This column is the final of a six-part series detailing key strategies that will put you in control of your agency.

Have you ever wondered how much your business is worth? Most agencies are known as “key man” businesses. The owner is the business, thus the value to a buyer is significantly less. As a result, most agency sales involve an “earn out.” The higher the retention after the owner departs, the more the seller is paid. Conversely, if business decreases, so does the purchase price.

Assuming your goal is to create a self-sustaining business that provides you with passive income, a decent lifestyle or an exit strategy, you need to start putting procedures in place to scale your company.

In his best-selling book “The Millionaire Real Estate Agent,” Gary Keller writes, “Most agents believe their clients will only do business with them. The reality is, your clients will work with whomever you assign—provided they maintain or exceed the same level of service expected from you.”

As a home-based agency owner, you wear many hats, from CEO to Chief Toilet Cleaner. The key to growth is scalability, and when you scale, you start handing off the hats (responsibilities) to the roles you create. Notice, I said “roles” not “people” (more on that later).

The ability to grow and scale your business is dependent on three things: Process, Systems and People.

PROCESS

It is vital to document how you do everything—down to the finest detail. It is perfectly acceptable to emulate those who do things well. If you remember the movie “Coming to America,” Eddie Murphy’s character worked in a fast food joint called McDowds: “We have the Big Mick, they have the Big Mac.”

SYSTEMS

Systems tie all the processes together. Once you have all your processes in place, you need to determine what tools/systems you will need in order to repeatedly execute them. To execute prospecting and marketing processes, a good CRM is required. Bookings require a reservations system. Accounting requires QuickBooks or another system that your CPA recommends.

PEOPLE

I like to use the cruise ship itinerary as an analogy. Ships (people) change and reposition, but the ports (roles) remain constant. Once you have the processes and systems in place, you can assign them to roles.

It has been estimated that one out of every eight workers in the U.S. has held a job at McDonalds. This means a lot of people have cycled through the company. But that’s okay, because McDonalds hired for roles. It did not make the mistake of building the role around a single person. It perfected the system so that anyone can do the job, provided he or she follows the steps in the processes.

Staff will come and go, but if you hire for the roles and are consistent with your service, maintain high standards, and hold everyone, including yourself, accountable to the systems and processes, you will be able to scale your company.

Scaling your business will allow you to meet demand without sacrificing the quality, trust or reputation you built as a “one-person shop.”