If your business can run without you, then you don’t have a business!

27 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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In this solo advice video, Dan Novaes reflects on his early obsession with hustle, short‑term cash flow, and personal involvement as the core of his business. He admits that neglecting to build repeatable systems left his ventures dependent on his presence, meaning they could not operate or be sold without him. Novaes introduces the "bus test"—a litmus test asking whether the business would continue functioning, be run by someone else, and be sellable if the owner were suddenly incapacitated. He concludes that if the answer is no, the venture is effectively a job rather than a true business. The video ends with a call to follow for free entrepreneurial hacks.

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In my teens and early 20s, I was obsessed with hustle, short-term money, monthly income, and that cash was great. It funded what came next. But here's what I didn't do. I did not build systems. I built everything around me, my knowledge, my relationships, my involvement. And I thought that that was a superpower at the time, but it was actually a huge weakness because it meant that my business couldn't function without me. If it can't function without you, it can't be sold without you. And here's a test I use now. I call it the bus test. If you got hit by a bus tomorrow, can your business still operate? Can someone else step in and run it? And can it be sold? If the answer is no to all the questions above, you don't really have a business. You have a job, and you're the employee. Sick of wasting all this money? Follow us and get all of our hacks for free.