From founder-held to team-run.
How a 25-year family business redesigned the way work gets done – giving the team greater independence and the founders room to lead.
Client
EIR Building & Maintenance
Industry
Construction
Location
Sydney, NSW
Founders
Craig and Catherine Lacey
Team Size
Approx 25
Engagement
Retainer: Operational Redesign
4 → 9: Craig’s confidence in the business operating without depending on him.
Confidence and hours are founder-reported. Admin saving is an approximate comparison of resourcing cost, not a complete audited measure of administrative function cost.
The Challenge
A successful business still waiting on two people.
EIR had blue-chip clients, an experienced team and 25 years behind it. Yet critical decisions, exceptions and operating knowledge continued to flow through Craig and Catherine.
“Everything was in my head. I liked that feeling of being in control. The only problem was the whole team would come to me to put out every fire. And I was holding everything up.”
Craig Lacey – Founder
01 Core procedures and decision logic lived with the founders.
02 The team was repeatedly interrupted or delayed while waiting for answers.
03 Craig worked more than 60 hours a week, including regular Saturdays.
THE BREAKING POINT
Two outside perspectives exposed the same structural risk.
The accountant looked at future business value. Business coach Louise Mooney looked at founder dependence. Both reached the same conclusion: EIR needed operating capability that existed independently of Craig and Catherine.
THE ACCOUNTANT
An undocumented business would be valued accordingly.
Without robust SOPs and digital systems, a future buyer could negotiate down the price because too much business value remained attached to the founders.
THE BUSINESS COACH
The business needed to function without them.
Long hours, key-person risk and an inability to step away were not simply lifestyle issues. They were structural constraints.
“We want our business to run like McDonald’s… because they have systems in place. No one’s guessing what’s in our brain.”
Catherine Lacey – Founder
The Approach
One operating model. Five connected phases.
Empire Ops captured how the business worked, redesigned the flow of work and embedded the new way of operating with the people who would use it.
01
Operational blueprint.
02
Ways of working.
03
Central operating system.
04
Embedding change.
05
Ongoing support.
CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY
The new structure had to earn trust and withstand change.
Winning over a skeptical founder
Craig was unsure whether operational redesign would create a tangible result. The work needed to prove its value in practice, week by week.
A key departure mid-project
EIR’s primary admin team member left during the build. The transition tested whether the documented processes could carry knowledge through a people change.
Changing established habits
After 25 years of founder-led decision-making, success depended on changing behaviour, not simply introducing documentation and software.
“I was the last person to think I’d be sitting here doing a testimonial.”
Craig Lacey – Founder
When a key person left, the work did not fall back into the founders’ heads.
By the time the admin departure occurred, procedures and systems were sufficiently established for the work to transition into the new operating model.
The team changed. The structure held.
“What could have become an operational crisis became a real-world test of the new structure.”
Craig Lacey – Founder
measurable Outcomes
Less founder dependence, lower overhead and more room to lead.
Measure
Before
After
Change
Confidence in operating structure
4/10
9/10
+ 5 points
Craig’s working week
60+ hrs/wk
Approx. 40 hrs/wk
~20+ hrs lower/wk
Regular Saturday work
Every Saturday
Eliminated
Time returned
Annual admin resourcing cost
Approx. $100k
Approx. $50k
~50% lower
ISO certification
Not yet achieved
Achieved
Stronger contract readiness
The Change, from three perspectives
Each voice proves a different part of the result.
Craig | Operational Proof
“Now the business runs through systems and processes, and the team can operate without needing us involved in everything.”
Craig’s role moved towards leadership, growth and direction rather than responding to each issue as it arrived.
Catherine | Role Clarity
“Now we’re not in the day-to-day. We’re driving the business forward as business owners.”
Catherine shifted away from undefined administration and towards business relationships and the work where she adds most value.
Louise | Independent Validation
“This is not the same business it was a year ago.”
EIR’s business coach saw a more solid structure, a more empowered team and greater readiness for ISO certification and complex work.
Could one of your workflows be redesigned the same way?
You don’t need to know the solution. Bring us the work that feels too manual, fragile or dependent on one person, and we’ll help you work out what should change.
The BUsiness Today
The team runs the work. The founders lead the business.
EIR now operates through shared systems, clearer processes and accessible information. Craig and Catherine remain active owners, but day-to-day progress no longer depends on their involvement in every decision.
“We’re more focused, we’re less stressed, and we’re able to take on more work without that meaning more stress.”
Craig Lacey – Founder
01 Team members can run projects with greater independence
02 ClickUp carries daily tasks, processes and procedures
03 Founders have clearer, higher-value roles
04 ISO certification has been achieved
What capacity made possible
More time for the parts of life work had been crowding out
Craig has reduced his working week and is working towards regular Fridays away from the business. Catherine can be more present for family events while contributing to EIR in a role that better fits her strengths.
“For me personally, I got more time back. That meant defining my role in the business—and personally being a good mum and a good wife.”
Catherine Lacey – Founder
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