Each lens is independent of the others, and sometimes they overlap. Ideally, each professional we encounter would be familiar with all of the other lenses, but that is rarely the case. It is up to every business owner to understand the each of the different views and how to manage them. Here are ten of the lenses through which a small business will be viewed.



1. The Lending View. The lender will use numbers and formulas to assess the level of risk, and the ability of a business to repay loans. If you want to access financing, you'll need to focus your lens to understand the lender's criteria and decision-making process.

2. The Employment View. Employees will compare your pay rates and benefits package with competing businesses. Other workplace considerations will factor into the employee view, such as safety, hours of work, quality of life, and career options.

3. The Worker Health and Safety View. The Worker's Compensation Board has a mandate to ensure health and safety for workers. The WCB lens will therefore be filled with health and safety concerns, and whether your business complies with regulations.

4. The Legal View. A lawyer's lens will focus on the laws that govern businesses. For many small businesses, legal concerns will be limited to setting up the business structure and developing legal documents, such as customer agreements. If legal issues should arise, you may be compelled to stop telling lawyer jokes and instead find yourself spending some quality educational time in your lawyer's office.

5. The Insurance View. Insurer's lenses are laced with 360 degrees of liability. This view can take on different hues, depending which risks you are managing. For example, asset insurance is different than third party liability.

6. The Bookkeeping View. A bookkeeper's lens will include organizing your receipts into the right accounts, reconciling your bank account, and producing interim financial statements each month to enable you to manage your business.

7. The Accounting View. The accountant's lens will ensure that your financial statements are produced in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Your accountant view will encompass any significant financial or tax decisions.

8. The Political View. The political lens is certain to focus on the number of jobs your business provides, and its ability to pay taxes. Politics will penetrate a small business in other ways, like when the owner becomes part of an association, or collaborates with other businesses to complete for larger projects.

9. The Economic View. No matter how small your business, you are competing in a regional or global market economy. The entrepreneur doesn't have to be an economist, but his survival will certainly depend on a healthy clear view of the economic conditions and trends that impact the business.

10. The Tax View. Businesses share a percentage of all earnings with a preferred partner - the government. Within that partnership, your responsibility as a business owner is to collect and remit various taxes to the government. The taxation lens is very tuned to monitor how well you fulfill this obligation.

One of the secrets to success in business is to manage the areas above in a way that leaves you enough time for the most important function of all - serving your customers. The key is to learn what you need to know, and engage trusted advisors to manage the rest.