Take a Break

13th June 2013

Are you going away on holiday this year? If not there may be any number of good reasons why not, but if you are a business owner, one reason which certainly is not good is because you are integral to the running of it. If that is the case, when was the last time you were able to get away?

One of the key aims for any business owner should be to create a business that can work without you. If it cannot then it is just a glorified job coupled with the added responsibility of running a team, ensuring profitability and planning the future strategy.

So how can you change this? The first thing is to write out an organisational structure. Very few business owners actually do this because when they start out they feel that the business is too small, and in any case they (or they and 1 or 2 others) are doing it all anyway. However, this is all part of planning ahead and building the business so others can be employed in the future, and responsibilities delegated. So draw up a structure with all the roles the business needs to run it when it has grown to the size you want it to be. Work out all the different daily, weekly and monthly tasks for each role, and systemise as much of this as you can (get the system written down in manuals). Then little by little employ the necessary staff to fill the roles you don’t need to be involved in, until the day to day running of the business is being done by your dedicated team.

Naturally enough, this cannot be done overnight. But if you are fed up with being the one making the decisions, and covering for all your staff, so even if you do get away on holiday this year you have to have your phone and computer constantly by your side, then why not make a resolution to change. Start the process now, and maybe by this time next year (or the year after) you can take a holiday, and come home refreshed and relaxed, knowing that all will be well, and the business will be flourishing without you.

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