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How AiPest Control reduced founder dependency to create more capacity

See how co-founder Ian Diwell reduced his day-to-day involvement and created more time to focus on growing the business.

AiPest Control

Industry

Pest Control Services

Company Size

5

Ian Diwell used to describe himself as “the conductor of the orchestra.”

But as his company AiPest Control grew, so did his workload. Much of the business depended on his time, knowledge and daily decision-making.

Working with Outsourcing Angel, Ian evolved from being the operational hub of his business to becoming an operational reviewer and strategic leader.

Key Outcomes

  • Reduced founder dependency by transferring key operational workflows to a Remote Operations Coordinator
  • Improved business continuity by capturing operational knowledge into repeatable processes (SOPs)
  • Shifted Ian from running the business every day to leading the business instead

Challenges

As AiPest Control grew, co-founder Ian Diwell found himself increasingly tied to the day-to-day operations of the business.

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Years of experience meant many scheduling, quoting and operational decisions relied on Ian’s judgement, making them difficult to delegate with confidence.

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Job scheduling involved technician availability, travel times, job priority and customer requirements—making it difficult to hand over without the right training and systems.

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As enquiries and workload increased, Ian needed a way to maintain service quality without becoming involved in every operational decision.

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With his time tied up in scheduling, client coordination and operational admin, Ian had limited capacity to focus on growing the business.

Our Approach

Rather than simply taking tasks off Ian’s plate, we focused on gradually transferring ownership of critical operational workflows, to help Ian remove himself as the bottleneck and build a business that runs without him.

The 5D Freedom Staffing System

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Design

Mapping Ian’s time, bottlenecks, his “not to do” list, and areas to delegate that bring the most ROI

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Define

Turning identified tasks into clear outcomes and expectations + establishing KPIs and communication rhythms

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Discover

Sourcing & shortlisting experienced candidates who match AiPest’s company values to take on tasks from his plate

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Deploy

Guided onboarding to set comms systems and build accountability (all payment & HR-related support included)

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Develop

Optimising performance to expand his talent’s responsibilities and forecast any future needs and improvements

Qualified Remote Talent

Our vetting processes involve not just skills and years of experience, but also psychometrics, three-tiered references, values fit, and more.

Among the shortlisted candidates, Ian chose Percy.

Together, we identified the areas consuming the most of Ian’s time, then progressively equipped Percy with the knowledge, systems and confidence to take them on.

As her responsibilities grew, so did Ian’s capacity to step back from the day-to-day and focus on leading the business, building confidence and trust for both parties.

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Percy

  • 5 years experience handling core bookkeeping tasks such as invoicing, reconciliation, and account management.
  • Proficient in accounting tools including Xero, QuickBooks, XPM, DEXT Precision, and MYOB
  • Skilled in managing and reporting financial data with accuracy and consistency.

The Results

Ian and Percy now have a 2-year partnership that reduces founder dependency and creates greater capacity for growth.

Percy has become a trusted part of AiPest’s operations, taking ownership of increasingly complex workflows and freeing Ian to focus on leading the business.

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Reduced founder dependency

As operational knowledge was documented and responsibilities were shared, AiPest Control became less reliant on any one individual and better positioned for future growth.

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More time for strategic growth

With Percy handling much of scheduling, client coordination, sales admin, and day-to-day workflows, Ian was able to focus on LinkedIn marketing and other growth initiatives.

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Created a more scalable operation

We expanded Percy’s responsibilities over time while documenting key processes, allowing Ian to step into a review, leadership, and strategic role.

She’s often already working on something before I even ask.

I’ve got to start looking for other things to do, which is exactly where I should be. No longer doing the grunt stuff.

Ian Diwell
Co-founder of AiPest

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