In 2015, we were putting systems and processes in place to scale, but it was new territory.
The question I kept asking myself: “What would break first if I wasn’t there?”
I didn’t have the answer. So I packed up my family and spent a month in Malaga to find out.
Back before remote working was a thing, that trip forced me to set up systems that would become our saving grace in 2020. More importantly, it gave me a strategy for the next five years and a clear understanding of what we needed to change to become less founder-run and more founder-led.
Five years later, I sold Kaizen for a multi-seven-figure sum. I’m not sure if that trip was the specific catalyst for the exit, but it was definitely a huge influence in building the business for sale.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably where I was. You know you need to step back. You just don’t know how to do it without everything falling apart.
I’ve turned this into a repeatable process I call The Owner Extraction Method: a 90-day system for moving from founder-run to founder-led.
Why You’re Stuck in Operations
You're really good at what you do
You started this agency because you're good at the work. Clients hired you, not your team. When you were freelancing, that was fine. When you're trying to scale, it becomes a trap.
"It's faster to do it myself"
In the short term, yes. Teaching someone takes longer. But every time you do it yourself, you're buying speed today and selling your future.
Everything's in your head
The process, the standards, what good looks like. None of it's written down. You can't delegate what you can't explain.
You're scared
What if they mess it up? What if clients leave? What if the quality drops? These fears are real. But they're keeping you stuck.
If your agency can't function without you, you don't have a business. You have a job with overhead.
The Delegation Ladder
Most people think delegation is binary. Either you do it or someone else does. It doesn’t work like that. There’s a progression:
This is where most agency owners live. Every call, every proposal, every quality check runs through you.
You bring someone into the room. They observe. They learn how you think, not just what you do.
Now they're driving. They run the meeting, write the proposal. You're there as backup, but you're not in control.
This is the goal. You see the output, not the process. You're informed, not involved.
The mistake most people make is trying to jump from Level 1 to Level 4. Doesn't work. You need to move through each stage, one task at a time.
The 90-Day Plan
Here’s the approach I used.
You can't fix what you can't see. For two weeks, track everything. Not what you think you do. What you actually do.
Use a spreadsheet. Use Toggl. Whatever works. Log every task:
- What you did
- How long it took
- Could someone else have done this?
Look at your audit. Find the three tasks that eat the most time and don't actually require you.
Usually it's things like:
- Client status updates
- Project coordination
- First-pass quality checks
- Scheduling and admin
- Proposal formatting (not the strategy, just the formatting)
For each one, write a simple SOP. One page. What triggers the task, steps to complete it, what done looks like, when to escalate.
Doesn't need to be perfect. It needs to exist.
Pick the easiest of your three tasks. Not the most important, the easiest. You want a quick win.
Move through the four levels:
By week 8, that task should be completely off your plate.
Repeat the process with your other two time drains.
By day 90, you've got three significant tasks off your plate. Might not sound like much, but that's probably 10-15 hours a week you've just reclaimed.
What to Delegate vs What to Keep
Delegate First
- Client communication: status updates, routine queries
- Project management: timelines, coordination, chasing
- Quality assurance: first-pass reviews
- Proposals: formatting, case studies (not strategy)
- Admin: scheduling, invoicing, reporting
Keep (For Now)
- Strategy: what clients pay the premium for
- Sales: until you've documented your process
- Key relationships: your top 3 clients
- Hiring: who joins the team matters
The goal isn’t to disappear. It’s to focus on the things only you can do.
The Systems You Need
You can’t just hand things off and hope for the best. You need structure.
SOPs for Recurring Tasks
If you do something more than twice, document it. Your SOP doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to exist.
Decision Trees
The real bottleneck isn’t tasks. It’s decisions. Your team comes to you because they don’t know what to do when X happens.
Create simple decision trees: “If the client asks for Y, do Z. If the budget is under £X, escalate.”
Every decision you codify is a decision that doesn’t need you.
Weekly Check-ins, Not Daily
When you first delegate, you’ll want to check in constantly. Resist. Daily check-ins train your team to wait for you.
Move to weekly reviews. Between meetings, they operate independently.
What Happens When You Step Back
Things Feel Slower
Tasks that took you 30 minutes take your team an hour. Quality might dip. You'll want to jump back in.
Don't. This is the investment phase.
Your Team Grows
Around month 3-4, people step up. They start solving problems you didn't expect them to solve. They take ownership.
You'll wonder why you didn't do this sooner.
Your Business Becomes Sellable
When I went through due diligence, buyers asked one question more than any other: "What happens when Connor leaves?"
Because I'd spent years removing myself from operations, I had a good answer.
Even if you never plan to sell, owner independence gives you options. You can take a holiday without your phone buzzing. You can focus on growth instead of delivery.
The Real Test
Could your business survive without you for 30 days?
Take a week off. Don't check email. Don't take calls. See what happens.
I took that test in Malaga in 2015. The business wasn’t fully ready. But the trip showed me exactly what needed to change.
I spent the next five years moving from founder-run to founder-led.
When COVID hit in 2020, the remote systems I’d built years earlier meant my team transitioned in hours. When I sold later that year, buyers didn’t need me to stay on.
That's the difference between founder-run and founder-led. One is a job. The other is an asset.
Get The Owner Extraction Checklist
I’ve turned this into a one-page checklist you can use to track your progress over 90 days.
Includes:
- The 4-level Delegation Ladder
- Week-by-week timeline
- Delegate vs Keep guide
- The 3 systems you need
Take the Next Step
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