Way back in 2014, we saw the gap, had a plan and two heads (and four hands) to make it work. Guy O’Brien, my co-founder, and I did it all ourselves for a time, which is a common start point. Sales, delivery, finance, operations and many coffee rounds. And we got it off the ground and to the point of hiring our expert team.

The biggest trick is then remembering - and frequently reminding each other - that that’s all done out of necessity. Just because you had to roll up your sleeves and do everything for a time, don’t kid yourself into thinking you are an expert in these areas. The challenge of adapting your business for growth is continual.

Almost all business leaders will have inherited a team at some stage. That’s a whole new dynamic. The team will have been managed before (and most likely enjoyed that style if they stayed) and the chances are you will have different management approach. You also need to evaluate people you haven’t chosen.

Don’t allow the old management style to dictate things moving forwards. Make it clear from day one that your own is the one that is adopted. This ensures everyone is aware of the changes, what they look like and what their opportunities will be moving forwards under a style that empowers them to make decisions and make a difference.

I was once told that you should always consider a team thinking: ‘Would I hire this person?’ I can’t imagine worse advice. Take the opportunity to realise their potential, don’t continually evaluate (they will pick up on this and you will always start from a position of looking for flaws).

Understand how much value people who know the business can bring, and embrace the fact your team is naturally more diverse.

Being a laid back boss doesn’t mean not being proactive. You can and should encourage and motivate, but there’s a fine line between being hands on and micro-managing. For those team members that head up the different areas of the business; let them do just that.

It’s their team (in sales/finance/operations) and they need to have your backing to run it properly. The people they hire, the systems they use, the management techniques they employ. Trust them. Totally.

Likewise, when you’re hiring the people who are really experts, don’t expect them to follow the practices you (as a non-expert) laid down. Accept they will change things. And they should! They know better than you.

You can still influence the company culture – that’s a very positive thing. This starts with defining the culture you want to create. If your belief is that employees should be encouraged to make decisions, formalise that.

You can make this part of a mission statement that's continually communicated: part of the interview process, the induction of new hires and so on. Your team should ‘seek forgiveness, not permission’ (a mantra I was taught in my first senior role and one I still believe in.)

As companies grow, so do the character types. Embrace the benefits and changes that brings. Remove as much of the formal reporting structure as you can (in relation to how people report into you) and continually look at how that should change.

There are times (and people) that require crystal clear rules and processes (your sign off limit is £1,000, for example) and that’s not a problem. But encouraging more autonomy brings out the best in the strong managers. The idea of ‘you don’t have to run everything by me’ is a good one. When you say it, mean it.

There will always be silos in a business. But encourage the senior management team to collaborate outside of formal management structures (often that means removing yourself from those working groups). Allow them to develop their own ‘management team’ so they regularly get together without your involvement. The conversations will be more open and flow better.

Trust as a two way thing. If you have trust in the people you have around you, they also need to trust that you will accept and understand imperfection. One mis-judgement doesn’t mean you should change things and take back control. Be honest about how often you have made the same mis-judgements and learnt from them. It’s part of the process.

Be open about the success the team drives – there are few things less motivating than being given a chance to run with an idea/project and then complete it only for ‘the boss’ to step in and grab the credit.

You may have had the vision and you may have the plan to get you there. But accept that you can’t ever do it as well on your own. Focus on what you can contribute and let the others around you focus on what they can. Only then will the business fly.

Daniel Shaw is co-founder of Encore Digital Media.