Will Your Business Die If You Get Stranded?

A disaster can strand small business owners away from their business. The volcano in Iceland that grounded thousands of plane flights across Europe made me wonder how many small business owners were in panic mode because they couldn’t get back to their businesses and keep the doors open.

It’s a real problem with small business owners. If you are involved in every step that is taken in your company, you have created a job for yourself that could hold you prisoner and keep you from enjoying the fruits of your labor. When I was consulting with small business owners, this was one of the biggest business issues.

I’ll never forget one talk I gave to a group of small business owners about actions they could take to make their business more efficient and sustainable by making it less dependent upon them.

One business owner pulled me aside after the talk and shared his story. He said,

“You are absolutely right about setting up systems and processes to make your business run without you. I’ve been in business for 30 years and have turned a profit every month. So I decided to reward myself and take a vacation. I took a month off and went to Europe and came back to total chaos in my business. On top of that, my company lost money that month!”

He was so wrapped up in every part of his business, that nothing could get done without him being there. He changed that really quickly once he saw what was happening. And he was much happier after making that change.

As your business grows, it’s important that you create sustainable systems and processes to help your business stay alive if something happens to you. My colleague Susan Carter wrote a book a few years ago that will help you do just that. It’s called, How To Make Your Business Run Without You and will take you step-by-step through the process. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today.