You built a lifestyle business. Now you want a commercial one. Here’s the gap

Many founders hit a ceiling, not because they aren’t capable, but because the business was designed to support their lifestyle needs, rather than business growth and a potentially saleable exit.

If your focus becomes more commercial, you’ll need to make a fundamental shift in the purpose and structure of your business.

This means moving from working in the business to working on the business. Here’s why.

Delegation is key if you want to drive your business forward

If you’ve built your business with your lifestyle preferences and personal fulfilment in mind, letting go of the reins might be tough.

However, most companies plateau if the owner can’t delegate.

If you want to scale your company, it needs to run smoothly without you having a hand in everything.

And ultimately, when the time comes to sell, any potential buyers will want to know they can make the business a success without you involved.

Structure, systems and processes are crucial for commercial success

Without them, every client is different, every fire is urgent and scale becomes impossible.

However, lifestyle businesses often rely heavily on the owner’s skills and direct management, with few formal or standardised systems in place.

If you now have a more commercial purpose and vision that focuses on scalability, growth and market share, you’ll need to implement:

• Clear roles and hierarchies
• Robust operational systems
• Standardised processes and workflows.

Founders must shift from doer to designer

Your value comes from building the machine – not being part of it.

So, once you’ve learned to delegate (see above), think carefully about which tasks you hand over and which ones you’re going to keep.

Switching from a lifestyle to a commercial business means being a “designer” rather than a “doer”. It’s your role to:

• Craft a new company vision
• Empower your leadership team
• Architect systems and processes
• Foster a workplace culture that supports growth
• Develop strategies that align with business goals.

Staying in the doer mindset is likely to limit growth and keep the business overly reliant on your constant involvement.

You can’t grow what you don’t measure

Measuring key metrics is essential for any company that wants to achieve sustainable growth – instinct won’t cut it.

While you might think, “I already measure performance”, your focus and approach will likely need to change if you want to turn your lifestyle business into a commercial one.

For example, if your primary goal is to sustain a certain lifestyle, you might use net profit as a key measure of success. In contrast, commercial businesses need to track a broader set of metrics, including:

• Revenue growth
• Employee turnover
• Client retention rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Margins on different products and services.

This will give you a more complete picture of how well your business is doing and what potential there is for scalability and growth.

Commercial businesses need specialised talent

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. To scale your business, you need to ensure it can run like a well-oiled machine, whether you’re there or not.

But wait, you’ve run your (lifestyle) business on your own, or with just a handful of employees, for years. It keeps things simple and cost-effective, so what’s the problem?

Commercial businesses are a very different beast. They usually require larger teams that include people with specialised skills and knowledge.

You might even need to seek external support from those with the expertise to help you successfully bridge the gap between your lifestyle business and a thriving commercial venture.

Fortunately, we know a team that can help…

Get in touch

If you’d like to take your lifestyle business to the next level, we’d love to hear from you.

Drop us an email at hello@melo.co.uk or call us on 0113 4656 111.