Shawnee Love   •  
March 9, 2018

I am just back from a lovely vacation in which I didn’t do any work beyond a daily email scan.

We all know vacations are a time to recharge your batteries and perhaps give you the distance and perspective needed to see things differently.  Often with new perspective comes new ideas, improvements, and methods just as sleeping on a problem can often provide new solutions you didn’t think of the night before.

Unfortunately, it is often hard for owner-operators to go away and leave their “baby”.  At the same time, the ability to go away and have the business keep running in the owner’s absence is something every owner should strive for.  It is a key indicator that the business is mature enough to have value beyond what the owner brings to the table. And when that value exists, it sets the stage for someone paying good money for the business one day when the owner is ready to transition out.

I am not suggesting all founders should be in business to exit.  I am merely pointing out that at some point the founder will want to sell, exit and/or pass the torch and short of shutting down the business, all other options require the business to operate without the founder’s presence.  The more successfully the business can operate without daily ownership “interference” (i.e., the better the systems and processes and tools and people are), the greater the value of the business overall and the more likely someone will be to pay well for it.

If you are thinking you’d one day like to retire, start with figuring out how to take a vacation.  If you are stuck, let us help you get to the place where your business can thrive without you onsite everyday.