Step 2 of 8
Step 2: find the business bottleneck (often you)
A business bottleneck is the point where everything waits for one person: a signature, a quote, an answer, a know-how. In most small businesses, that bottleneck is the owner, followed by one or two key employees. Finding and measuring it is the second step, because it's exactly what a buyer will look for.
No commitment. No cost. 45 minutes.
Focus regions: Eastern Townships (Estrie) · Montérégie · Centre-du-Québec · Mauricie · Quebec City region (Capitale-Nationale) · Montreal · Laval · Laurentians (Laurentides). 1 regional partner.
6articles to go further
This step is part of service 1: Automate and augment. The three services together deliver the best result.
What you'll have at the end
- Your dependency matrix: clients, suppliers, decisions, knowledge, bank
- The list of key employees and what would happen if they left
- A starting independence score, out of 15
How to do it
- Take the two-week test: what would stop without you?
- Go back to your process map and count the red steps
- Identify who holds each of your 10 largest clients
- Spot the decisions that always come back to you, even small ones
- Do the same exercise for your key employees
Step 2 articles
Go deeper
Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
Why buyers pay less for a business that depends on you
An owner-dependent business sells for less: buyers pay for what's left after you leave. How they measure it, and what it costs you.
Read the article →Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
When the owner is the bottleneck
An owner bottleneck slows everything down and worries buyers. The signs, an example and five moves to start undoing it this month.
Read the article →Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
Key employee dependency: the hidden risk
Key employee dependency worries a buyer as much as dependence on you. How to spot it, reduce it and keep the person through the sale.
Read the article →Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
The two-week test: can your business run without you?
The two-week test shows in one hour what would stop without you. The grid, an example, and how to move from paper to a real absence.
Read the article →Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
The 5 dependencies that lower a small business's value
A dependency matrix measures what rests on you: clients, suppliers, decisions, knowledge, the bank. A score out of 15 you can do this week.
Read the article →Step 2 · Find the bottlenecks
The decisions that always come back to the owner
Delegating decisions frees your calendar and reassures buyers. Which ones always come back, why, and a grid to hand them off this week.
Read the article →
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if I'm my company's bottleneck?
- If quotes, purchases or decisions wait for you to come back from vacation, you are. The two-week test shows it in an hour of honest thinking.
- What if the bottleneck is a key employee?
- That's also a risk for the buyer. The fix is the same: document, train a second person, and retain the key employee through the transition.
- Is it bad to be the bottleneck?
- No, it's normal for a founder. But every unresolved bottleneck costs you at the sale, in price or in terms.
Do it with a pro
You can do it all yourself. With us, it gets done faster, and better.
We and our regional partner implement each step directly in your business, while you keep running it.
No commitment. No cost. 45 minutes.
Focus regions: Eastern Townships (Estrie) · Montérégie · Centre-du-Québec · Mauricie · Quebec City region (Capitale-Nationale) · Montreal · Laval · Laurentians (Laurentides). 1 regional partner.