How to Get Off the Truck Without Losing Control of Your Business

How to "Get Off the Truck" Without Losing Control of Your Business

Intro: The Dream vs. The Reality

You didn’t start your business just to stay stuck on the truck forever. Making all of the sales calls. Doing all of the bids and estimates.

You wanted freedom. More time with family. Real wealth. Maybe even an eventual exit.

But here you are—still running calls, doing estimates, putting out fires, and wondering:

“If I step away… will it all fall apart?”

Let me be clear: You can get off the truck and still run a tight, profitable business. In fact, until you get off the truck, you can't run as tight or profitable of a business.

But it takes intention, systems, and the right mindset.

Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Shift Your Identity

You are not “just a tech who happens to own the business.” You're not a plumber, or electrician, or landscaper.

You’re the CEO. The strategist. The leader.

You are an entrepreneur who happens to provide a service.

If you keep identifying as the guy who does the work, you’ll never build the team that frees you from the work.

Start here:

Change how you think. Start calling yourself the owner—because that’s what you are.

Step 2: Audit Your Tasks

Track your time throughout the day. Do this every day for a week. Write down everything you do.

Now ask:

• Which of these tasks require me?

• What can be delegated, systematized, or eliminated?

• What’s the real cost of me doing $25/hr work instead of making $250/hr decisions?

You’ll be shocked how much time is spent doing things others could handle. This is sometimes a painful exercise. You will have to stop doing some activities you enjoy.

"You have to be willing to give up in order to to go up." - John Maxwell

Step 3: Build a Strong Crew

You can’t get off the truck with a weak team.

Hire for attitude, train for skill. Create clear job roles. Cross-train. Set expectations. And invest in their growth—not just their labor.

A strong team lets you step back without fear.

I will be writing in more depth about finding, hiring, building, and keeping the right team. This is such a critical piece of scaling your business and increasing your income.

Many owners hire to grow the business, but then keep fighting all the same fires—only now they have more of them.

You should hire to buy back your time (Dan Martell wrote a great book by that title).

Step 4: Document Your Systems

What lives in your head needs to live on paper (or in your CRM).

• How do you want jobs run?

• How are estimates built?

• What’s your customer service standard?

Build checklists, templates, and SOP manuals so your team can execute without asking you 20 questions a day.

Leverage technology and tools like Loom to capture video of exactly how things should be done. This becomes your training for all team members (I prefer that to employees).

Step 5: Start Small and Let Go

You don’t have to disappear overnight. Start by stepping back from ONE job function at a time.

• Stop doing estimates

• Let someone else handle service calls

• Take Fridays off and see how the team runs

Use a process to set the standards and expectations.

1. Have the person watch you do the task. Answer their questions.

2. Watch them do the task and provide feedback and support.

3. Have them do the task without you and share what they learned.

As you build trust, you’ll build freedom.

Final Thought:

You don’t earn freedom by grinding harder.

You earn it by building a business that works without you doing everything.

Want help getting off the truck and building the business you’ve dreamed of?

Click here to schedule a free Profit Acceleration Review. Let’s build your roadmap to freedom.

Pete

Master Your Trade. Scale Your Business. Own Your Future.