Notes for owners who want the business
to depend on them less.
Practical articles for owners, leaders and operators: decisions, delegation, succession, childcare operations and building a business that depends less on you.
Free checklists and worksheets
Owner-led businessBusiness owner burnout: identify the decisions only you can makeUse a five-day decision record to find avoidable interruptions, clarify responsibility and reduce operational dependence on the business owner.
Leadership and delegationHow to delegate effectively without losing visibilityLearn how to delegate with clear outcomes, decision boundaries and useful checkpoints, so your team can act and you can review the results.
Childcare operationsHow to increase daycare enrollment: follow the enquiry through to the tourReview your daycare enquiry-to-tour journey, identify missed handovers and give each family conversation a clear owner and next action.
Leadership and delegationA decision rights framework for an owner-led businessBuild a practical decision rights framework covering who gathers information, who decides, who is consulted and when an issue escalates.
Leadership and delegationHow to stop micromanaging without leaving your team unsupportedExamine what prompts you to intervene, agree essential standards and give employees room to work with the right level of support.
Childcare operationsDaycare business plan: the operating questions behind the spreadsheetConnect a daycare business plan to local demand, usable capacity, staffing, enquiries and the work required to operate an ordinary week.
Succession and transitionSmall business succession planning: what must work without you?Prepare for small business succession by mapping owner dependence, discussing ambitions and testing the transfer of responsibilities.
Owner-led businessStandard operating procedures for a small business: start with one recurring failureStart your small business SOPs with one recurring failure. Define the owner, steps, completion standard and exception route, then test it.
Preschool BossA childcare CRM checklist for enquiries, tours and follow-upUse this childcare CRM checklist to evaluate enquiries, tours, follow-up, permissions and handovers against your school’s actual workflow.
Leadership and delegationEmployee accountability: agree the decision, deadline and follow-upMake employee accountability specific through an agreed result, decision authority, deadline, checkpoint and clear follow-up conversation.
Childcare operationsBuying a daycare business: questions to ask before discussing the priceBefore buying a daycare business, examine operational continuity, usable capacity, staff responsibilities and the handover the school needs.
Own the DirtBuy or lease commercial property? An operator’s questions from Own the DirtCompare buying or leasing business premises through questions about operating fit, obligations, flexibility and future transition needs.
Owner-led businessBusiness consultant cost: what to expect from a consultation with AmyUnderstand the purpose of a focused business consultation, how to prepare an operating question and what a short conversation can cover.
Leadership and delegationA delegation framework for decisions that keep coming back to youUse a practical delegation worksheet to define a recurring decision, its owner, authority, information, escalation limits and review date.
Childcare operationsDaycare marketing ideas that fix the enquiry-to-tour journeyFind daycare marketing ideas in real parent questions. Improve website answers, tour information, first responses and relevant follow-up.
Succession and transitionBusiness transition planning: prepare the people before the handoverPrepare a business transition with clear responsibilities, practical handover tests, visible open issues and a defined support arrangement.
Leadership and delegationLeadership accountability: what the owner needs to change firstReview leadership accountability from the owner’s side: promised decisions, changed priorities, delegated authority and early warnings.
Preschool BossDaycare newsletters: a repeatable workflow that respects parents’ timeCreate daycare newsletters with clear actions, reliable facts, privacy checks and a repeatable drafting, approval and testing workflow.
Owner-led businessHow to build a business that runs without you: start with decision ownershipMap the decisions that depend on you, transfer one responsibility with support and test what your business can handle with less involvement.
Leadership and delegationEmployee retention strategies: make the next step visibleMake employee development conversations more useful by discussing ambitions, real opportunities, limits and the commitments you can keep.
Preschool BossChildcare enrollment software: questions to ask before you chooseEvaluate childcare enrollment software with a shared demo scenario, clear requirements and questions about setup, support and record access.
Succession and transitionFamily business succession planning: separate the job from the ownershipSeparate management readiness from ownership arrangements when planning family business succession, with clear roles and staged development.
Owner-led businessAn operational due diligence checklist for an owner-dependent businessExamine owner dependence with an operational due diligence checklist covering decisions, people, records, systems and transition requirements.
Childcare operationsHow to run a daycare with clearer ownership of the daily workClarify daily daycare responsibilities with named owners, backup arrangements, useful handovers and a review of real working-week problems.
Owner-led businessHow to create standard operating procedures people actually useCreate a usable SOP with a worked enquiry-handling example covering the trigger, owner, steps, exceptions, completion and practical testing.
WorkshopsWhat a leadership workshop should change on Monday morningChoose a leadership workshop around a real operating problem, useful practice and a clear action the team will review after the session.
Preschool BossPreschool website checklist: can a parent find the next step?Check your preschool website on a phone, from essential information to the enquiry form, confirmation and the person who owns the response.
Succession and transitionHow to prepare a business for sale: reduce operational dependence firstPrepare the operational side of a business sale by mapping owner dependence, clarifying responsibilities and testing a realistic handover.
Owner-led businessBuying a business checklist: questions for the people doing the workUse recent-work interview questions when reviewing a business to buy. Examine decisions, handovers and exceptions through authorised access.
Own the DirtOwn the Dirt: what I want an owner to take from the bookA proposed introduction to Own the Dirt: consider the future you want to build, the responsibilities you carry and the decisions ahead.
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