This is Hour 9 in the 9-Hour Small Business Tune-Up series. It covers how business owners lose control of their companies — and how to keep that control. Debt, partners, suppliers, employees, competitors, and market shifts can all quietly take decisions out of your hands. This section walks through each one and shows you how to stay in charge.
Losing control of your business can happen because of excessive debt, other parties owning shares of your company, and partners. Each of these can drive you out of business if you let it get away from you.
Excessive Debt
If you’re carrying too much debt, it doesn’t matter how good your cash flow looks, how strong your marketing campaign is, or how busy your store is. If you don’t reduce the debt, it will catch up with you.
Debt restricts your freedom and limits your ability to make decisions. A good opportunity can come along, and you may not be able to take it because of what you already owe. Don’t let debt hold back your growth. Build a plan to reduce and eliminate it.
A useful benchmark, from 2026 industry guidance: keep total business debt at or below roughly three times your EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), and keep monthly debt payments under about 36% of your gross monthly revenue. If you’re above those numbers, debt reduction should move to the top of your list.
The best way to reduce debt is to take a percentage of your profits and apply it to the debt every month.
Treat it like any other bill. It has to be paid, and it has to be paid on time. Come up with a monthly figure you know you can pay. Too high, and you’ll skip payments. Too low, and it will take too long to pay off. The number has to be realistic.
Exercise: Debt Reduction
Look at your accounts to see how much debt your company is carrying. How much can you reasonably pay each month to reduce it? Write out a payment schedule you can stick to.
Partners
You may have needed partners to get your business off the ground. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially if everyone knows the boundaries and sticks to the agreements. But if someone else holds a controlling interest in your business and it starts to take off, buyers can appear out of nowhere.
Unless you’re in control, you could find that your enterprise is being sold with little say from you. Keeping control of your business should be a top priority — don’t risk losing it after all the work you’ve put in.
Suppliers
Your suppliers are another factor that can control your business. Say your business sells a hot item that keeps you running 24 hours a day, with cash flowing in nonstop because of that one product.
Then your supply runs out. Your supplier cuts you off, and no one else carries the item. At that point, there’s not much you can do. To avoid this, line up an alternative supplier for anything essential to running your business.
A good rule of thumb, per 2026 supply-chain guidance: no single supplier should account for more than 20–30% of what you need for any critical product. If one supplier controls more than that, start looking for a second source before you’re forced to.
Employees
Employees are another part of your business you need to stay close to. Picture an employee who feels unappreciated and decides he can do better on his own. He lines up a partner and opens a competing business nearby — but keeps working for you while he sets it up.
When a customer comes in, he quietly tells her to try his store instead, with a discount for new customers. Sales drop and you don’t know why. By the time you find the reason, the damage is done.
Stay aware of what’s happening at every level of your business. If you run a large operation, get feedback from employees at all levels, not just department heads or managers.
Ask about customer satisfaction, working conditions, ideas for improvement, and how people feel about their jobs. It pays off twice: you get useful feedback, and employees see that you care. According to 2024 research, recognized employees are 45% less likely to leave within two years, so the payoff shows up in retention too. Close the gap between you and your staff and keep them working with you, not against you.
Competition
One way to find the weak spots in your business is to think like a competitor trying to put you out of business. That exercise helps you build a plan to respond quickly if it actually happens. The goal isn’t just to hold your ground — it’s to have a strategy ready before you need it.
The Small Business Administration offers a free competitive analysis framework that walks through pricing, positioning, and market share. It’s a solid starting point if you’ve never done one formally.
Exercise: Competitors Outlook
List what a competitor could do to put you out of business and take your market share. Then decide what you should do to reduce that risk.
The Market
Times change, and so does the market. It’s easy to assume things will stay the way they are — but conditions shift, sometimes fast. Stay alert to changes in your industry and the people you sell to.
Many factors affect your business. Get familiar with the conditions it needs to survive, so you can act early instead of reacting late.
Exercise: Identifying Threats
a. List the conditions that could threaten your business’s survival.
b. Come up with possible solutions for each one.
Conclusion
If you worked through this program, you now have a clear plan to run your business more effectively.
You’re ready to sharpen your marketing next. But marketing works against you if the business behind it isn’t solid — the more people you reach with a poor product or service, the more people learn about its problems. Get your business in good shape before you start promoting it harder.
Review this tune-up every six months. Nine hours, twice a year, is a small investment for keeping things on track.
Sincerely,
Acey Gaspard
Back to the Table of Contents of The 9-Hour Business Tune-Up
Key Points and Facts About Staying in Control of Your Business
- Excessive debt limits your options — a 2026 benchmark is keeping total debt at or below about 3x EBITDA, with monthly payments under roughly 36% of gross revenue.
- A partner with a controlling interest can sell your business with little say from you — protect your ownership stake early.
- Relying on one supplier for a critical product is a risk — a common 2026 guideline is keeping any single supplier under 20–30% of what you need.
- Staying close to employee feedback pays off in retention — staff who feel appreciated stick around considerably longer, according to 2024 research.
- Thinking like a competitor, and using free tools like the SBA’s competitive analysis framework, helps you spot weak points before someone else does.
- Markets shift. Regularly reassess the conditions your business depends on so you’re not caught off guard.
Action Steps for Staying in Control of Your Business
Get Your Debt Under Control
- Calculate your current debt-to-EBITDA ratio and compare it to the 3x benchmark.
- Set a fixed monthly debt payment you can realistically sustain.
- Apply a set percentage of profit to debt every month, without skipping.
Protect Your Ownership Stake
- Put clear boundaries and agreements in writing with any partners.
- Know your ownership percentage and what it allows others to do without your consent.
Diversify Your Suppliers
- Identify any supplier providing more than 20–30% of a critical product.
- Line up at least one backup source for anything essential to daily operations.
Build a Feedback Loop with Employees
- Collect feedback from every level of staff, not just managers.
- Ask specifically about customer satisfaction and working conditions.
Study Your Competition
- List what a competitor would do to take your market share.
- Use a free tool like the SBA’s competitive analysis framework to formalize the process.
Watch the Market
- Set a recurring reminder to reassess market and industry conditions.
- Note any shift in customer behavior or competitor activity as soon as you see it.
Checklist for Staying in Control of Your Business
- Debt
- Know your debt-to-EBITDA ratio
- Have a monthly payment plan in place
- Partners
- Written agreements and boundaries are in place
- You know who holds controlling interest
- Suppliers
- No single supplier exceeds 20–30% of a critical product
- A backup supplier is identified
- Employees
- Feedback is collected from all levels
- Working conditions and satisfaction are tracked
- Competition
- Competitor strengths and weaknesses are documented
- A response strategy exists
- Market
- Market conditions are reviewed on a set schedule
- Threats and solutions are documented
FAQ: Staying in Control of Your Business
How much debt is too much for a small business?
- A common 2026 benchmark is keeping total debt at or below about three times your EBITDA, with monthly payments under roughly 36% of gross revenue. Above that, debt reduction should be a priority.
How do I know if I’m too dependent on one supplier?
- Per 2026 guidance, if a single supplier provides more than 20–30% of a product or material you can’t operate without, you’re carrying concentration risk. Line up a backup source.
Why does employee feedback matter for keeping control of my business?
- Employees who feel heard are far less likely to leave, according to 2024 retention research, and staying close to feedback at every level helps you catch problems — like a disengaged employee undercutting the business — before they cause real damage.
What’s the point of thinking like a competitor?
- It surfaces the weak points in your business before someone else exploits them, and gives you a ready response instead of a scramble.
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