Are your tech tools actually helping you run the day-to-day operations of your business? Or are they just giving you more to manage?

If things are still feeling messy behind the scenes, even with all your apps and automations, then it's time for you to simplify. So today I'm sharing how you can get your daily operations organized so that your business finally feels calm, clear, and in control and supports you the way you want it to.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you.

Each week I share both strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion framework to help you streamline your back end, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence. Because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let's dive in.

Have you ever started planning a simple family getaway only to be completely overwhelmed by your never-ending to-do list? Well, that was me a few years ago. I had reached a point in my business where things were finally taking off, and instead of celebrating, I was drowning in tasks—emails, scheduling, client follow-ups—all while working a day job.

I was so busy trying to keep up that I couldn't even enjoy the success I had worked so hard for. Then one day, I missed a client deadline because their email was buried in my inbox. That's when I knew something had to change. I was done letting my business run me instead of the other way around.

So I sat down and started thinking about how I could make things work for me. There’s so much advice out there about how to start your business and how to get clients, but no one tells you about the importance of systems—or how to set them up so that your business doesn't take over your life.

I quickly realized I needed something else to give me back my time—or at least control of my time—while keeping things running efficiently. Especially when I was working during the day or completely unavailable because I was spending time with my family.

Guess what it was? That’s when I discovered the power of documented processes and the importance of tech tools for automation. Those two things combined didn’t just save my sanity—they gave me space to focus on what mattered: my family, my clients, and my goals. They allowed me to step into the driver’s seat and create a business that worked for me.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? Are you constantly juggling tasks, feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Maybe you’re chasing money instead of creating the business you dreamed of—one that runs efficiently without you and grows sustainably.

If that’s the case, it’s time for you to take a step back and start with the first step of my POWER In Motion framework: pick one goal. And if this is you, you’re not alone—but I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to stay this way.

Today we’re going to talk about how you can reclaim your time, build a business that supports your desired lifestyle, and start using the right tech tools to create space for what matters most to you. Specifically, we’ll dive into the first steps of my POWER In Motion framework. We’ll break down each and talk about how it can transform the way you run your business.

Step one: pick one goal. I’ve talked about this before, but yes, we’re going to talk about it again. This is all about narrowing your focus. One clear, measurable goal for the next 90 days can totally transform your approach and improve your results.

For example, when I was planning to leave my day job, instead of saying I just wanted to grow my business, I focused on a very specific outcome. Bottom line—clarity leads to real progress.

Now let’s talk about the second step: you have to organize your operations.

I know the tech tools can feel overwhelming, especially when this isn’t your strong suit. Technology is not your friend, especially when you’re already stressed out and don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve tried a tool or two—or more—and got stuck. You thought, “You know what, this just isn’t worth it.”

Or maybe you’ve got tools just sitting there collecting dust because you’re not sure how to use them and don’t have time to figure it out.

Well guess what, my friend? You’re not the problem. The problem is that you’re trying to force tools to fit your business without first figuring out what you actually need them to do.

That’s why the “organize your operations” step in the POWER In Motion framework is so critical. This is where taking time to evaluate your tech tools before you sign up becomes essential. Tech tools are powerful—but only when they’re chosen intentionally and used effectively.

Let’s cut through the noise and get clear on how you can pick the right tools and make sure they work for you. Because newsflash—tech tools should help you do three things: save time, streamline your business, and free you up to focus on what really matters.

First, how do they save you time? Tech tools are like having an assistant who never sleeps. Imagine cutting out endless back-and-forth emails to schedule meetings or having follow-up emails sent automatically after someone submits their contact information through your website. That’s time you get to spend on something that actually grows your business—or even just enjoying a quiet cup of coffee.

Time is your most valuable resource, my friend, and tools help you maximize it. They’re worth their weight in gold.

Second, tech tools make your business run more efficiently. Think of them as quiet partners working in the background. They reduce errors, automate repetitive tasks, and keep your business functioning even when you’re not working.

And when you are working, you can focus on what truly requires your attention—not the little details. Tools like online schedulers, automated workflows, or project management systems can create processes that don’t need you to micromanage them.

Third—and most importantly—tech tools free you up to focus on what really matters. Whether that’s nurturing your clients, creating new offers, or spending uninterrupted time with your family, the right systems give you back control.

