Yo yo yo! Reader,

Here’s a question worth asking:

If you disappeared for three weeks tomorrow, what would stop (in your business, or life)?

Not what would become slightly harder.

Not what somebody else might do differently.

What would genuinely stop because only you know how to do it?

I’m about to find out.

Next week, I’m heading to Japan for three weeks for our belated honeymoon.

The team will keep running the warehouse.

Orders will still go out.

Listings will still happen.

Cameras will still be processed.

There will even be some eBay Live shows.

And while I’m excited to get away, I’m also nervous.

Because stepping away has a funny way of exposing every part of a business that still depends too heavily on its owner.

So there will be a few weeks of no comms from me (good? bad? you decide), but expect a few weeks off before you hear from me again!

Also if you are needing a game changing legend of an accountant, Ethan is your guy! Get in contact for some TAX TIME SUCCESS - connect now​

The Knowledge Trap

One of the biggest things I’ve noticed while preparing to leave is how much information can quietly live inside your head.

A process makes perfect sense to you because you’ve done it hundreds of times.

Then you try to hand it over and realise:

"Oh... there are actually another six steps I’ve never written down."

Camera inspections have been a perfect example for us.

There’s condition, functionality, shutter count, optics, accessories, serial numbers, sensors, pricing and all the little nuances between different models.

For a long time, I was simply the person who knew how to do it.

That works...

Until I disappear for three weeks.

So we’ve been training another team member, creating guides and building a dedicated testing station.

The goal is to move from:

Chris knows how to do this

to:

The business knows how to do this.

That’s a very different thing.

Don’t Just Delegate the Task

I think there’s another lesson here.

Delegating isn’t simply saying:

"You do this now."

You need to build the environment around the task.

Does the person have the tools?

The information?

The access?

A checklist?

A clear definition of what “good” looks like?

What happens when something unusual appears?

We’ve been doing the same thing with eBay Live.

This week, Chloe ran her first show herself.

I was still there if something went wrong, but I deliberately stepped away from hosting.

She was nervous initially.

Then she got into the rhythm and did a great job.

For me, the biggest win wasn’t the sales result.

It was this:

For those two hours, I didn’t have to run the show.

That’s capacity we didn’t have before.

A Simple Way to Hand Something Over

This is roughly the process I’ve been using:

1. They watch me do it.

2. They do it with me.

3. They do it while I watch.

4. They do it without me.

It sounds simple, but I think a lot of delegation fails because people jump straight from step one to step four.

Then something goes wrong and the owner thinks:

"See? It’s easier if I just do it myself."

And suddenly you’re trapped again.

Training costs time upfront.

But if you do it properly, that time can pay you back over and over again.

Try This: The Dependency Audit

Take 15 minutes this week and write down the recurring things you do.

Then put them into four buckets:

KEEP — genuinely needs your judgment, relationships or expertise.

TEACH — somebody else could do it with the right training.

SYSTEMISE — needs a checklist, workflow or better process.

REMOVE — probably doesn’t need to happen at all.

Then look at the TEACH column.

Pick one thing.

Hand it over properly.

That’s how you start buying your time back.

The Part That Makes Me Uncomfortable

November will probably be quieter for us.

I’ll be away.

We’ll run fewer Live shows.

I won’t be there pushing every opportunity.

Revenue may drop.

And I’ve had to become okay with that.

Because I could stay.

I could run more shows.

I could probably make more money.

But then I have to ask:

What am I building all of this for?

I’ve spent nearly six years saying:

Building a business to suit my lifestyle.

Eventually, you have to live that sentence.

Sometimes the return from building a business isn’t another $5,000 in revenue.

Sometimes it’s being able to leave for three weeks...

and knowing everything doesn’t stop.

Where We’re At

The business is still moving.

By Friday, we were around $12,700 for the week, with the weekend still to come. (landed on $18,501)

October was sitting around $55,000 in revenue and tracking toward roughly $77,000.

Profit was around $7,500 at that point, although another payroll still needed to come out, so I expect we’ll probably land somewhere around the $5,000 mark.

Not a record month.

But profitable.

And more importantly to me right now:

More of the business can operate without me than ever before.

That’s harder to measure.

But I think it matters more long term.

The Test Starts Now

This will be my last newsletter for a few weeks.

I’m going to properly switch off while we’re in Japan.

No forcing myself to write from a hotel room just because it’s Sunday.

We’ll pick things back up toward the end of November.

And I already know what I want to talk about when I return:

What actually happened when I left my business for three weeks?

What worked?

What broke?

Who stepped up?

What did I worry about for no reason?

And what still depends too heavily on me?

That’ll be the real test.

Until then, I’ll leave you with one question:

If you disappeared for three weeks tomorrow, what would stop?

Whatever came to mind first...

That’s probably where I’d start.

Building a business to suit my lifestyle.

Thanks for reading.

I’ll see you in late November.

Cheers,
Chris!