“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in”
– Michael Corleone Godfather III
A memorable line in an easily forgettable movie
But a line that holds true for so many owners.
Why do they struggle so much?
Because we run our businesses opposite a key principle that gives us freedom.
If anything, we consider this principle backwards so we don’t act on it.
Every hour you take out of your business makes it worth more. Not less.
Most owners do the opposite because they have convinced themselves that stepping back is something you earn later, once the business is finally big enough, and that until then the responsible thing is to be more involved.
More hands on, more hours, more of you in everything to get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Just work even harder it will grow and earn you freedom and a payday.
Grow first, collect later is a fantasy and investors do not buy into it.
In fact, every extra hour you throw into the business discounts it further, digs the hole deeper, and convinces you it is just the price of ownership.
Strong growth might win you a few percentage points on the multiple (less than 5 or 10%), but failing to make the business able to run without you can slash it by 50%.
Revenue that recurs, diverse customers rather than a few key ones, clients who stay and refer.
These move the price.
Buyers do not pay for how fast you are running.
They pay for how well the thing holds together without you.
That said, making it better to own and making it better to run are never two separate jobs.
They are one and the same.
You do not choose between a life now and a payday later, and you do not wait for an exit to start collecting.
That move, from working harder to building something that runs without you requires a shift in how you think about and run your business.
A shift that I’m giving to you for free in a five minute video that you can click and watch here.
Most owners believe that being more involved in their business is the responsible choice, and that stepping back is something to earn later. In practice it is the reverse. The more a business depends on its owner, the less a buyer will pay for it, so every extra hour the owner pours in can quietly reduce its value. Across recent deals, stronger financial growth moved the sale multiple only slightly, while what reliably raised it was durability, meaning recurring revenue, a diverse customer base rather than a few key accounts, and customers who stay. Buyers pay for how well a business holds together without its owner. Making a business better to run and more valuable to own is one job, not two, and the owner does not need to wait for a sale to start benefiting. It’s what makes a business worth more.