From Employee to Owner: The Mindset Shift Required to Build a Sellable Asset

Understanding your current role is the first step toward building a more valuable, self-sustaining business.

 
Where Are You in Your Business Journey? Doer, Manager, or Entrepreneur?

A lot of what I talk about comes directly from conversations I have with clients. And today’s topic is something that comes up with almost every single one of them. It has to do with mindset and understanding where you are in your business ownership journey.

Michael Gerber, in The E-Myth, uses three terms to describe this cycle. The first is the technician, the person doing the work. The next is the manager, the person who starts to systematize the business, delegate, create accountability, and manage the technicians. And then there is the entrepreneur, the one who is vision casting, innovating, maybe even starting multiple businesses. I have plenty of clients who fall into that category.

So the question is: Where are you in this cycle?
And even more important: Where do you want to be?

How do you want things to change in 2026, and what action can you take right now to start making that a reality?

One of the conversations I have constantly with restoration business coaching clients is about delegating. Or another way to look at it: elevating. Elevating your team members to take on tasks you are currently doing that they could easily do. This is how you shift from technician to manager, and eventually to entrepreneur if that is your goal.

None of this means you have to stop being a doer or a manager. Some people genuinely like doing the work, and there is nothing wrong with that. But if you want to sell your business one day, the more you can step back from doing and managing, the more valuable and self-sustaining your business becomes. If the business relies less on you daily, it becomes far more attractive to a buyer. It is pretty obvious when you think about it.

So what can you actually do?

What is one action you can take today to start elevating people on your team?

I always recommend starting with a time study. I know it sounds tedious. It is tedious. But it pays big dividends.

For a week or two, write down everything you do. Every task, every responsibility, every interruption. Then at the end of that period, look at where you’re spending the most time. Pick one task and delegate it to someone else.

And if you want help with that, I have methods I teach clients all the time. If you’d like to book a call with me, I’m happy to walk you through it and give you a clear process you can start using immediately. You’ll walk away feeling more prepared to methodically check tasks off your list and hand them off to other people in a way that ensures the work still gets done well.

Maybe it won’t be done exactly how you would do it, but I’ll tell you something I’ve seen many times: sometimes the person you delegate to is actually better at the task than you are. I’ve experienced it myself. My clients have experienced it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking, “If it’s going to be done right, I have to do it.” Someone else might actually do it better.

Give it a try. Start the time study and take the first step toward elevating your team and shifting your role.

Thanks for reading.