From Slave to CEO: How to Align Your Team, Free Yourself, and Scale Your Business
Most business owners don’t start out dreaming of 70-hour workweeks, late nights drowning in admin, and the crushing realization that if they stop working, the whole company collapses. Yet that’s exactly where far too many entrepreneurs find themselves — trapped in what I call the owner’s prison.
I recently coached a business owner, let’s call him Alex, who runs a successful mold-making company in Europe. On paper, Alex had everything going for him:
Ten staff,
A long history in business (since the early ‘90s),
€1.3 million annual revenue.
But here’s the kicker: despite all that turnover, his net profit was a miserable €50,000. And worse, the entire company depended on him. If Alex stepped away, the business would grind to a halt. He wasn’t an owner. He was the slave of his own creation.
Sound familiar? If so, keep reading — because what follows is the exact roadmap I gave Alex to break free from owner prison, align his team, and scale his business profitably.
The Two Core Struggles Every Owner Faces
When Alex and I first spoke, he named two struggles:
His team wasn’t aligned. Everyone was pulling in different directions. Morning meetings felt forced, and there was no shared energy.
He was chained to the business. He worked 55–65 hours a week, constantly engineering, fixing, firefighting. Without him, there was no business.
If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ll know these two struggles are universal. Either your people aren’t rowing together, or you’re chained to the oars yourself. Usually both.
But here’s the truth bomb: these are not operational problems — they’re leadership problems.
Step 1: Know Your Numbers (Brutal Honesty Required)
Alex’s company was making €1.3 million in sales and only €50k in net profit. That’s less than 4% profit margin. Not sustainable.
The first target we set: 10% net profit within 12 months. That’s €130k. Then 20% net profit within 24 months. That’s €260k.
Why? Because if your business doesn’t produce healthy profits after paying you a fair salary, you don’t have a business — you have an expensive job.
If you’re not hitting 10–20% net profit, the market is telling you something: either your prices are wrong, your efficiency is shot, or you’re overstaffed.
Write this down:
“A low-profit business has almost no value. A high-profit, systemized business is worth 5–10x more.”
Step 2: From Owner → Systems → Culture
Alex thought his business was “special.” That only he could engineer the molds, design the tools, manage the projects. But that mindset is the owner syndrome — and it’s poison.
Here’s the framework I gave him:
Owner Business – low value. If the owner leaves, it collapses.
Systems Business – medium value. Processes run the business. Staff can follow playbooks.
Culture Business – high value. Everyone improves the business daily. Leaders are built at every level.
Most owners stay stuck in Stage 1. The way out is to build systems, then build culture. Only then do you get freedom — and a business someone would actually pay to buy.
Step 3: Fire Fast, Hire Right, Build Your A-Team
Alex had ten staff. Only two or three were truly committed. The rest were just bodies. Worse, one toxic team member sat out of morning stretches, refused to engage, and dragged everyone down.
Here’s the hard truth:
“One bad person will spoil 100 good people.”
Culture is fragile. One drop of milk clouds the whole bucket of water. If you tolerate negativity, entitlement, or low emotional intelligence, you’ll never build alignment.
So the rule is simple:
Get rid of the wrong people fast.
Invest in the right people deeply.
Create an “All Stars” group chat or inner circle. Celebrate them, share ideas, build them up.
Step 4: Morning Meetings That Actually Work
Alex had been running “Lean” morning meetings but they fizzled. They felt like military drills, not motivation.
Here’s why: he forgot the number one purpose of a morning meeting. It’s not just teaching. It’s not just alignment.
The true purpose:
“Make today the best day it possibly can be.”
When your team gathers in the morning, the energy must shift. Everyone should leave that meeting ready to attack the day. That requires inspiration, gratitude, problem-solving, and clear focus.
Keep it short (15 minutes). Make it real. And above all, make it about today.
Step 5: Sales Is Survival (Pick Up the Phone)
Alex admitted he hated email and preferred the phone. Perfect. Because the phone is the most powerful weapon in business.
While his competitors relied on quotes and bids, I told him to do this instead:
Make 20 calls a day. Ten in the morning, ten in the afternoon.
Call every potential customer in Slovenia (or beyond). Introduce yourself, ask what it takes to win their business.
