Jackie Zach
October 29, 2024
In another engaging episode of Tough Love for Business, Jackie Zach and Mike McKay explore the concept of building a business that operates independently, allowing owners the freedom to choose their level of involvement. They emphasize that a successful business should be a profitable entity that doesn’t require the owner’s constant presence, debunking the misconception that loving one’s business means being tied to it. Mike shares insights on how relinquishing control can lead to personal and professional growth, encouraging business owners to delegate responsibilities and cultivate their teams.
The discussion also addresses the common reluctance to let go, which Mike attributes to “head trash”—self-imposed limitations that prevent owners from achieving true business autonomy. They advise listeners to treat their ventures as genuine businesses, setting clear goals and responsibilities from the outset. If entrepreneurs lack dreams or aspirations, Mike challenges them to reconsider their approach and either set goals or accept the current state of their business. The episode concludes with a motivational reminder that being a professional business owner requires taking bold action to foster growth and success.
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Podcast Transcript:
Jackie Zach: Welcome back to the Tough Love for Business podcast. I’m your host, Jackie Zach, here with my co-host, Mike McKay. How are you, Mike?
Mike McKay: I couldn’t be better.
Jackie: Awesome! So, we’re starting with a ritual we always do called a “WIFLE,” short for “What I Feel Like Expressing.” We use it to begin each coaching session and activity as a way to help everyone clear their minds and be fully present. Anything to add before we begin?
Mike: Nope.
Jackie: All right, Mike, what do you feel like expressing?
Mike: Thanks, Jackie. I feel excited to be putting this podcast together with you today.
Jackie: Thanks, Mike. What I feel like expressing is that I, too, am looking forward to today’s recording and the new things we’re planning for the podcast. Exciting stuff!
Mike: Thank you, Jackie.
Jackie: So, today we’re talking about what makes a business. Our definition is “a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without you.”
Mike: Yes.
Jackie: I often hear, “But I love my business and don’t want to stop working.” To me, having a business that works without you simply means you have the choice. You’re not tied to the office day-to-day. If you want to work part-time, you can. If you prefer to check in or even step away entirely, the business keeps going without you.
Mike: Exactly. Making a business operate without you increases its value. Most people don’t start a business to buy themselves a job. The goal is to turn it into an asset, which maximizes both the work you’ve put in and the financial payout. Personally, as I work toward handing off my business to a manager or president, I’m seeing growth that impacts every part of my life. For example, letting my team make decisions—even if they’re not always perfect—has helped me do the same with my kids. We have four, and they’re all thriving, making good choices, and learning from their own experiences. In the past, I would have told them what to do more often, but now they have room to make decisions. It turns out that the steps to run my business as an asset are also improving my personal life.
We often say that the point of owning a business is to live a great life. I recently heard, “Design your life, then build a business that supports it.” That sounds simple, but people rarely stop to ask what that really means. How do you design it, and what’s next once you’ve achieved it? Your reference to wanting to work but not needing to reflects that. The true aim of a commercial, profitable enterprise is to give you freedom. But if you, as the owner, just “dabble,” the team still believes you’re fully invested. So, if you pop in after a month and suggest a change based on two minutes of observation, they’re left feeling you’re out of touch, yet they’ll still treat it as an order. It disrupts all the work they’ve done in your absence.
Jackie: What happens when the owner can’t let go? Is it because they don’t have anything else?
Mike: Possibly, but I think it’s often a form of laziness. It’s like being “busy” as an excuse. No one starts a business dreaming of working 80-hour weeks and constantly worrying. Yet, 80–90% of business owners end up there, simply because they don’t take the steps to create real freedom.
Jackie: What if someone doesn’t want to? They want to stay active, but they want to keep selling and contributing to the business without necessarily running it or having it depend entirely on them.
Mike: Well, if they’re still there, it does depend on them. So, if you’re a business owner thinking this way, picture yourself with your hands around your business’s throat, choking it. I’m not saying you’re a bad person, but business owners often carry around a lot of “head trash,” and for almost all businesses, that head trash can be what holds them back or even sinks them.
When a business exists long enough, it takes on a life of its own, like an organism—it wants to grow. Businesses follow the natural principle of grow or die, but when the owner piles their “head trash” on top, it’s like trying to bury a badger. It’s going to dig its way out, and it’s going to be mad. The more you throttle your business, the more it’ll retaliate—often by not making money and potentially having to shut down. So, there’s no model where you can dabble without stunting the business’s growth. Someone out there might say, “What about Jeff Bezos?” Sure, but that’s one in 15.9 million. Amazon, Walmart, and Apple are exceptions. The rest of the millions of businesses need to grow and work hard to survive. Jeff Bezos, for example, isn’t involved in the day-to-day at Amazon. He only envisions what’s possible, and now that he has his 419-foot sailing yacht, I doubt he’s spending much time at Amazon, either.
Jackie: The key is, how can business owners start letting go now so that they have a profitable business that operates independently, and what else could they focus on?
Mike: Step one is to treat your business like an actual business. You chose to create a business, so you don’t have to be the one working in it. You could start by hiring someone from day one. We’ll talk about the cost of growth in a future episode because growth is expensive, yet necessary if you want to create something great. Most people will start as the main doer, but to step back, you need a bigger purpose and a clear understanding of why you started. If it was simply to avoid working for a bad boss, then don’t complain if now you’re working for yourself as one.
I met a plumber recently who was grumbling about his workload, and I thought, “Well, stop complaining if you won’t take steps to turn your business into a real one.” Step one: take responsibility. If your business feels like too much work, that’s a reflection on you. Step two: do you have goals and dreams? Many owners haven’t stopped to think, “What would I do next?” For me, freedom is buying other businesses, creating more entrepreneurs. The longer I do this, the clearer I am about two things: first, I need to turn this into a business; and second, I’m in a unique position to buy and invest in businesses that don’t need me as the “doer.”
Jackie: Right. But what if someone doesn’t have any dreams or goals?
Mike: Then congrats, you’re getting exactly what you’re putting in. If you’re a leader or entrepreneur without dreams or goals, here’s the tough love: either get some, or accept what you have and stop complaining.
Jackie: Exactly. There’s the tough love! Remember, you’re a professional business owner, so go out and kick some ass.