Welcome to your Owner's Manual Newsletter
Here's what's happening next.
Building a business in this age of fast-changing trends and technological advancements is not easy; that’s why conversations about how founders are currently using AI, the new opportunities it is creating for business owners, and how we can use technology to build businesses that are stronger, more scalable and less dependent on the founder doing everything are important.
That's why we're hosting the Founder's Brunch in Amsterdam in collaboration with OneMoreSeat. To help us create the best experience for you, we have rescheduled the event to hold on November 7, 2026, at 11:00 AM.
If you are interested in being part of a room where you can have honest conversations with people who are at your level, or where you aspire to be, then this opportunity to connect with fellow founders, share experiences, exchange ideas, and build meaningful relationships over brunch is for you.
I hope that you will be able to make the new date, as I'd love to see you there.
Learn more and save your seat
Okay, onward to your Owner's Manual
Dear Owner,
On March 3, 2025, I met Ines, a voice coach and member of my Rise & Lead Women community, for a conversation that took me back to a defining moment in my own entrepreneurial journey. At the time, she was pregnant and planning to close her business in three months to take maternity leave. She had even delayed getting pregnant because of her business.
I understood her dilemma because years ago, I was made redundant from my job at a multinational oil company while seven months pregnant. That experience pushed me into entrepreneurship, and my first child and first business were birthed in the same season.
But one of my biggest business lessons came during a later pregnancy, when I spent six months away from my restaurant. And rather than my business failing in my absence, it continued to grow, and my manager called to tell me we had saved enough to open a second branch. That experience taught me that a business should not have to stop growing because its founder needs to step away.
So, when Ines told me her plans, I simply asked her if she could imagine taking her maternity leave without closing her business. I’m not sure she could imagine that happening.
We went on to have three 30-minute sessions where we clarified her business operations, designed a simple team structure, and created an onboarding process that allowed her team to take over delivery. Three months later, Ines went on maternity leave while her business stayed open, her clients continued to receive their services, and revenue continued to come in. When she returned, she didn't go back to doing everything herself. On the contrary, she stepped into the role of CEO, focusing on bringing in clients while her team handled delivery. She later told me that I hadn't just helped her take maternity leave; I had helped her become the CEO of her business.
That is the difference between owning a business and building one that depends entirely on you. Your ability to do everything yourself is not the same as your ability to build a business that grows. If your business cannot function without your daily presence, perhaps it is time to examine its foundations. Does your business have a clear vision and value that it creates? Do you have documented processes? A team with clear responsibilities? A reliable way to generate revenue?
You don't have to build everything at once. But you do have to start because life will always have demands beyond your business. And you deserve to build a business that makes room for those demands, too.
If you want to build structure into your business to enable your business to run seamlessly even in your absence, take the OwnerCEO assessment to find out where you're strong, where you're stuck and what's standing between you and predictable revenue and growth.
Until next time,
Ebere Akadiri
Founder, Rise & Lead
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