What’s the dream of every entrepreneur? That is, we admit, a bit of a wide-ranging question because every entrepreneur is going to want to do different things and have different goals for their business, but there is sure to be at least one goal that everyone has – they want to build a business that doesn’t demand every waking hour of your time. You started your business to give you freedom, didn’t you? So why does it sometimes feel as though you’re more shackled to it than ever before, and certainly more than you would be if you just went and got a job? 

Well, the good news is that with some planning and a few changes here and there (some will need more changes than others, of course), you can set your business up to run smoothly without you constantly having to be at the helm. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more. 

Create A Strong Foundation 

The first step to building a self-sustaining business is creating solid foundations, which basically means having good systems in place. You’ll want your business to be like a well-oiled machine where each cog moves smoothly, even when you’re not the one pulling the levers and pushing the buttons, so you’ll want to spot any repetitive tasks and processes and write them down so that everyone can do them by following some simple instructions – your systems, in other words. 

Start by making a list of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks and then create what’s called a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for each one – SOPs are step-by-step instructions that anyone can follow to complete a task to the same high standard you would if you were doing it. When your team knows exactly how to handle things, they’re going to be able to take on some of your jobs and make decisions without having to come to you every five minutes, and so begins the way your business will, hopefully, run without you. 

Hire And Train A Great Team 

Even with the best systems in place, you still need a reliable team to do the work – otherwise you may as well just do it yourself, and that’s really defeating the object! When you hire people, make sure they’re going to be people you can work well with and who get what you’re trying to do – they’ll need to understand your company values and agree with them if you want to get the best out of them, so that should be part of the interview process. 

And once you’ve hired your dream team, don’t stop there – you’re going to need to invest in some great training for them as well. A good onboarding process that you can repeat every time you hire someone is also key to getting your team up to speed really quickly so you can just basically leave them to it and at least start to step back a little. Plus, you’ve got to remember that it’s continuous training, not just onboarding training. In other words, the more you can keep everyone up to date and knowledgeable, the better it’ll be for your business and your plans to get some more freedom. 

One thing to think about when you’re hiring is leadership potential – you want to find people who are not only going to be great at what they do, but who can eventually take on more responsibility so you can step even further back. 

Delegate Wisely

You know what they say – you’ve just got to let it go. And how can you do that in business? It’s all about delegation, and although getting delegation right is possibly one of the hardest things you’ll have to do, it’s also one of the most essential if you want to build a business that runs without you. The key here is trust because if you can trust your team to do the job, even if they might do it a little differently from how you would do it, you can step back and just let them do what they need to do, which is really what counts. 

When it comes to delegating you should start small and delegate tasks that don’t need your personal touch – then you can gradually hand over other things that need more responsibility once you can be totally sure that your team can do what you want them to do in (approximately) the way you want them to do it. Remember, as much as you might like them to be, most of the time things aren’t perfect and they’re not going to be no matter who does the job, so is delegating really such a big issue? 

Diversify Your Income Streams 

One surefire way to build a business that runs without you is by creating extra income streams which doesn’t just cushion your business from any changes in the market, but also gives you the freedom you need to step back without losing any money (and it’s even better if these things can bring in passive income). 

A popular – and scalable, which is very important – thing people do is selling courses online, so that could be something you explore further. If your business offers a specialized skill or some extra knowledge and you package it into a course, that’s going to be something you can sell over and over again (you’re never going to ‘run out’, although you might have to update things from time to time), plus it’s going to help boost your reputation because it shows that you’re willing to put your money where your mouth is and let people in on the secrets in your business. It could be exactly the right thing to do to bring in some extra money and still allow you to work fewer hours, for example. 

Develop A Succession Plan

If you really want to build a business that runs without you, that means you have to prepare for the future, and whatever your plans happen to be, you need to have a clear succession plan in place so you know how to get there. 

This plan needs to include who’s going to take over leadership roles, how responsibilities will be changed and the transition process, and perhaps even a timeline that leads to your eventually stepping away altogether. 

If you’ve got this in place, everyone knows what’s happening, and you’ll be able to work on getting to the stage where you can put the plan in action with ease.