As an entrepreneur, you should be building your business model and infrastructure as if you weren’t there. You should be doing this from the start.
Too many company’s value point is the entrepreneur themselves. This becomes very difficult if when you begin to think about selling the business or slowing down from the business or both.
This is true… if your business cannot run like a well oiled machine when you are not around, then you really do not have a business at all, rather you have a job and your customers are your boss.
From the start of your business be thinking about building processes that are sustainable when you leave. Venture Capitalists, banks and other investors will want to insure their investments are secure and will be delivering a strong ROI and are not solely dependent on your personal efforts to drive the return on their capital. This is a very smart long term strategy even if you do not have outside financial stakeholders.
Start by getting the right people in place, then build systems, execution infrastructure and rhythms that do not depend on you to execute. This will make your business much more valuable to outside investors, will bring you a much higher valuation in the sale and will give you the “Freedom” you want all the while your company will make you money even while you are sleeping.