AccelerateGrowth45

10/16/2026

Cheers to all the badass bosses out there! 🌟
We see you!

10/16/2026

Domino’s and Chipotle both changed CEOs. One had months to prepare. The other had weeks.

Here’s why owners should care.

The news: On June 22, Domino’s announced CEO Russell Weiner would retire. Joe Jordan, a nearly 15-year Domino’s veteran who ran its U.S. business, took over Oct. 1. Weiner stayed on to advise him and the board. On Oct. 13, Domino’s reported its first quarter since the announcement. Earnings per share rose 12.7%, and sales at existing U.S. stores were nearly flat.

The contrast: In August 2024, Starbucks hired away Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol, and he started there less than four weeks later. Chipotle’s same-store sales fell 1.7% in 2025, and the stock is down about 20% over the past year.

Our read: Both companies promoted from within. What separated them was time. There’s no evidence the CEO change caused Chipotle’s slide, and Chipotle points to customers spending less. But a four-week handoff couldn’t have helped.

Your move: If you had to step away tomorrow, is there a plan? Is there a person? Would your next quarter hold?

When you’re ready to plan who takes over and how the handoff happens, that’s the work we do in Strategic Cadence and Leader Run. https://accelerategrowth45.com/programs.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_post&utm_campaign=owners_read

Read Domino’s succession announcement at ir.dominos.com

Sources: Domino’s (June 22 and Oct 13, 2026), Starbucks and Chipotle (Aug 13, 2024), Chipotle, NBC News, Financial Times.

10/14/2026

Should I replace my team with AI?

Posts like this one make it sound easy. Cut 8 people. Save $24K a month. Zero drama.

Here's what it leaves out. AI can run tasks. It can't run your business. Someone still has to set the direction, make the hard calls and lead the people (and the tools). That someone is you.

The owners winning with AI already had leadership, systems and structure in place. AI made a good business faster. It didn't make the owner less needed.

Most owners aren't buying the hype either. 96% of small businesses that use AI regularly plan to keep or grow headcount over the next three months (Citizens Q4 2026 Business Pulse).

Tools don't equal ownership. AI can amplify a business. It can't own one.

Take the free 45-second assessment to see where you sit on the Own It Scale. https://grow.accelerategrowth45.com/own-it-scale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_post&utm_campaign=business_critiques

10/08/2026

If your revenue is high this year, I hate to tell you… revenue ≠ ownership.

A business can look great on paper and still run its owner into the ground. More sales, more clients, more hours, and somehow less freedom.

KeyBank surveyed 1,500 owners this fall. 51% say freedom and autonomy define success. A third are covering rising costs out of their own paycheck.

So here's the real scoreboard: could your business run a week without you?

Find out if you own your business, or it owns you. Take the free 45-second assessment to see where you sit on the Own It Scale. https://grow.accelerategrowth45.com/own-it-scale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_post&utm_campaign=advocacy_circle

Source: KeyBank 2026 Small Business Survey (Sept 30, 2026).

Seven questions, 45 seconds. Find your owner type and get a Complete Owner Profile showing where you leak power.

10/07/2026

Warren Buffett stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman.

Here's why owners should care.

The news: On Sept 18, Buffett became chairman emeritus and stayed on the board. His son Howard, a Berkshire director since 1993, is the new chairman. Greg Abel, CEO since the start of 2026, keeps running the company.

In Buffett's words: "Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet."

Our read: Running the business and guarding what it stands for are two different jobs. Buffett planned a person for each. Most owners haven't planned for either. A Chase survey found 70% of owners are in early-stage planning or have no formal succession plan.

Your move: Which of those jobs can only you do today? If the answer is both, your business can't run without you. Yet.

When you're ready to plan who runs it and who guards it, that's the work we do in Strategic Cadence and Leader Run: https://accelerategrowth45.com/programs.html?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_post&utm_campaign=owners_read

Read Buffett's full letter:https://berkshirehathaway.com/news/sep1826.pdf

Sources: Berkshire Hathaway release and letter (Sept 18, 2026), Axios, Fortune, Chase. Photo: U.S. International Trade Administration, 2015, public domain.

10/01/2026

Revenue is an important metric, but it isn't the only one that matters. I'd rather see a profitable business that gives its owner freedom than a larger business that's completely dependent on them. Build a business that supports your life, not one that consumes it. Size doesn't equal success.

09/26/2026

Before you start planning next year, finish this one.

Not by trying to do everything, by deciding:

What needs to be finished?
What needs to be dropped?
What worked well enough to repeat?
What absolutely needs to change?

Q4 isn't just the final push. It's your chance to close the loops, learn from the year, and make sure you don't carry the wrong things into January.

Finish what matters. Learn from what happened. Decide what comes next.

09/23/2026

He could have pushed for a bigger paycheck. He asked for the merchandising rights instead.

Fox said yes without arguing. Movie toys were an afterthought back then.

The rights nobody wanted became Lucasfilm. In 2012 Disney bought the company for $4.05 billion.

Here's the part that gets skipped. He spent four decades building it, chose his own successor, and sold on his own terms. He still described giving it up as very, very painful, and in the same breath said it was the right thing to do.

Both are true at once. That's what a real exit looks like from the inside.

Most owners never get to either half. The business pays you enough to stay, and the rights stay theoretical until a buyer asks what happens when you leave.

If you're not sure whether your business is an asset or a liability, see where you land on the Own It Scale: grow.accelerategrowth45.com/own-it-scale?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=lucas_carousel

09/17/2026

Self-sufficiency is a great quality. Owner dependency isn't. If every client, decision, and problem depends on you, you've built yourself into the center of the business instead of building a business that can grow. Real ownership creates freedom, not dependence.

09/08/2026

Thirty days. No phone. No laptop. Nobody can reach you. If you disappeared from your business for 30 days, what would you come back to?

The answer tells you a lot about whether you own the business or the business owns you. A, B, C or D?

Take the free business audit 👉 https://grow.accelerategrowth45.com/owners-audit