A seller says they workredactedhours a week and have an experienced team. On paper, that sounds like a business that can run without them. But I’d want to know a few things before accepting that claim. Who manages the top 5 customers? Who approves pricing and discounts? How many quotes, customer issues or operational decisions still require the owner’s involvement? And what happened the last time the owner was away for two weeks? I’d also want to understand whether key relationships belong to the company or depend on the owner personally. A business can have loyal customers and a strong team while still relying heavily on the founder behind the scenes. For those who have acquired businesses, what evidence helped you distinguish a genuinely self-running operation from one that only looked that way? Did you review decision-making processes, customer relationships, or test what happened when the owner stepped away?