Service-Based Business Owners: Why You’re Still Doing Everything Yourself (And What to Do Instead)

by Sean Foster | August 1, 2025  | Business Coaching

If you're running a service-based business in New Zealand, chances are you've found yourself stuck in the same cycle: quoting jobs, managing client expectations, chasing payments, coordinating staff (if you have any), and putting out fires daily. And all while trying to keep your business growing.

So why are you still doing everything yourself? The short answer: because no one taught you how not to.

This is something I see all the time as a business coach in NZ. Whether you're in plumbing, design, marketing, or any other hands-on service, the challenges look surprisingly similar.

You Built It From the Ground Up

You started your business because you were good at what you do, such as plumbing, marketing, bookkeeping, web design, whatever it may be. But being skilled in your craft doesn’t automatically mean you can apply the same skills in building a sustainable business.

So when growth happened, instead of scaling the systems, most service-based owners just scaled their workload. Sound familiar?

No One Knows the Business Like You Do

It’s true, no one knows your business like you do. That’s part of the problem. Everything sits in your head. The pricing strategy, the customer quirks, the workflow, the passwords, the list goes on. Which means no one else can take it off your plate.

It feels safer to do it yourself, and justifiably so. Hiring and training does demand your time. Employment law really does favour the employee over the employer. As an employer, if you get just one little aspect wrong in the recruiting, employing or dismissal or retrenchment process, it will be costly. These factors all add up to where your business hits its ceiling.

Related Article: The 5 Top Reasons Why Business Owners Protect Their Employees From Knowing All

You’re Afraid of Letting Things Slip

What if someone else messes it up? What if the quality drops? What if it costs more time fixing someone else’s mistakes than just doing it yourself?

All valid fears, and no doubt you have experienced exactly this. But if everything hinges on you doing the work, then your business isn’t built to scale. Eventually, something will give: your health and sanity, your family time, your energy, or your margins.

What You Can Do Instead

1. Get Clear on What Only You Can Do

Start by identifying what truly requires your input and what doesn't. This isn’t about disappearing from your business. It’s about becoming the owner, not the operator. Things like your high-level strategy, managing key relationships and leading your team are good things to be investing your time into. Scheduling jobs? Maybe not.

Hint: A useful process to use here is figuring out what your effective hourly rate is. This could be what you are costing the business in dollars, or if you are under-paying yourself, then what should that rate be. If for example you are costing the business $80/hr, then why would you be doing $30/hr jobs? This takes both focus and discipline to get right.

2. Build Systems, Not Just Lists

You don’t need to automate everything, but you do need repeatable processes. Write down your steps for quoting, onboarding, client communication, follow-ups. Tools like Trello, Asana, or even Google Sheets can help you make those steps consistent and shareable.

Hint: Especially if you are employing staff, scripting your systems is crucial. That way if a staff member is absent, work can still continue. There may be some disruption if someone is absent for a period of time, but at least their work can be picked up by others and fewer errors will occur.

3. Teach, Don’t Just Tell

Hiring someone isn’t the finish line, training them is. And training isn’t just telling them what to do, it’s showing them how to think. When your team knows how to make decisions without needing you every time, that’s when things really change.

Hint: When instructing staff to do a specific function, always ask them to repeat what they need to do, including WHY they need to do this. That way you and they are certain of exactly what is understood to be done.

While there are many situations that you may need to direct staff, wherever possible you should rather be laying out the Outcome required and to get them to explain to you how they are going to get there. This obviously cannot be applied in all situations but what it does do is to encourage them to take ownership of the outcome and to think through how this is to be achieved.

4. Prioritise Time to Work On the Business

This doesn’t need to be a full day off the tools every week. Even two focused hours a week can move the needle. Review your numbers, plan your next steps, and think beyond the next job.

Hint: We are all filled with good intentions, but in reality intentions don’t pay the bills. Engage with an accountability partner, such as a coach or a mentor. If you are needing to report to someone on what commitments and actions you have taken in relation to these ‘working ON the business’ aspects, then they are likely to happen.

5. Get External Perspective

Sometimes you’re too close to see what’s really going on. Talking with a business coach in New Zealand, a mentor, or even another business owner can help you spot the patterns you’re stuck in. It’s not about someone telling you what to do, it’s about creating the space to make better decisions.

Hint: I speak from experience here, and from both sides of the fence as a business owner and also as a business mentor and coach. Countless times I have very nearly not stated the obvious, afterall it is slap bang in front of me, yet the other person has never even considered it. Outside perspective is invaluable.

Related Article: What Can a Business Coach Help Me With?

You Don’t Have to Carry It All

Running a service business doesn’t mean you have to be the technician, the manager, the marketer, and the admin. At least, not forever.

You can build something that runs with you, not just because of you. But first, you have to stop doing everything yourself. Have you created an Org chart that lays out the critical functional areas in your business

Hint: Small businesses, say under $10 million in revenue with 10 or fewer staff, are always vulnerable to key-person dependability. This is unavoidable and best managed by ensuring that everyone has a clear ScoreCard. I.e. everyone clearly understands how they need to ‘show up’ at work and what their critical required outcomes are.

In addition, ensuring that you run regular (daily to weekly) team meetings that are correctly structured, are essential in ensuring that everyone is singing to the same hymn sheet.

Taking Action - Business Coach New Zealand

DIY has its place, in fact this is how 99% of us start just about anything. Especially in the business world, at some point we logically reason that if we can get where we need to faster, then this is worth X dollars. What is your X dollar amount?
Could you be ready to consider a service-based business coach NZ that business owners trust? Let’s talk about what that could look like for you and your business.

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