Think about how much time you’ve spent doing things that feel urgent but aren’t actually important. Tech tools allow you to shift your energy toward the things that align with your bigger goals.

That’s the kind of freedom they create when they’re working for you. And here’s a bonus—they also improve communication in your business. Whether you’re managing clients or working with a team, tech tools help everyone stay connected and on the same page.

Take Monday.com, for example. It’s not just about tracking tasks or managing deadlines—it’s about creating a centralized hub where updates happen in real time.

Now let’s be real. Using tech tools isn’t always smooth sailing. There are challenges, but none of them are deal breakers.

First, there’s always a learning curve. Yes, it can feel frustrating at first, but in the long run, it’s worth it. That’s why I create how-to videos for my clients after we set up a process. They’re step-by-step guides that help you hit the ground running without spending hours searching Google or YouTube.

The second challenge is tool overload. There are so many options that it’s easy to fall into the trap of subscribing to tools you don’t need.

If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a free trial that expired before you even used it—and maybe forgot to cancel. Now you’re paying for something you don’t need.

Avoid this by determining what’s essential for you. Ask: What outcome do I need? Will this tool grow with my business? What features are must-haves versus nice-to-haves?

Third, consider the cost—not just in money, but in time. Will learning this tool save you time or make you money later? Will you need help setting it up or training your team? These questions are key before committing.

Here’s an example. One of my clients was using Monday.com to manage their team but wasn’t maximizing its features. They decided to switch to a more expensive tool with a steep learning curve. Meanwhile, one of their key processes was still completely manual and wasting hours every week.

Once we reviewed their workflows and implemented automations that were already built into Monday.com, several processes started running on their own. No more manual data entry. Things became faster, more efficient, and more accurate—and they were finally free to focus on growth.

So let’s recap, because this is where transformation really happens.

First, start by picking one goal. That focus creates momentum and lays the groundwork for everything else.

Next, remember that tech tools save time by automating repetitive tasks and giving you back your most valuable resource. Imagine waking up to find that your follow-ups, scheduling, and client communication are already handled—that’s freedom.

Then, use tools to make your business run efficiently. Systems should work even when you’re not. No more fires to put out, no more wondering if something slipped through the cracks.

And most importantly, use them to create space for what truly matters.

So let me ask you this: What would it look like if your business worked for you instead of the other way around? What if you had time to focus on the big picture instead of getting lost in the weeds?

Your business should work for you, not against you.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or stuck trying to keep it all together, now’s the time to make a change. The right systems and tools aren’t just nice to have—they’re essential.

If you’re ready to take charge and organize your business, grab the Back Office POWER Checklist. It’ll show you where the cracks are so you can stop spinning your wheels and fix what really matters first.

Go to theshannonbaker.com/checklist or click the link in the show notes. Once you complete it, choose one actionable step to improve your operations—whether that’s setting up a tool, automating something, or mapping a process.

Small wins build momentum, and you’ll be amazed at how much clarity and confidence one step can bring.

When you’re ready for deeper support, join us inside the Founders Circle in the Mind Your Time Society. You’ll get access to the full Systems and Sanity Suite—tools, templates, maps, and pacing plans to help you build a business one system at a time, at your pace, without doing it alone.

You’re ready for that next level of support, and I’m here to help you build it with confidence. So let’s get started.

Thanks for tuning in today. If this episode hit home, it’s because you already know you’re ready to stop patching problems and start running your business like the pro you are.

But listening won’t fix the cracks—action will. Your next step? Grab the Back Office POWER Checklist at theshannonbaker.com/checklist. It’ll show you exactly what’s working, what’s missing, and where your back end is silently slowing you down.

And if you’re ready to go deeper, the Founders Circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where we can fix it together with the Systems and Sanity Suite. You’ll finally get the clarity you’ve been craving.

Not quite there yet? Come say hi on Instagram at @the_shannonbaker. I’d love to hear what resonated with you.

And if you’re loving the podcast, please leave a quick review—it helps more service providers like you find the show. You can do that right now at ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime.

Skills got you clients. Systems and your expertise will help you keep them. Until next time, keep calm and streamline.

