WHEN YOUR BUSINESS DEPENDS TOO MUCH ON ONE PERSON, YOU ARE ALREADY IN TROUBLE

In 2025, I became close friends with a guy I met at the tennis court called Tosin. Because of our friendship, I spent a lot of time around his office while he sent several print and publishing jobs to us at Jewel Publishers.

The relationship felt rewarding. Infact, when some of my colleagues complained about my constant absence during important strategic discussions, I simply asked them, “Are those meetings more important than the targets we are meeting?”

Slowly, I became too comfortable.

I even started changing some of my beliefs and accepted the popular idea that “who you know matters more than what you know.”

One day, after a disagreement with his colleagues, Tosin asked for my honest opinion. I gave it. Unfortunately, I didn’t support his position.

From that moment, the jobs started reducing.

Whenever I asked, there was always one explanation or another. I kept managing the little that came while trying not to make it obvious that I noticed the change.

Then one day, one of his colleagues asked me how businesses like ours get clients. Before I could answer, Tosin interrupted and said: “It is us that gives them jobs. Without us, they would almost be jobless.”

That statement shook me deeply.

Not because I was angry, but because I realised I had allowed one man to feel powerful enough to make or destroy our business.

That day was my last day in his office.

I went home, reflected deeply and remembered the scripture that shaped my work ethic for years:

“Show me a man diligent in his work, he shall stand before kings and not obscure men.”

I realised something important: Tosin and I became friends because he admired how I played tennis. If I was not good at it, we may never have connected in the first place.

Excellence created the relationship, Not dependency.

Since then, we have focused more on building systems, structure and competence instead of depending on individuals.

We lost some clients during that transition but we also gained new ones because we returned to building a business that could stand on its own.

Small business owners, please hear me: Structure your business in a way that it can survive emotions, politics and changing relationships.

People Change, Sytems Endure.

Shalom.

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