The Ultimate Test for Your Business: Can It Run Without You?

The best way I have found to test your business is to leave for a day, or two, or even a week.

What would happen if you didn’t answer your phone for the next couple of days?

I just got back from an epic vacation that we had been planning for a while. To be honest, I was nervous. Would my kids get along for nearly three weeks? How hard would it be to travel internationally with four kids?

I gotta tell you, it was the best trip I've ever been on. We visited New York, Rome, and four different cities in Portugal. Planes, trains, taxis, Ubers, a European giant rental van, boats, beaches, castles, gelato, amazing food, naked statues…we did it all!!

This trip wasn’t just about testing my business, but it did bring back memories of when I couldn’t leave my business years ago. While the purpose of this trip was to spend time with my family, it also acted as a filter and test for my business.

Luckily for me, I have an amazing team, and I came back to a business ALMOST running without me. However, I am still the bottleneck in my business, and you likely are the bottleneck in your business as well. We are a couple of hires away from me not being the bottleneck.

While many of the regular day-to-day business affairs were handled seamlessly without me, we didn’t bring on any new clients. Currently, it is my job to meet with all people who reach out for information and strategy sessions. When I’m not available, no one is available, and our company doesn’t grow. I’m currently in the process of fixing that. We just had 16 people apply for our sales position!

So when was the last time you tested your business? When have you left for a long period of time?

• How did things go?

• What went well?

• What broke?

• What problems surfaced?

The key is to intentionally leave your business regularly and come back to fix what broke. Even better, build a system or hire someone to prevent the break from happening next time.

Maybe today you can only leave for a day. But next time, you can leave for two days. Then soon, a week. Once you have solved all the problems and repaired all the cracks, you’ll find yourself with a smooth-running business that can actually run without you.

Remember why you started your business…you wanted FREEDOM. Do you have it? If you don’t, implement this strategy and start working on your business. Don’t get complacent and stay stuck where you are. Fire yourself from your current situation and level up to the person you know you need to be.

If you need help, reach out to the Landscape Lighting Secrets member-only Facebook group or the Free Landscape Lighting Secrets Facebook group. You can also schedule a free strategy session at landscapelightingsecrets.com.

No matter what you decide to do…Keep Moving Forward!!

— Ryan Lee

# Business management, business resilience, business testing, delegation, team management, business growth, entrepreneurship, business strategy, vacation, work-life balance #