If you’ve been following along with the Systems Reset series, you’ve heard me talk about why being great at what you do isn’t enough, why onboarding shouldn’t be a guessing game, and how your calendar can either protect or break your boundaries. But today I want you to hear from someone who has lived through all of this and came out stronger on the other side.

I’m going to be talking to a client, colleague, and friend who’s also a member of the Mind Your Time Society. Her story is such a powerful example of how getting clarity, setting boundaries, and putting systems in place can completely transform your business and your life.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I’m Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you’re a service provider who’s great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week I share both strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion Framework to help you streamline your back end, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence. Skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink, and let’s dive in.

Let me start by saying if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t had a guest episode in years. One reason I made that decision is simple: it’s my podcast and I can do what I want. But more importantly, I didn’t want to bring guests on “just because.” My goal is for every episode to provide real value.

Today’s chat is with Imani Guy, the CEO and founder of Made New Marketing. I consider her a friend and trusted colleague, and she’s also my content manager and a member of the Mind Your Time Society. Before I turn it over to Imani to tell her story, I want to give you a little background on how we met, because it really emphasizes the power of collaboration.
I have a client who’s been with me practically since I started my business. She’s an event producer, and I manage her business and provide logistical on-site support at her events. In 2023 she produced a conference, and Imani was on that client’s team. We hit it off immediately and kept in touch after the event.

A few months later, I was hired by that client to clean up their back office, and Imani and I got to work together more closely. When I launched my membership, Imani was one of the first people to join. At that time, her business wasn’t quite ready to fully benefit from the resources inside. But that would soon change.

First, I want to say thank you, Shannon, for having me on this podcast. This has been a long time coming with us working together and a long time coming with me being here. Hello everyone. Like Shannon said, I’m Imani Guy, founder and CEO of Made New Marketing.

I started my business back in October of 2023. I had been working freelance in the marketing industry with a client Shannon and I shared. At the time, I thought, maybe I could be an entrepreneur—but I wasn’t ready to take that leap of faith. I loved the stability of my nine-to-five.

But in September of 2023, right before flying out for our client’s conference, I got an email saying I was losing my job. Suddenly, I had a decision to make. Would I try to find another marketing job, or step into entrepreneurship for real? Finding a job was hard, so I took a leap of faith and started my business. Now, I’m celebrating two years in business and entering my third year—a real testament to taking the leap and not looking back.

I remember that first year. You had all the pieces you needed to start your business. You were good at your work, your skills were developing, but one thing you told me was that your lack of systems was holding you back.

Yes. I remember when I first met Shannon—it was right after I lost my job. I was frantic. You look up how to start a business and all you find is “get your EIN, form your LLC, set up your business bank account.” Some may give you tools, but no one really shows you how to structure it in a way that works not just for you, but for your clients.
I had the skills and talent, but I didn’t know how to build a business that was scalable. Boundaries and systems were the two biggest missing pieces. I barely slept. I was answering client calls at 10 and 11 p.m. I had no real foundation, and it showed.

One of the things I remember from that first year is that the overwhelm started affecting your health. Yes. I was experiencing extreme burnout. I was in and out of doctor’s appointments for weeks with chest inflammation caused by stress. I was only 24 or 25 at the time. I’d be trying to work from bed, squeezing in calls on the way to appointments. It was like something out of those scenes in movies where someone’s pushing through work while their body breaks down.

That experience taught me how important boundaries are. As entrepreneurs, we often believe that saying no will make clients leave. But if something happens to you, they’ll just find someone else. You have to prioritize your health. I didn’t truly start implementing Shannon’s advice until early this year when I finally hit a wall.

I also remember another big shift you made—getting clear on your messaging and services. Once you had that clarity, how did things change?
Tremendously. When we first sat down together in March, you asked me about my vision and mission. At that point, I was just focused on getting clients and rebuilding my income. I was trying to serve everyone, which isn’t sustainable. That conversation forced me to look ahead and think about what I wanted my business to become in the future.
That was when I started to pivot. I realized if I wanted a five-year vision to happen, I couldn’t keep operating with no structure. I needed systems and a solid back office. That conversation was the turning point.

And that’s just the beginning.

This is the final episode of the Systems Reset Series, and today we’re going to bring it all together. Over the last three weeks, you’ve learned why your skills alone aren’t enough, why onboarding is actually leadership, and how your calendar can either protect your energy or drain your time. But the truth is, knowing these things isn’t enough. Action is what sparks change in your business.

