How to detach yourself from your business (without ruining it)
You are running your business for some time now. You always wanted to be your own boss. Taking a vacation when you feel like it. Having coffee with a friend at 3 pm on a Thursday. Helping your kids with homework.
It feels good to be in charge.
Unless... unless you say things like this:
"If I decide to take a day off here and there to spend it with my family, my businesses will immediately crumble."
But you don't have to feel this way. In this post, I will show you how to detach yourself from your business without ruining it and the lies you tell yourself about running your business.
How to Detach Yourself from your Business (Without Ruining It)
Step 1: Take a day off from work... without feeling guilty
Step 2: Prepare your team to work without you
Step 3: Have other activities besides running your business
The Myths you tell yourself about your business
Get The 5-Step Process I Use To Squeeze In 107 Minutes Of Free Time, Every Day.
How to Detach Yourself from Work in 3 Steps
With these three steps, you will be able to escape from your business (mentally and physically) without letting it crumble.
Step 1: Take a day off from work... without feeling guilty
What is the most immediate thing you can do to detach yourself from work? Taking a day off!
Notice I'm not suggesting taking a week or a month off. Just one day. This will help you step away from the daily grind and enjoy other activities. It will also teach you that you are not your business.
However, what many entrepreneurs and business owners do is detaching themselves physically... not emotionally. Just because you skipped the daily commute does not mean your mind isn't there.
Here are some of the things you MUST NOT DO to detach emotionally from work:
Don't check email
Don't answer business phone calls
Don't talk with your team
Don't do any business-related activity... say no!
If you're looking for concrete advice on how to take breaks without feeling guilty, check this post.
Step 2: Prepare your team to work without you
Think of a brilliant baker who learned the secrets of pie-making with her grandmother. After seeing how much people love her pies, the baker opens a small shop in town. Who opened the store? The entrepreneur.
As the business is only starting to grow, the owner has to do the cooking, the cleaning, and the serving. Who is working? The technician.
If you've made yourself a requirement to run the business, even when you have other people working with you, it is time to give them more responsibility unless you want to be the technician forever.
The key is to design each small part of the process – The Operations Manual - as if it would be replicated in another location by another person. Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, managed to create a manual with all the procedures and philosophies behind the company until he made himself unnecessary.
Grab a notebook and detail every step of your business process. You will have a successful formula for running it, which will allow you to hire people to replace you. Then, ask yourself this question:
“How can I own my business, and still be free of it?”
— Michael Gerber
If you want to learn more about this mindset, read the book E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.
Step 3: Have other interests besides running your business
After delegating part of your work and understanding that your business can run without you without falling apart, you might still suffer from a common frustration...
What the heck should I do besides working?
That is a good question for you to think about. What were some of the things you loved doing before starting your business? You are more than your work.
Perhaps it was playing the piano, publishing movie reviews on IMDB or gardening. Whatever that was, make sure you bring those activities back.
Or, if you prefer, start learning something new! Like I did, with drums! In this post, you have great insights to learn a new skill in 20 hours.
The Myths you Tell Yourself about your Business
After learning the 3 steps for successfully detaching yourself from your business, it is time to read the most common myths when running your own business.
Myth #1: "Nobody can do it as I do."
That might have been great in the beginning. After all, you managed to create a business. But do you want to be the only one who knows how to do something?
Myth #2: "My clients are used to talking with me."
What about them getting used to another person?
Myth #3: "My business will crumble if I'm not always present."
Re-read the three tactics for detaching yourself from your work and put them into practice!
You can learn how to detach yourself from your business as long as you practice the right strategies. You don't need to do everything at once. But slowly, look to decrease the dependence your business has on you.