Whenever I ask this question at a gathering of business owners, there’s an uncomfortable clearing of throats, shuffling in seats and downcast eyes. It’s because they can’t, or perhaps more exactly, don’t want to imagine such a scenario.
Think back to when you started your business, did you have some dreams of what self-employment would mean for you and your family? You probably wanted to be able to spend more time together, improve your lifestyle and feel less stressed. Am I right? And where are those dreams now?
If your business relies on your presence every day, you probably find it difficult to even take a holiday. You can’t contemplate being ill for any length of time and retirement is a very distant dream.
But there is one step you can take right now to start preparing your business to continue to run and make a profit without you having to be there.
Start writing down how you do what you do. As you, for example, answer the phone to an enquiry, what do you do? How many times do you let the phone ring? What do you say to the caller? What questions do you ask? What answers do you give? What do you do after you put the phone down? What do you do next?
Documenting the processes in your business is your first step to freedom!
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