So today, we’re pulling it all together and talking about the next step you need to take to move from scrambling to strategic. You’ll also get a sneak peek into a conversation I had with one of the Mind Your Time Society members, a service provider who turned her business around with the exact resets we’ve been discussing these past few weeks.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I’m Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you’re a service provider who’s great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week, I share strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion framework to help you streamline your back end, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence. Skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let’s dive in.

Over the last three episodes of the Systems Reset Series, we’ve looked at the cracks in your business that are silently holding you back and talked about how to reset them. Today, we’re going to pull it all together so you can see the big picture and, most importantly, know the next step you need to take to move forward—from scrambling to strategic. And this isn’t just a recap of what we’ve talked about. This is your consultant’s reset, your chance to connect the dots and decide what you’re going to do differently starting this week.

I’m not just going to tell you; you’ll also hear from Imani, a client, colleague, and member of the Mind Your Time Society. Her story is living proof that when you take the next step to reset your systems, your entire business shifts.

So let’s go back to the beginning. In episode one, we talked about this: you can be great at what you do, land clients, and even get referrals—but still feel like you’re drowning. That’s because your skills alone aren’t enough to carry your business forward if your back end is duct-taped together.

Imagine this: you wrap up a smooth discovery call. The client is excited. You’re excited. They sign your contract, and everything seems perfect. But then the headaches start. You request files, they send them late. They text you at 10 o’clock at night, and suddenly you’re pulling an all-nighter just to start the project off right. It’s not because you don’t know how to deliver; it’s because your backend isn’t built to protect your time or set clear expectations.

And I want you to hear this from someone who lived through that experience—but fixed it.

“I had the skills, the talent, the gift—all the things,” Imani said. “But I didn’t really know how to structure a business that was scalable. The biggest pieces I was missing were boundaries and systems. Without them, I burned out. I barely slept, answered calls late at night, and ran my business on a rocky foundation. And it showed.”

Did you catch that? Imani didn’t struggle because she lacked talent. She struggled because her systems weren’t protecting her, and that led her to burnout and even health issues. That’s the first step to move from scrambling to strategic: realizing that brilliance and skill alone won’t build a sustainable business. Systems are what give your skills staying power.

In episode two, we dug into the client onboarding process because many consultants treat onboarding like it’s just a bunch of paperwork—signing contracts, sending invoices, getting paid, and jumping straight into the work. But onboarding is your first opportunity to lead. Without it, clients will make up their own rules. They’ll send files randomly, text you at all hours, and expect you to keep up. Once that tone is set, it’s tough to change it later.

I remember a Saturday morning when a client called me out of the blue, panicking about something we’d already discussed multiple times in email. Instead of reinforcing my boundaries, I scrambled to fix it and make them happy. That moment made me realize the client wasn’t the problem—I was, because I hadn’t set the tone.

Imani experienced similar struggles until she reset her onboarding process.

“Airtable was a game changer,” she said. “Before that, I didn’t have a true onboarding system. I had calls, but no clear checklist. Now clients know exactly what’s required before we start. If I don’t get what I need, their start date moves. It’s that simple—and that’s helped me stay in control instead of chasing clients.”

It wasn’t really about Airtable, though. It was about finally having a process that worked—for her and for her clients. She created a reusable template that made onboarding smooth and client-friendly. She leads the process now instead of chasing it.

That’s the power of treating onboarding as leadership. And that’s your next step—build an onboarding process that sets the tone for how you work with clients, not how they decide to work with you.

Then, in episode three, we shifted to your calendar. A messy calendar doesn’t just waste time; it drains your energy and confidence. It blurs the line between work and life until you feel like you’re always on call. I’ve been there too—saying yes to everything, squeezing in calls between family time, and answering emails after dinner. Eventually, I burned out. The turning point came when I set boundaries: office hours, an autoresponder, and blocked-off time for family and self-care.

Imani had to make that same shift.

“When it came to my calendar,” she said, “I used to take meetings every day of the week, all day long. I didn’t even have a separate work phone, so I answered messages at any hour. But that taught my clients to expect that from me. Now, I only take meetings Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesdays are for admin, Fridays are for rest. And it’s changed everything.”

