The Vacation Test

Can your business run without you for a month?
Find out your founder dependency score.

2 minutes
Question 1 of 10
Question 1 of 10
Last time you took a full week off, what happened?
1 Disaster waiting when I returned / Had to work the entire vacation
2 Multiple fires to put out, team struggled without me
3 Some fires, but team handled most things
4 Minor issues, nothing critical—mostly status updates
5 Business ran smoothly, zero calls to me
Question 2 of 10
During your last vacation attempt, how many work calls/texts did you receive?
1 20+ calls/texts (never truly off)
2 10-20 calls/texts (frequently interrupted)
3 5-10 calls (mostly handled, but needed me for key decisions)
4 1-5 calls (only true emergencies)
5 Zero (team didn't need me at all)
Question 3 of 10
What happens to important decisions when you're away?
1 Everything waits until I return
2 Most things wait, only emergencies get handled
3 Team makes small decisions, big ones wait
4 Team makes most decisions, only strategic ones wait
5 Team makes all decisions, I'm informed after
Question 4 of 10
If a top client has an urgent issue while you're on vacation, who handles it?
1 Me (they call me directly)
2 Team tries, but immediately escalates to me
3 Team tries, but escalates to me if tricky
4 Team handles most issues, rare escalation
5 Team handles completely, clients don't ask for me
Question 5 of 10
How much preparation is required before you can take a week off?
1 Weeks of prep, detailed handoff docs, still anxious
2 Several days of intense preparation
3 Some prep, key people briefed
4 Minimal prep—quick status update to team
5 Zero prep—systems run regardless
Question 6 of 10
How often do you check work email during vacation?
1 Constantly (multiple times per day)
2 Several times daily (can't help myself)
3 Daily check-ins
4 Every few days, briefly
5 Never (turned off notifications)
Question 7 of 10
Can someone besides you monitor cash flow and financials for a month?
1 No (only I see the full picture)
2 Partially, but they'd miss critical details
3 Yes, but they'd need to ask me questions
4 Yes, with minimal guidance needed
5 Yes (dashboards and thresholds are clear)
Question 8 of 10
If you disappeared for a month (emergency), would your team know what to prioritize?
1 No (priorities live in my head)
2 They'd struggle significantly
3 Mostly (they'd figure it out but miss some things)
4 Yes, for the most part—key priorities are documented
5 Yes (quarterly Rocks and priorities are documented)
Question 9 of 10
When you return from time off, what's waiting for you?
1 Crisis mode: fires everywhere, team paralyzed
2 Significant backlog and problems to solve
3 Catch-up mode: decisions waiting, but not disasters
4 Light catch-up, mostly status updates
5 Business-as-usual: everything handled, just status updates
Question 10 of 10
What does your family say about your ability to disconnect from work?
1 "You're never really with us" / "We gave up asking you to unplug"
2 "Your phone is always more important"
3 "You try, but you always get pulled back in"
4 "You're getting better at being present"
5 "When we're together, you're fully present"
-- out of 50

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