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Preparing Your Business to Run Without You: A Personal Perspective

Leslie Liondas, CPA
Posted by Leslie Liondas, CPA on May 18, 2023 12:25:44 PM

I want to share what I have been going through personally because I see so many in the industry struggling with this:

How to get your business to run without you? 

I have seen many people that are losing clients because they have a medical issue or emergency that they have to take care of. Then we feel we must take care of it even though we are in that medical situation either with ourselves or family. It is not the client’s fault that they need something when you have your issue. If you think about when you deal with a company, do you wait until the owner is better? 

Why do we expect our clients to?

Not IF, but WHEN…  

Lately, I have been struggling with a medical issue. I had a hysterectomy a couple of weeks ago. I was not prepared mentally for what was ahead. I knew I couldn’t lift or bend over but thought I could work since all I do is sit. RIGHT? But now, two weeks out, I had a little complication, nothing major, but had to block out my calendar for the next couple of weeks. The doctor told me I needed to take meds that would make me drowsy, and if they did, “Take a nap!” I thought after I was off pain meds that I would be back to work. Not that I had to be, but I wanted to be. The truth is I feel like crap and don’t really want to work, and I should not work. Right now, I work for an hour or two then I am drained. This is not even high-level work that is draining me.   

I have always been working to make my business run without me for every phase of the business. I always knew it was not IF something was going to happen. It was WHEN. I wanted to make sure all clients were taken care of by bookkeeping, tax, and coaching. I didn’t want one thing dependent on any one person including myself even though it is my business.  

Resilience planning: Prepare and then lean on your people

This is not about control; it is about making sure all clients and prospective clients are served.  

I have also tested this system when 2 key team members had to go out at the exact same time when they both went into early labor. We put the system to the test from a team perspective as well. They were both out for 6 weeks on maternity leave.   

You need a team to support your vision. This means that even during times you are down, you have a team that can keep carrying on the vision you have established. That “team” can be your actual internal team or an external team with which you have built trust, such as other accountants or coaches who could step in for you if needed. If I had not put processes, systems, and the team in place, I would have been forced to try to work. How kind of results would clients get? With the way I felt - ZERO!  

I know we all dream of an extended, non-working vacation, but in fact, this is turning into a “have to rest vacay!” Are you and your firm prepared for you or anyone to step out at any given point? 

If not, I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did this for not only myself and my business BUT my clients!!! My team is giving them the support they need.  

This means all aspects of the business cycle, not just client work. My team has brought in money in my absence, and they have coached clients and so many other things. Without them, the business would have completely stopped. I write this article not to brag but to let you know that it is possible to have a team like this, internal or external.   

Develop dependable processes

You can have a business that runs successfully without you in it. You just have to invest in doing so. I have invested in my team to get them coached on so many things. We also have processes so if they leave the next person can step in. The objection I hear all the time is what happens when they leave. They leave, but if you have systems and processes set up correctly, you will not have nearly as big of a gap.   

I track all sorts of things in my firm to ensure the training is getting a return on investment. For example, you try to outsource your marketing and all things around marketing because you don’t like doing it. I get it! That was me, but once I learned the process, I saw whether it was working or not. I don’t really have to be involved.  

I just look at the key metrics and give feedback!! I just oversee it!!  

Although I have taken many vacations, this one is different! It was not planned, and there is no way I could have kept marketing, sales, clients, and all the things going for this long. I didn’t have time to cram for this time off!! Yes, I knew when I was having it but not in enough time to prepare my business to run without me for an extended period of time.   

Start working on this in your firm. What do you need to get off your plate to get things moving? Brainstorm it!! What you want done, gets DONE!! I am so thankful I have done this and invested in it!!! You can too!!!  

Topics: Practice Management


 

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