That right there is freedom. Imani stopped being available five days a week for anyone who wanted her time. She created space to rest, work on her business, and actually live her life.

The difference between struggling and thriving is the difference between being on demand and being in demand. When your calendar reflects your boundaries, you protect your energy instead of draining it.

So let’s zoom out and connect the dots. Being great at what you do isn’t enough—you need systems. Onboarding isn’t busywork—it’s leadership. And your calendar isn’t just a schedule—it’s a boundary system that protects your energy. These simple resets are connected, and together, they create a business that finally supports you instead of draining you.

Your next step is to put them into action so you can finally move from scrambling to strategic.

This week’s quick win challenge is simple: grab the free Boundary Reset Scorecard from the show notes. It’s not just another checklist to file away—it’s a two-minute tool that shows you where your time is leaking. If you’ve ever ended the week exhausted but unsure what you actually accomplished, the scorecard will show you why and what to fix first. That’s how you start moving from scrambling to strategic, one step at a time.

Before I wrap up, I want to leave you with this: this series was the spark to help you get started, but your next step is where the real change happens. If you’ve been waiting for a sign, this is it—it’s time for a consultant’s reset. The Back Office POWER Checklist, the Starter Stack, and the 90-Day Roadmap inside the Mind Your Time Society are the exact tools that helped Imani go from scrambling to strategic.

I’d love to take that next step with you. You don’t have to figure this out alone or keep running on fumes. Join us inside the Mind Your Time Society and let’s reset your systems together so you can lead your business with confidence instead of letting it run you.

Remember—skills got you clients, but systems and your ability to lead with them are what will help you keep them. And now, it’s your time to take the next step.

Thanks for tuning in today. If this episode hit home, it’s because you already know you’re ready to stop patching problems and start running your business like the pro you are. But listening won’t fix the cracks—action will.

Your next step? Grab the Back Office POWER Checklist at theshannonbaker.com/checklist. It’ll show you what’s working, what’s missing, and where your backend is silently slowing you down. And when you’re ready to go deeper, Founders Circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where we can fix it together with the Systems & Sanity Suite and give you the clarity you’ve been craving.

Not quite there yet? Come say hi on Instagram at @the_shannonbaker. I’d love to hear what resonated with you most. And if you’re loving the podcast, please leave a quick review—it helps more service providers like you find the show.

Skills got you clients. Systems and your expertise will help you keep them. Until next time—keep calm and streamline.

For week three of our Systems Reset Series, we’re going to talk about your calendar and why poor scheduling doesn’t just cost you time—it costs you the right clients. Let’s get into what you need to know to reset your scheduling system and, more importantly, how to design a calendar that protects your energy and supports your life instead of working against it.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I’m Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you’re a service provider who’s great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week, I share bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion framework to help you streamline your backend, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence. Skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee—or your favorite drink—and let’s dive in.

Have you ever been in the middle of cooking dinner and your phone rings? It’s a client who missed a deadline and now wants you to save the day again. They say, “I’m sorry, I’m just getting to your email. Is it too late for you to take care of this for me, even though I missed the deadline?”

If you’re a people pleaser like I used to be, thinking it would make your clients happy, you might say yes—even though inside you’re irritated because now you have to work late into the night to get it done. Suddenly, you’re in a bad mood, your family doesn’t have your full attention after dinner, but your client is happy again because they got what they wanted, even though they didn’t give you what you needed on time.

And guess what? This will keep happening unless you change how you operate.

That’s why the first step to taking control of your calendar is setting clear boundaries. You need to start by defining your office hours. And here’s a secret—office hours are not the same as working hours. Office hours are when you’re available for client communication, things like responding to emails or taking calls. Working hours are when you actually get stuff done.

As an entrepreneur, that can be any time or any day of the week—it’s up to you. For example, maybe your office hours are Monday through Friday from 9 to 4, but because of school drop-offs, you don’t start working until 10. That’s perfectly fine as long as you communicate it clearly. Personally, I don’t start responding to emails until after 9 a.m. because my morning routine takes about an hour, and I stop responding by 5 p.m.

The real game-changer for me was how I manage my inbox. I only check my emails three times a day. Any emails that require a response when I check one last time before shutting down my laptop are scheduled to go out the next business day during my office hours. This forces me to stick to my boundaries and reinforce them with others without them even knowing.

