Case Study

In the U.S., founder-led service businesses are powerful engines of the economy – and frequent casualties of burnout. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 42% of small-business owners report recent burnout, while research from ExitStrategies Group shows that 70–80% of small businesses listed for sale never actually sell. The reason isn’t lack of demand. It’s operational fragility: businesses built around the owner rather than systems.

When the founder of an emerging SEO services business reached 12 retained clients, the milestone should have felt like a triumph. Instead, it triggered an alarm. He realized that although the sales engine was working, the operational backbone wasn’t, and without delivery, his business was at serious risk of collapse.