[3 min. read, 3 strategic changes, crazy 📈, and a 🌈]

Storytime, Reader.

There was a point in my first business when we were making really good money, but life was a bit harrowing.

Things started off gangbusters. We had a big spread in The New Yorker magazine and were soon catering vegan health food at premiere brand events.

I was proud that our small business was making an impact in New York City. We had values and were leading the pack on eco-conscious and sustainable business practices.

Most days, I felt like a successful boss lady.

I was also the sole decision-maker for a business that supported a food service branch, a wellness education and training component AND an event production company.

Even though we were productive and profitable, no amount of money could fix the stress I was feeling.

I'd get home to my apartment in Brooklyn and collapse, emotionally exhausted.

Sometimes, I felt like I was living a lie.

The dreams that had fueled the business mostly featured freedom, adventure and being in the best health of my life.

Instead, this business had slowly taken over my entire life.

I remember taking a solo backpacking trip to Costa Rica. All I wanted was to escape, relax and deeply surrender for a while.

And believe me, I PREPARED.

I had a trusted, well-trained staff.

Every task or event had a Plan A, a Plan B and most even had a Plan C.

Some probably had a Plan D. 😂

And still, inevitably, something happened that nobody had anticipated.

My team needed me to make a CEO level decision and so there I was, at a hostel in the jungle, on an hour-long call with my manager.

I accepted that this was simply the cross you had to bear when you ran a business.

You take the good. You take the bad. And pray the odds are in your favor.

That's what I had believed, but that phone call in the jungle stayed with me.

After the trip, I wised up and I hired a business analyst.

After one conversation (during which I nearly died of embarrassment about how messy our sh#t was!) I began making changes that transformed my entire life.

⚙️

1) I started auditing the money.

Budgets. Accounting. Taxes. Expenses. Staffing.

I started tracking everything.

And once I could actually SEE the gaps, I couldn't unsee them.

I began fixing them. We tightened our boundaries and company policies.

We got rid of waste.

Addressed staffing problems.

💸 Boom. We made more money.

2) Then I started tracking operations.

I found more gaps and fixed more problems.

Organized work stations, event schedules and communication plans, which created so much clarity in our workflow.

💰 We made more money again.

But something else started happening that I hadn't expected:

I had more TIME.

The tighter the systems became, the easier the business was to run.

It felt like getting air back into my lungs after years of gasping.

3) Naturally, I brought the same process to our marketing and sales.

We tracked where customers came from.

Noticed patterns.

Tested new ideas, got feedback and found winners.

We changed packages, crafted better offers and launched digital communities (mind you, this is back when people still used MySpace 😝).

We famously stripped our 58-item menu down to only 6 items for 3 straight months, which I was positive would be the end of us.

But even after that...

🤑 We grew and made more money.

What had changed was that...

I was enjoying my life again.

I had time to cook healthy meals, exercise, go back to my writing group and spend time with friends.

I could be OFF the clock, and actually not check the clock.

→ This is why I'm just a little obsessed with having a sensible system to follow.

Your business doesn't need to be some perfectly automated machine.

But good systems give you information.

Systems show you what's working — and what's wasting your time.

They show you where the gaps are.

And once you can see those things, you can make better decisions.

Systems saved me. Literally.

So this is all to say, that on September 22nd at 7 pm, I'm sharing a special event called, The Solopreneur Sales System ​

I'll show you how to connect all the pieces of your marketing and sales into something you can actually SEE, track and improve.

Yes, I want you to make more money.

But mainly because I want your business to give something back to you.

Your business dreams were likely similar to mine.

More flexibility and choice.

Space for your creativity to flow.

Time to take care of yourself, spend time with the people you love, travel, rest... or simply be OFF the clock without worrying about what's falling apart.

Helping you reach that dream more quickly is my entire objective.

If you're interested in how the system can all flow together:

👉 SAVE YOUR SEAT!​

THE SOLOPRENEUR SALES SYSTEM

Tuesday, September 22 at 7 PM ET

xo,

Deborah

P.S. I'm putting together a little bonus just for the people who show up live: The Solopreneur Sales Swipe File — 15 of my most successful plug-and-play sales hooks, offer transitions + follow-up prompts. Come live and it's yours. 👀