Follow up relentlessly. Send an email immediately after, then call again the next day.
Almost no one does this. Which is why it works.
Sales = survival. Always has, always will. If you and your team aren’t on the phone daily, you’re leaving millions on the table.
Step 6: Free Yourself by Hiring
Alex spent five hours a day stuck on engineering design work. That’s CEO suicide.
He told me he knew an engineer he could hire for €50k. His fear? That it would wipe out his net profit.
Here’s what I told him:
“You’re wasting your life away. Hire the engineer. Free five hours a day. Spend that time on sales and culture. That one hire could unlock millions.”
This is the classic trap. Owners won’t hire because they think it costs too much. In reality, not hiring is what costs you the most.
Step 7: Write Down Your Goals (Or Forget About Winning)
When I asked Alex his big goal, he said, “I don’t have one.” That right there is the biggest problem of all.
If you don’t write it down, it’s just a wish. Wishes don’t move businesses forward.
Here’s the exercise:
Write your 12-month goal: revenue, profit, hours worked, lifestyle.
Write your 3-year goal: bigger numbers, more freedom, maybe an exit plan.
Share it with someone you trust. Sharing skyrockets accountability.
Alex resisted at first. But then he admitted — every time in his life he had written a goal (build a house, buy a machine, hit a target), he achieved it. Proof enough.
Step 8: Balance or Burnout
Alex worked 55–65 hours a week. He had a wife and two daughters in their 20s. He admitted he was missing out.
Here’s what I told him:
“Your girls need their dad more than ever. The world is a mess. Instagram, TikTok, endless distraction — they need real time with you.”
“Your marriage needs intentional time. Walks, coffees, conversations.”
“If you don’t build balance now, you’ll regret it forever.”
I use the Five F’s Framework with clients:
Faith
Fitness
Family
Friends
Finance
If one is neglected, the others eventually collapse. Balance isn’t optional. It’s survival.
Step 9: Mindset Is Everything
At one point Alex said, “I know what to do, but I don’t take the actions.” That’s the killer. Knowledge without execution is worthless.
So I told him bluntly:
“Your business will never change unless you change.”
It’s not systems, staff, or machines holding you back. It’s mindset. The belief that you can’t delegate. The fear of hiring. The lack of clarity in your goals.
Change those, and everything changes.
Step 10: The Sales Funnel (Simplified)
Finally, I taught Alex the power of the sales funnel. It’s simple:
Top of funnel: 20 calls a day.
Middle of funnel: follow-up emails, quotes, site visits.
Bottom of funnel: signed contracts, new revenue.
Too many owners spend all day at the bottom — doing the work — instead of feeding the top. Starve the funnel and the business starves with it.
Feed it daily and growth becomes inevitable.
The Coaching Value
By the end of our session, Alex admitted: if he implemented everything we discussed, his profit would jump at least €50k in the first year — doubling his net. That’s the power of coaching.
The truth is, you can’t afford not to have someone kicking your backside, holding you accountable, and forcing you to take the uncomfortable actions that actually create change.
Plug-and-Play Playbook: How to Escape Owner Prison
Here’s the summary framework I gave Alex. Use it for your own business:
Set Your Goals
Hire & Delegate
Run Morning Meetings That Matter
Sales Discipline
Build Culture
Protect Family Balance
Shift Mindset
Final Word
If you see yourself in Alex’s story — overworked, under-profited, stuck in owner prison — you’ve got two choices. Keep grinding until you burn out, or make the decision today to change.
It starts with clarity. Then comes delegation. Then relentless sales. Then culture. And through it all, balance.
Do this, and you’ll build not just a profitable company, but a life worth living.
P.S.
If you’re sick of being chained to your business, stop waiting. Inside the Business Gym, you’ll get the exact tools, coaching, and accountability to:
Build a team that runs without you
Install the systems that scale profitably
Master the sales habits that fill your pipeline daily
This isn’t theory. It’s the same playbook that’s helping business owners unlock $50K–$5M in extra profit in just 12 months — without wasting years figuring it out alone.
Join the Business Gym today and turn your business into a money-printing, freedom-creating machine.
DM me to get started.
Bernard Powell – High Performance Coach
Tagged business valuation, entrepreneurship, morning meeting strategy, sales discipline, small business profitability
