Is your business owner dependent?

The most valuable businesses don’t depend on any one individual for success.
Often, owners of smaller businesses play a crucial role in daily operations and hold mission-critical knowledge and key relationships. Sometimes owners are in three or four boxes on the org chart. This might reduce payroll, but an owner should be able to take a three-week vacation and not worry about the company’s performance. At least that’s the dream.
Use this 10-point scorecard to determine whether the owner is truly independent. Any score below five is a red flag and deserves attention. Although 100 is probably unattainable, a score of 80 or above is fantastic. It means the business has reached a key milestone in the journey from a lifestyle business to one with sustainable enterprise value.