con·trol
"determine the behavior or supervise the running of."
main·tain·ed
"cause or enable (a condition or state of affairs) to continue."
All business owners want the dream life - cash to take care of the family, a business that runs itself... but many are worried that their business will spin out of control if they don't keep their hands on the wheel.
Not our client Mark. Mark built his business from the ground up - started it in his parent's garage 25 years ago and now its cranking out $12 million in revenue a year. This year, He traveled 280 days while working ON the business instead of in it. The trick?
He groomed a COO for twenty years that knows exactly what he would do in every situation, and when to do something better. He makes sure every manager has a suitable replacement, and created a system of checks and balances so no one person has access to all the money handling. Everyone in the company, no matter what their position, has built-in accountability.
Mark also focused heavily on building a company culture that rewards employees handsomely for good work, and hires internally for jobs as much as possible. If you want a raise at his company, you have to prove you are going to bring more value - no exceptions.
He also takes them out for lunch regularly, and rewards the top performers with a champions trip every year. As a result, turnover is kept at a minimum and the company has grown at gazelle rates (20%+ every year) for 5 years running.
Recently, he gifted 30% of the company to his kids to reduce his estate tax, but have no fear - he's still 100% in control of his company.
As you can see, living the dream life doesn't have to come at the cost of your company. In our book, living the dream life doesn't mean you let go of the reins entirely. Instead, it just means you let up enough to give it some slack so your business can run free.