The business should survive your two-week holiday
Owner Dependence & Delegation
Working out what genuinely requires the owner, what only appears to, and how to move the second category off your desk.
The Overview
What it is,in plain terms.
The test most owners fail is a simple one. If you were unreachable for two weeks, what would stop? Usually the answer is a short list of decisions nobody else is allowed to make, a handful of relationships that exist only with you, and a body of knowledge that has never been written down because you have always been available to answer.
We start by finding out which of those are real. Some decisions genuinely need the owner — the ones that set direction or commit the company. Many do not; they sit with you because a rule was never written, or because the person who could take them has never been told they may. The work is to name each one, decide where it belongs, and then actually move it, which is slower and more uncomfortable than agreeing it in principle.
This is advisory work. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice, and it does not run in your absence — the changes are yours to make. What can be offered is an outside view of where the company is concentrated, a sequence for unpicking it, and someone who asks next time whether the thing you agreed to hand over actually moved.
Who It's For
The situationsthis is built for.
- 01
The owner who cannot take a holiday
Find out what would actually stop, then work through it in order rather than trying to fix everything at once.
- 02
Decisions that queue on one desk
Separate the calls that genuinely need the owner from the ones that only wait because no rule was ever written.
- 03
Relationships held personally
Move key customer and supplier relationships from one person to the company, without unsettling them.
- 04
Knowledge that lives in someone's head
Get the recurring answers written down once, so the question stops coming back to you.
- 05
A second layer that never quite forms
Work out whether the managers you have are being given room to decide, or only room to recommend.
- 06
Preparing for a transition that is years away
Concentration on one person is the thing a buyer or a successor discounts hardest. It takes time to unwind.
The Through-Line
How an engagementactually runs.
Every engagement follows the same five steps, scoped to your business.
Step 01 · 1–2 conversations
Discovery
A conversation about the business, not a pitch. We map how the company is actually owned, review whatever agreements are already in place, and get clear on what you want to happen if an owner dies, is disabled, or decides to leave. Most owners have answered some of this in their head and none of it on paper.
↳ A written summary of your structure, the gaps we see, and the questions worth answering next.
Step 02 · 2–6 weeks
Analysis
The underlying work, so the plan rests on numbers rather than impressions: a tool-assisted estimate of value where one is needed, an honest read on where the company is concentrated, and a structural review of any existing agreement. Assumptions get written down, so you can see how a conclusion was reached — and disagree with it.
↳ A value assessment or gap analysis, with the inputs it rests on and the assumptions written down.
Step 03 · 1–2 weeks
The Plan
The recommendation in writing: the structures, the sequencing, what each professional at the table is responsible for, and where the products fit. You finish this step knowing what we advise and why — including the parts we think can wait.
↳ A written plan with recommended structures, sequencing, and an advisor coordination map.
Step 04 · 4–12 weeks
Implementation
Putting the plan into effect. We coordinate the drafting your attorney does, keep the sequence moving between the professionals involved, and make sure each piece lands with whoever is responsible for it. Work that sits with other people runs on their timelines, so this step is coordinated rather than promised.
↳ The plan in effect — documents executed with your attorney, and each piece of the sequence with the person responsible for it.
Step 05 · Ongoing — annual or trigger-driven
Cadence
A plan written once is a plan that quietly stops being true. Value, ownership, and the people the business depends on all move, so we keep a standing rhythm with you and with your attorney and CPA — annually, and whenever something material happens. Valuation and funding levels are two of the things reviewed, not the whole agenda.
↳ A periodic review noting what changed, what it affects, and what needs to be refreshed.
The Questions
Frequentlyasked questions.
Is this the same as hiring a general manager?
No, though it sometimes ends there. Bringing someone in without first working out which decisions are genuinely yours tends to produce an expensive person who still has to ask. The sequence matters: name what can move, move some of it, and then judge what kind of person the remaining gap needs.
How long does it take?
Longer than agreeing it. The conversation that identifies what should move takes a session or two. Actually moving it runs over months, because each handover has to survive contact with a real week. The engagement is built as an ongoing cadence for that reason.
What do you actually do between sessions?
You do the work; we hold the sequence. Each session ends with a small number of specific commitments and the next one opens with what happened to them. The value is less in the plan than in the fact that somebody asks.
Will this make the business worth more?
We do not promise a figure, and anyone who does should be treated carefully. What can be said plainly is that concentration on one person is among the first things a buyer, a lender, or a successor examines, and that it takes years rather than months to change.
Related Topics
- owner dependence
- delegation
- business consulting
- management depth
- key person concentration
- closely held business
Related Services
More of thebusiness-owner stack.
- 01
Business Coaching
Business Coaching & Consulting
Advisory work for owners who are the bottleneck in their own business — including sales and marketing.
- 02
Management Depth & Successor Readiness
Business Coaching & Consulting
Building the layer of management beneath the owner, and getting the company legible enough for someone else to run.
- 03
Business Value Assessment
Valuation & Continuity
A rough, tool-assisted estimate of business value — a starting point for planning, not an appraisal.
Important Disclosures
- Business coaching and consulting services are advisory in nature. They do not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice.
- Altus Financial coordinates with — and does not replace — the client's own attorneys, CPAs, and other licensed professionals. Clients should engage qualified professionals before implementing any recommendation that has legal, tax, or regulatory consequences.
- Engagements are scoped to the operating and organizational questions an owner brings. Outcomes depend on decisions and execution inside the client's business, and no particular result is promised.
Last reviewed: 2026-05-28
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Business Consultant
Benjamin Minifie
Business consulting for owners — valuation, continuity, and reducing owner dependence
Business Consultant
Stanislav Lisovskiy
Succession and management-depth coaching — the conversations owners avoid