Swindon & Wiltshire News
Are you building a business, or have you simply built yourself a job?
Business owners risk creating dependency rather than genuine scale if their firm cannot function without their constant involvement, limiting both their own freedom and the company’s value to potential buyers, says Chris Spratling of Chalkhill Blue.
There is a question I regularly ask business owners that can create an uncomfortable silence.
If you stopped turning up tomorrow, what would happen?
For some, the answer is reassuring. The management team would keep things moving, customers would still be looked after, and decisions would continue to be made. For others, the answer is rather different. Everything would gradually grind to a halt.
There is a huge difference between owning a business and owning a job with your name above the door.
I say that as someone who has spent much of my working life building, buying and selling businesses myself, as well as advising other owners.
One of the easiest traps for an entrepreneur to fall into is becoming indispensable.
In the early days, that is often necessary. You win the customers, manage the cash, recruit the people and solve the problems. But the company grows and your role doesn’t change. Suddenly there are 30 employees and millions of pounds of turnover, yet an extraordinary number of decisions still find their way back to you.
That isn’t really scale. It’s dependency. And dependency has two consequences.
First, it restricts your life. Holidays become difficult, evenings disappear and switching off feels impossible.
Second, it restricts the value of your business.
Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes. Would you rather acquire a company with a capable management team, established systems and customers loyal to the business? Or one where the owner holds most of the relationships, knowledge and decision-making authority?
Try a simple exercise. Imagine you couldn’t work for the next three months. Who would manage your largest customers? Who would approve spending? Who would lead the team, understand the numbers and drive new sales? Every answer that begins with ‘I do’ identifies a dependency worth examining.
That doesn’t mean immediately hiring expensive directors or walking away from the business. It might start with documenting one critical process, allowing a manager to make decisions within agreed limits or introducing a colleague to a customer you have always managed personally.
There is also a challenge for the owner. You cannot complain that everyone depends on you while insisting on approving everything. Delegation means allowing people to learn, occasionally make mistakes and develop confidence.
The goal is not to become irrelevant. It is to change your contribution, from the person who does everything to the person who sets direction, builds capability and makes the biggest strategic decisions.
Ask yourself what you want to own in five years: a demanding job that pays well, or an independent business that can thrive without your constant presence?
The answer should shape what you do on Monday morning.
Chris Spratling is a business owner, author of The Exit Roadmap and founder of Chalkhill Blue. Having built, bought, scaled and sold businesses himself, Chris now works with SME owners to help them grow, scale, build enterprise value and ultimately exit on their terms.
