What advice would you give for running your business without you? That question, in essence, is what Craig Durosko, founder and chairman of Sun Design Remodeling Specialists, Burke, Va., asked participants during a presentation at the Remodelers Advantage Summit this fall. Nearly 60 responded. Here’s a collection of their wisdom. What's yours? Enter it in the comments section below.

  1. "Learn to delegate, not abdicate."
  2. "Be slow to hire but fast to reassign someone you may not have in the right role or fire someone who isn’t performing and can't be reassigned. A bad hire can cost you way more than you can ever realize."
  3. "Plan, plan, plan. Have options for when things don't go as planned ... because they won't."
  4. "Implement systems and process that all employees follow (including the owner)."
  5. "Consistently foster relationships with architects, interior designers, and other clients. Make them look and feel great."
  6. "Strive for absolute clarity at all times: with clients, employees, subs, and suppliers."
  7. "Hire the best people you can and then empower them to run as much of the company as you can."
  8. "Don’t be afraid to charge clients what is needed to properly run the company."
  9. "Pay attention to the marketing calendar."
  10. "Watch your numbers. Make sure you are looking at all of the different reports you have available to identify trends and areas that aren't performing and celebrate the things that are going well."
  11. "Delegate results, not processes."
  12. "Outstanding customer service can make up for company mistakes."
  13. "Have a long-range attitude to short-term issues."
  14. "Teach your employees while delegating to them as much as possible."
  15. "Learn to sell. As an owner, selling has been the single most important skill I have learned."
  16. "Always stand behind what you say you’re going to do, whether you underestimated the job or ran into problems that were not caused by your client."
  17. "Concentrate on doing what you do the very best you can without concerning yourself with what your competition is doing."
  18. "Be financially prepared for a downturn in the market--because it will eventually come."
  19. "Communicate realistic commitments with stakeholders. Keep the lines of communication open with weekly meetings."
  20. "Realize and accept that even though you own or run the company, you are an employee. Therefore, pay yourself for your value, not an inflated amount. Act as an employee and hold yourself to rules and ethics of a star employee."
  21. "Always do the right thing. If you try to beat the system, cheat, or lie in any way, you will never get ahead."

What would your last advice be? Enter it in the comments section below.