WHAT IS BUSINESS INDEPENDENCE?

When I asked Robin what she felt was missing from her life, what she finds herself wishing for – she replied, “Time. I really feel fortunate that I have most of what I want in life, but time is the missing link.”

Then I asked her what she wanted to achieve as her ‘Impossible Dream’. Her response was, “I would like to have a self-sustaining business that operates without me.”

The interesting aspect of this conversation was that Robin and her husband have been in business for over 18 years. But after all that time, she still found herself trapped in a business that relied on her daily management of all critical and non-critical aspects of the business.

Robin and her husband built a thriving business that gave them the freedom to pursue other interests and enjoy the fruits of their labor. But, they could only dream of the day when they no longer had to put in six and seven day work weeks. To this day, family vacations are rare and full of anxiety over the daily business operations when they try to enjoy a few days away.  In fact, even though they were on ‘vacation’ they never went anywhere without their iPhones and laptops.

For Robin, gaining more freedom from her business today is her priority, this being a familiar desire for many business owners. Business owners often feel trapped like Robin and want to find a few strategies to wean themselves from their daily involvement.

Freedom today and freedom at some point in the future, starts today with changing a few key behaviors.  However, to create viable options, first understand what greater freedom is, how it is created, and what needs to happen first.

Define Freedom

For a business owner, the idea of freedom changes throughout the growth cycle of the business. First, there was the freedom of being one’s own “boss”. This is often a driving motivator when an individual experiences, in the book E-Myth, Michael Gerber calls, “an entrepreneurial seizure”, that is the desire to declare freedom from a boss.

Next, there is the freedom that being a business owner brings in creating a vehicle for your life and incorporates your own vision and core values. To a large extent you can determine what your life will be and to live your life based upon your primary focus. Along with this is the freedom to build a business that manifests your values and vision as the framework that makes everything else possible.

Finally, there is the freedom to choose how and when you will exit your business and start a new chapter in your life. This is commonly referred to as an exit strategy. True freedom means having options like:  Selling your business; Handing reins to the business to your children; Or, transitioning the business to your key executives. The problem here is that many business owners find themselves with limited or no options.

Foundations of Freedom

When Robin pointed out that she desired to have a “self-sustaining business that operates without me [her]”, she unknowingly struck the common chord of all business owners. This chord should define a business  . . . As a Commercial, Profitable, Enterprise, that works while the Owners are on Vacation. 

The ability to create and build a business that can function effectively, grow and achieve planned objectives, without the hands-on participation of the owner is an expression of freedom. This requires a clearly focused Strategic Plan for ultimately replacing the business owner. Until such time as the business owner becomes dispensable, or redundant (on a functional and operational level), the business is still dependent on the business owner.

This also requires sufficient documentation of the essential functions, systems and processes that enables the business to do what it needs to do each day, every day, correctly and consistently. Roles and accountabilities need to be clarified and well-communicated. Reporting structure and operational structure must be clearly established and supported. The “founding documents” of the business – the Strategic Plan, the Purpose and Mission Statements, and the key metrics by which you will evaluate your progress – need to be articulated and shared with your management and staff.

Planning With the End in Sight

It is safe to say that unless the owner has a clear purpose and objective in mind, and takes the strategic steps needed TODAY to create a business that can run without him or her, it will probably never happen.

Many baby-boomer business owners are finding that can't afford to sell, transition or leave their business because it doesn't have enough value to fund their retirement. Furthermore, they are not sure what they need to do to increase its’ value within the next 3 to 5 years.  The problem, for most business owners, is that nothing changes and the owner keeps looking “five years” from now. Without a clear plan to increase the market value of a business, the owner risks being taken out (boots first), and is still five years away from being ‘ready’ to sell.