Now, if you’re thinking, “That sounds nice, but I can’t just stop checking emails,” here’s the thing—you don’t have to get it perfect overnight. I didn’t. I started by cutting back to four times a day—twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon—until I was comfortable with that. Then I scaled back to three. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection, and reinforcing those boundaries with your time.

Here’s a tip you can use right away: set up an autoresponder that lets clients know you’ve received their message and that you’ll respond within 24 to 48 business hours. That way, they feel acknowledged, and you give yourself space to reply during your office hours instead of reacting the moment an email lands in your inbox.

Here’s the exact line you can put in that autoresponder today:
“Thanks for your message! I’ve received your email and will respond within 24–48 business hours during my office hours. If it’s urgent, please mark it as such in the subject line.”

That one sentence can give you back hours every week because you’re no longer chained to your inbox. But the truth is, the first person who has to change their mindset about this is you. Once you set new rules around your time, the real shift comes from sticking to them—even when it feels uncomfortable at first.

If you listened to Episode 2, you’ll remember that we talked about your onboarding process and how it’s really leadership in disguise. Your calendar is where the two connect because boundaries around your calendar actually start during onboarding.

When you set expectations upfront—in your welcome email, service agreement, and kickoff call—you’re not just telling clients when you’re available. You’re teaching them how to work with you. This is exactly the kind of reset I guide my members through step by step with the right tools to make it easier to stick to.

Once you’ve set and communicated those boundaries, the next step is to look at how your calendar functions day to day. Because even if you’ve told clients your hours, if your calendar is messy and always open, those boundaries won’t work. And believe me, you’ll have clients who test those limits. That’s why this reset is so important.

The first lesson is that a messy calendar costs you more than time. When your business and personal calendars aren’t synced, self-care and family time vanish, and your business consumes your life.

If you’re unsure how to sync them, here’s a quick place to start: pick one calendar—Google, iCal, whatever you use daily—and make sure every client call or meeting request flows there first. Then add your personal non-negotiables like school drop-offs, workouts, or family time. That way, you can see at a glance if you’re double-booking yourself. You don’t need a fancy system to start—just one calendar that reflects your real life.

And let’s talk about discovery calls. When they aren’t filtered through an intake form, wrong-fit clients waste your time and break your focus. When you’re overbooked, you can’t deliver your best work, and your confidence takes a hit. You’ve probably told yourself, “I’ll fix my calendar once I get more clients.” But more clients won’t fix a broken calendar—they’ll only magnify the cracks.

Every week you wait to fix this is another week your calendar runs you instead of the other way around. Think about it—how many hours did you lose this week going back and forth to schedule calls, sitting in wrong-fit discovery sessions, or handling late-night client emergencies? If that continues, how much time will you have left for your best work—or your life?

Not much. And that brings me to the next lesson: having a scheduling tool isn’t the same as having a scheduling system.

You might already use something like Acuity or Calendly, but if it’s not synced with your personal calendar or built around your real capacity, it’s just another open door to your time. And if you think you can just hire a VA to manage your schedule, you can’t delegate what you haven’t defined. If your calendar doesn’t reflect your real life, your VA can’t enforce your boundaries—and you’ll both stay stuck.

Inside the Mind Your Time Society, I walk members through building a true scheduling system step by step—no duct-taping tools together, no guessing. One member used to have her calendar wide open. Calls were scattered across every day, and she was burning out. After using the scheduling resources and the 90-Day Roadmap, she cut her discovery calls in half and started attracting only right-fit clients. That gave her back ten hours a week—hours she now spends serving her best clients and taking weekends off.

She told me she finally felt like she was leading her business again instead of her business leading her. And earlier this summer, she took a completely unplugged seven-day vacation for the first time since she started her business. How? Because she spent time building her systems.

If you’ve ever felt like your inbox or scheduler is running your life, that’s exactly where she was. And if she could reset and reclaim her time, so can you.

Now, I know you may be thinking, “I don’t need another membership—I’ll never use it.” I get it. I’ve been there. But that’s why the Mind Your Time Society is built around guided resets and a 90-Day Roadmap. You always know exactly what to focus on, so you never feel stuck or overwhelmed.

