics also allow you to notice trends which helps understand what areas are performing well, and what areas need to be focused on.

Another financial responsibility includes bookkeeping (thank God for accounting softwares that basically does this for you). It’s very important to have a clean, organized, and up-to-date set of books. The person running the finances should be able to answer almost any financial-related question very easily. A clean set of books also helps make sure your accountant loves you come tax time. I’m often surprised at how unorganized companies are in this department, considering how many great tools there are that make bookkeeping super easy.

Strategy

Most of the company strategy is done through the daily conversations with my partner, Raza and other team members. However, a lot of my own strategy and thought-process is done through writing. For me, writing serves as an outlet to research and thoroughly understand different topics and situations I’m currently going through or thinking about.

Writing helps me absorb my thoughts better, and helps improve my critical thinking abilities. These skills then help several other areas including managing people, decision making, and creativity. Whatever you’re outlet is, it’s important to find it and stick to it. Although I do a lot more writing than what’s posted on this blog, that’s one of the main reasons why I created this website and started a podcast.

The unknown

One of the great (or not so great?) things about being a business owner, is the feeling of the constant unknown. You literally wake up every morning, not really knowing what to expect, what’s about to hit you in the face, or what fire you’re going to have to put out. Whether it’s a string of bugs causing chaos in the support department, apps that your team relies on that go down, or your own server going down, there’s bound to be a curve ball thrown into the mix.

That simply comes with territory of running a company. As a business owner, you have no one to turn to or rely on in unexpected situations that arise. At the end of the day, the CEO is responsible for everything, whether it’s good or bad. It takes toughness, calmness and patience to deal with all the shit that comes your way. You just have to figure out a way to deal with it and continue on.