Many successful small businesses have one person at their centre.

The owner knows the customers, agrees prices, deals with suppliers, manages the bank account, supervises employees and makes most of the important decisions. Often, this is one of the reasons the business has succeeded.

But it can also become a weakness.

If too much depends on one person, the business may struggle to grow and could face serious problems if the owner is unexpectedly unavailable.

Look at what depends on you

A useful exercise is to imagine that you could not work for the next four weeks.

What would happen?

Could someone else prepare quotations, authorise payments, deal with important customers or make purchasing decisions? Would employees know what needed to be done without continually contacting you?

The answers can identify areas where the business is particularly dependent on you.

This does not mean handing over control. It means creating a business that can function without requiring your involvement in every decision.

Introduce systems gradually

Start with activities that happen regularly.

Documenting important procedures, allocating responsibilities and giving employees appropriate authority can gradually reduce dependency on the owner.

Technology can also help. Good accounting, customer management and workflow systems make information available to other people rather than leaving it in the owner's head.

The objective should be to make the business easier to manage rather than introduce unnecessary bureaucracy.

Measure what is happening

One reason owners are reluctant to delegate is the fear of losing control.

Good management information can help.

Regular information about sales, margins, cash flow, costs and other key performance indicators allows you to see what is happening without personally supervising every activity.

This can become increasingly important as a business grows.

Think about the eventual value of the business

Owner dependency can also affect what happens when you eventually want to sell.

A purchaser may be reluctant to pay a substantial price for a business if important customer relationships, knowledge and decision-making disappear when the owner leaves.

Reducing owner dependency is therefore not simply about making life easier today. It can help create a stronger and potentially more valuable business for the future.

If your business depends heavily on you, consider discussing the issue with us. The financial information we already prepare may help identify where greater delegation, better systems and improved management information could make a difference.