The Solitary Observer analyzed exit valuations across 234 OPCs. Founder-dependent businesses (founder essential to operations): median valuation 2.1x revenue, median sale time 14 months, median buyer pool 3.2 qualified buyers. Self-running businesses (founder removable): median valuation 6.7x revenue, median sale time 2.3 months, median buyer pool 17 qualified buyers. Replaceability is value. Consider two identical consulting businesses ($1.5M revenue, $600K profit). Business A: Founder-dependent. Founder does all sales. Founder delivers all work. Founder manages all relationships. Sale attempt: 18 months on market. Final offer: $1.1M (1.8x). Buyer rationale: 'We're buying the founder's time.' Business B: Self-running. Documented sales process. Trained delivery team. Institutionalized relationships. Sale attempt: 47 days on market. Final offer: $9.8M (6.5x). Buyer rationale: 'We're buying a cash-flowing asset.' Same business. Different replaceability. 5.6x valuation. The Final Boss operates on three principles. First: Documentation—everything must be written down. Second: Delegation—everything must be doable by others. Third: Removal—you must be able to disappear for 90 days without business impact. Reflection: We make ourselves indispensable. It feels like job security. But indispensability is not security. It is imprisonment. The operator who builds themselves out of the business builds the most valuable asset. Strategic Insight: Build Self-Running Business in four phases. Phase One: Dependency Mapping—list everything only you can do. Phase Two: Documentation Sprint—record processes for each item. Phase Three: Succession Testing—have someone else run each function for 30 days. Phase Four: Complete Removal—take 90-day sabbatical. Business must operate normally. Target: zero founder dependencies. In 2026, your goal is to be fired by your business.