When everything depends on you, freedom isn’t on the menu
By Daniel Ionescu
For 15 years, I barely took holidays: phone never off, inbox always open, never set an out-of-office reply. I couldn’t risk it. If I stepped away, even for a day, I imagined the whole machine grinding to a halt.
Looking back, it wasn’t dedication. It was control. I built my business so I could handle everything. But the more I controlled, the more the business controlled me. You know the feeling.
Most founders I’ve interviewed on Millennial Masters didn’t set out to build a prison, but it’s easy to fall into the trap.
The real shift comes later: learning to delegate, share the weight, and actually take time off, whether you’re growing a team or figuring it out solo.
Turns out that if you can’t step away, the business runs you, not the other way round.
So how do you break out of this cycle and build a business that lets you take a break?
Nearly nine months into building Millennial Masters, I’m finally prepping for my first proper break — and yes, that means a frantic rush to record episodes and write features to cover my absence. That’s a luxury I never had before.
That’s where Tricia Sciortino’s blueprint and lessons from Millennial Masters guests come in. 👇🏻
Most founders claim they’re building a business. Usually, they’ve built a job that won’t let them go. Tricia Sciortino (CEO of BELAY) nails it: “If your revenue only grows when you work harder, you haven’t built a business. You’ve built a job. One with long hours. No benefits. No breaks.”
You think it’s faster to “just do it yourself.” But how many hours do you waste on tasks worth a tenth of your real rate? That gap isn’t just lost profit. It’s lost focus, lost growth, and eventually, lost health.
Tricia’s list of control freakism beliefs reads like a confessional:
“I can do it better.”
“No one wants to do this either.”
“If I want something done right, I must do it myself.”
“Never ask someone to do something you’ve never done yourself.”
These aren’t business strategies. They’re pure ego and fear, dressed up as dedication. Left unchecked, they will kill your growth.
Millennial Master Gemma Price (HubGem) didn’t get a choice: she had to disappear for a week when her baby was born. “I have a one-year-old, so I have a very young baby… I had to take a break from the business, which is a scary prospect. And for a week, I had no choice because I had a baby and I was in the hospital for the first week.
“I’ve got an amazing team… I would not be able to do what I do now without them. And they rallied around, they sorted everything. In fact, performance was up in some areas, so maybe I’ll do it more often. But not have more children, take more breaks.”
She’s clear: HubGem is “more than me.” It’s not about ego, titles, or being a hero. It’s about building something that runs, even when you don’t.
Millennial Master Mike Jones (Better Happy) knows what happens when you don’t stop. He tried to outwork the pain: “I used to justify to myself that if I just work more and more and more and more, then I’ll be more and more successful.
“But what actually happened was that business, which was supposed to give me freedom and lifestyle and fulfilment, was draining me and making me feel miserable… if you’re constantly living with your business on your mind, then you’re just going to have severe burnout or poor health.”
The “no success without sacrifice” mantra? He calls it out as toxic. “I need to figure out how to own a business and not be a stressed arsehole.”
Big ideas and bold moves. For founders and leaders building what’s next.
Millennial Master Will Polston (North Star Thinking) built his boundaries with ruthless intent: “I aim to spend a minimum of 90% of my working week coaching, creating content, building relationships… anything else, I don’t want to do.”
His rule is simple: more time on what he does best, less on what burns him out.
That’s what Tricia’s 90-day Delegation Playbook is all about:
Weeks 1-2: Track everything you do.
Weeks 3-4: Run each task through the ROI filter. If it’s not worth your rate, delegate it.
Weeks 5-8: Document as you go. Don’t make it perfect: just record, hand off, and improve on the fly.
Weeks 9-12: Transfer ownership. Don’t just delegate tasks, delegate outcomes.
Measure your success on one thing: freedom.
Can you take a holiday without your inbox eating you alive? Can your team make decisions without you? Are you doing what gives you energy?
The way you build your business from day one shapes what it becomes. But it’s never too late to start.
If you want your business to survive you, build systems, empower people, and start taking breaks now, not later.
Add one person? Start documenting, hand over small wins, step back.
Still solo? Block one hour a week where you’re unreachable, just to prove the world doesn’t end.
A business that can’t run without you is just a job in disguise. If you want freedom, build it.
If you’re ready for more, start today.
After hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and expert insights from Millennial Masters, I’ve curated the ultimate reading list: 50 powerful books with 250 actionable takeaways.
