Replacing yourself in business: The first steps I took.

When I started my bakery, I was fed up with being a small business.

After building four other businesses from scratch I thought to myself, 'I’m building something bigger this time'. 

Something that could employ more talented people to help run the business and do all the jobs that need doing. 

We quickly grew to over 100 amazing people on the team in the first 5 years.

But there was a massive problem along the way.

I still felt like I was stuck solving every tiny problem.

I'd delegated tasks but hadn’t figured out how to empower people to solve problems without me.

The main reason was I was normally there all the time and within ear-shot of each person. 

It made me always ‘available’ to solve those problems.

And that's a slippery slope.

It can breed a culture of dependence, instead of independence.

Instead of building a team of curious minds, you encourage people not to think and act for themselves.

They learn to wait for instruction, or worse, avoid it altogether.

Now you’re stuck thinking for 30 people (plus yourself).

But it’s not their fault.

In my experience, it’s a learned habit that slowly builds simply because you’re there, you're available, and there's no other alternative based on the structure you’ve installed. 

All roads lead to you for decision making because it’s YOUR business - Why the hell would they make the decision?!

In the past, I tried to combat this by hiring more people to help take the load off. 

But those supervisors and managers also needed leadership and ended up pointing back to me which made things worse to be honest.

Now I was the direct point of contact for the supervisor AND their teams directly because I had a personal relationship with them.

At about 30 employees I was still working 70-hour weeks and drowning in daily fires.

I needed some freaken breathing space!

And I also knew I couldn’t scale my business without recruiting someone else to help lead the team.

To coach them to solve their own problems and free me up to keep growing the business.

I didn’t want to replace myself so I could sit on a beach somewhere with a sandy arse.

I wanted to unlock some freedom to work ON my business.

If you're anything like me, you love working on your business!

The challenge isn't about reducing hours; it's about redirecting them. 

It's about detaching from the day-to-day operations to gain a bird's-eye view of your business.

The Turning Point

I made a game-changing decision to hire an Operations Manager with previous business experience.

The key move wasn't just about delegating tasks; it was about empowering someone to handle inquiries and coach the team to solve their own problems.

This role didn’t just lighten my load; it transformed my business. 

It meant having someone equipped to filter and manage day-to-day issues, coach the team towards autonomy and unemotionally look for efficiencies. 

But it got better.

They took so much work off my plate that I could focus on what I did best.

Why This Matters To You

Imagine being free to innovate, strategise, and expand your business without being hindered by today's operational bottlenecks.

It's about making that pivotal decision to replace yourself in the operational role and stepping into a forward-looking leadership role.

But this takes time to get right. 

Once I found the right person, we worked side-by-side for one year to properly hand over clients, operations, business connections and key insights that can’t be documented in a handbook.

Don't rush it. It pays to take your time setting each of you up for success.

But the next phase is even more critical.

What YOU Do Next

It’s about being honest with yourself and looking at your own skills and weaknesses.

You want to continue putting the right people in the right places, and doing the right things to support your business.

That includes YOU.

Focusing your attention on the single biggest need of the business at the time.

For me, that was sales and marketing.

We had capacity to do more but didn't have a line up at the door waiting for our things.

For you, it could be recruiting, innovation, expansion, systems, etc.

The questions is:

Where are your bottlenecks?

What are the 20% of problems causing 80% of your pains?

That’s what I’d start working on once you replace yourself. 

Imagine having the time to tackle them?!

The good news is, getting there isn't as hard as you think.

It all starts with finding just ONE person to help you.

Not a team.

Not 'people' in general.

Just ONE incredible person.

You just have to start looking.

I hope you find them!

Have a ripper week.