Are you prepared for the unexpected?

If you didn’t show up to work in your business for a day, would it continue to run?

Ensuring your business can run whether you show up to work or not is a sign of a true business.

If the answer to this question is no, then you have yourself a nice job you go to each day.

The day will come when we won’t be able to work in our business either for a day, a week, a month, or longer. The question is, will this be a planned break or an unplanned break?

If that were to happen right now, and it was an unplanned break (think injury, illness or caring for a loved one as examples), what would happen to your business? your employees? your family’s salary?

The greatest gift you can give yourself and your business (which includes your employees and customers) is the gift of autonomy. Setting your people up so your company can operate well when you aren’t there is a gift to everyone involved.

I would love nothing else than to celebrate your two-week holiday, your month-long vacation or your sabbatical with you!

I don’t hope for anyone’s break to be unplanned due to personal or family issues, injury or worse.

But you know what? Life happens. Accidents happen. And not only to us, but to the ones we care about.

The goal here is to strive operational autonomy so you’re not caught off-guard and scrambling. Your business needs to be able to run without you.

How?

First, commit to this goal.

Then, get support from people who can help you in this journey - your employees, your advisors and someone like me that can help you look at your structure and help you find the gaps.

What if nothing happens to me and I’ve done all this work?

This is the best reason to celebrate! The benefits of this work will not go unused - what would lowered stress, more flexible days, empowered employees, freedom to take a holiday when you wish, and freedom to attend your child’s concert or game mean for you?

This could transform your day-to-day life, not to mention the huge insurance policy you created to reduce business risk overall.

Will it make me irrelevant? Yes. and No.

In the end, your company running well with you not being there is the point to all of this.

However, what you do with this freedom and flexibility is up to you. You can still be the strategic head, you can start a second business, you can start a passion project. The options become endless. Irrelevancy is not your issue at that point.

It’s deciding the direction you want to take your company in, deciding the next entrepreneurial challenge or deciding the next destination for that trip you’ve been thinking about.

Think beyond and consider the asset you would have created.

It’s not easy to get to this point but it’s absolutely possible for you.

Here’s a great place to start.

NOW is YOUR time.

Ariana

Business Coach in Canada, Canadian Business Coach, Executive Coach, Leadership