By Gary Beckwith
When I started my first company, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I had no qualifications to lean on, and operated almost entirely on instinct. In fairness, for a long time, that was enough.
I was willing to work every hour I was able to stand upright, and as long as I kept showing up, I knew I could keep the company from falling in on itself.
What I didn’t realise at the time, of course, was that I didn’t have a business, I had a job. Sure, I was my own boss, and I decided what to focus on every day, but if your company can’t survive without you, all you’ve done is employ yourself.
And to be honest, it’s worse than that…
You’ve given yourself a job you can never leave. No sick pay, no healthcare, and the constant worry that if you take a week off, there will be nothing to come back to.
I’m not trying to put you off, far from it. I’m dedicating this part of my life to encouraging entrepreneurs and helping them flourish. But there are hard truths out there that many of the Instagram life coaches and gurus want you to ignore. And one of those truths is very hard to hear: More often than not, the thing stopping your company from being successful is you!
We think of our businesses as our babies. We wear every hat, make every decision, and chase every client. We get so wrapped up in being the engine that we forget to build the machine.
When I reflect on running City Cruises, there are countless instances where I was overextending myself. I was selling tickets at the Millennium Dome, hiring and firing people, making specifications for new boats, and doing the stock takes. In short, I was too busy working IN the business to zoom out and work ON the business. A question began to bubble in my mind repeatedly: How do I make myself less essential?
If you’re used to working in a corporate environment, this is a really scary question. If you’re not essential, you’re expendable. No one wants to be in that position. But as an entrepreneur, if you ever want to step away, scale up, or sell, the business needs to run without you, not because of you.
Why Over-Reliance Happens
It begins with necessity. There’s only you and your sister working in the company. So you have to write the quotes AND approve the purchases AND answer the phone AND fix the printer. Then you take on some staff. But there’s a problem, none of them can do the role as well as you can. So you end up redoing most of their work.
Perhaps you own a shop, and when you’re on the sales floor, you can sell 10 washing machines a week. Then you employ someone so you can open a new site, but the new guy can only sell seven a week. So you fire him and hire someone else. But the newer guy can only sell six. What are you going to do? Keep firing and rehiring?
You need processes:
- Hire two people. Two people selling 7 machines is 14 a week!
- Train your team and then trust them to deliver.
- Write things down. Pass the knowledge on and make it easily accessible to others.
If You Can’t Find the Bottleneck, It’s Probably You
Here are three quick signs your business is too reliant on you:
You can’t take a real holiday
Your phone is glued to your hand. You’re writing emails on your wedding anniversary.
You’re the only decision-maker
Everything comes through you. Your manager and even your directors must come to you for every single decision. You haven’t empowered them to fail fast or act with confidence.
No one takes ownership
People often point the finger at others because they’re afraid to fail. No one comes to you with big creative ideas, for fear of being laughed at. And everyone knows whatever they do, you’re just going to take over anyway.
Sound familiar?
Then it’s time to take a step back, or you’ll never step up.
Systems Speak Louder Than Words
When we sold City Cruises, it wasn’t just about the boats and turnover. It was the fact that we had processes in place that could be handed over and continued. That’s what makes a business valuable: not one owner doing all the jobs, but a team creating something that works independently of one person.
I spent decades investing in HR, job descriptions, and training plans. My dyslexia meant I relied on great people to help build those systems, but it’s also why I understood the value of structure. I couldn’t be the one checking every invoice or writing every rota. Someone else had to know what to do, when, and why.
You’re Not The Hero of This Story
There’s a strange pride some entrepreneurs carry about being indispensable. But real success comes when you can disappear for a month and the business doesn’t miss a beat. That’s when you know you’ve built something valuable.
So, here’s my challenge to you: Imagine firing yourself from your current role. What processes would you need in place for the company to carry on in your absence? Do the right people know the code to the safe or where the spare uniforms are?
You may not have the budget to replace yourself yet, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start planning now. How would you redesign the current structure so you’re not so caught up in the details? Who do you have to train so you can trust them with making big decisions?
I know it’s hard to imagine, but you’re business will run better when you’re not in the weeds. And one day, if you choose to sell, you’ll find that it wasn’t about you in the first place, because buyers are looking for a business that doesn’t need you at all.
About the author
Gary Beckwith is the bestselling author of How to Make a Million in Business. As a pioneer of the UK tourism industry, he’s become a sought-after business consultant and speaker. Gary’s book charts the rise of City Cruises, his family-run business that transformed hospitality and tourism on the River Thames.