If you’re thinking, “This sounds like exactly what I need, but I don’t know where to start,” that’s where the Society helps. You’ll get access to the 90-Day Roadmap, the Starter Stack to help you build systems one at a time, and other resources like the Welcome Kit and Onboarding Process Workbook that make this reset doable. You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Now, let’s talk about today’s third lesson. When your calendar is structured, you create freedom. Discovery calls are filtered with pre-qualifying questions. Your personal and business calendars stop competing. And you know exactly how many clients you can take on without burning out.

This isn’t just about efficiency—it’s about elevating your role. A clear, protected calendar positions you as a leader. When this happens, you stop being on demand and start being in demand.

If you join us inside the membership, you’ll also get sample discovery call intake questions you can add to your scheduler to filter calls and set expectations before a client ever lands on your calendar.

And let’s address one last hesitation: “I don’t want to seem rigid or unhelpful to clients.” Boundaries aren’t restrictive—they’re professional. Clients respect you more when your business has structure because it shows you can lead their project with confidence. Stand firm, and before long, they’ll start setting boundaries in their own businesses too.

Over the last two episodes, you’ve already decluttered your onboarding steps and created a form to stop repeating yourself. This week, take that discovery and apply it to your calendar.

Here’s your quick win challenge: set up the autoresponder I gave you earlier. That one move will give you back hours every week. And to make it even easier, grab the free Boundary Reset Scorecard in the show notes. It takes under two minutes to fill out and shows you exactly where your time is slipping—unclear office hours, no response policy, or a calendar that’s not synced with your life.

If you see two or more X’s on that scorecard, you’re likely losing at least five hours every week—hours you could spend serving clients or actually resting.

If your score feels rough, don’t overthink it. Start with setting your office hours—it’s the fastest fix and sets the tone for everything else. Once you’ve got your score, I’ll walk you step by step through turning those X’s into check marks inside the Mind Your Time Society, with scripts, templates, and the 90-Day Roadmap to make it all stick.

Here are the three big lessons from today. A messy calendar costs you more than time—it drains your energy, steals your self-care, and leaves you overbooked with the wrong clients. Tools alone don’t fix capacity gaps—without boundaries, a scheduler is just an open door. And when your calendar is structured, you create freedom. You protect your energy, attract the right clients, and finally feel in control of your time.

If you want the shortcut—with the 90-Day Roadmap, Starter Stack, and ready-made intake questions—they’re waiting for you inside the Mind Your Time Society. That’s where you’ll get everything you need to stop letting your calendar control you and start building a business that supports your life.

That’s it for Episode 3 of the Systems Reset Series. In the final episode, we’ll bring it all together so you can see how these resets connect and what’s possible when your backend finally supports your growth.

Thanks for tuning in today. If this episode hit home, it’s because you already know you’re ready to stop patching problems and start running your business like the pro you are. But listening won’t fix the cracks—action will.

Your next step? Grab the Back Office POWER Checklist at theshannonbaker.com/checklist. It’ll show you what’s working, what’s missing, and where your backend is slowing you down.

If you’re ready to go deeper, the Founders Circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where we can fix it together with the Systems & Sanity Suite. You’ll finally get the clarity you’ve been craving.

Not quite there yet? Come say hi on Instagram at @the_shannonbaker. I’d love to hear what resonated most. And if you’re loving the podcast, please leave a quick review—it helps more service providers like you find the show. You can do that right now at ratethispodcast.com/mindyourtime.

Skills got you clients. Systems—and your expertise—will help you keep them. Until next time, keep calm and streamline.

Last week, we kicked off the Systems Reset series and today, in episode two, we're gonna talk about client onboarding and how to turn it from a time suck into a strategic advantage that wows your clients. Welcome to the Mind your Time podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do, but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding or draining workdays, this show is for you.

Each week, I share bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my Power In Motion framework to help you streamline your backend, protect your time and lead your client experience with confidence, because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let's dive in. Have you ever signed a new client and quickly found yourself chasing details, answering texts at random hours or repeating the same instructions over and over again? If you're saying yes or nodding your head in agreement, it's probably because you don't have a system in place to do the heavy lifting on the front end for you. Now, last week, in episode one of this systems reset series, we talked about why being great at what you do isn't enough if your business is running on duct taped systems.

Now, if you haven't tuned in already, I highly suggest you go back and do so. The quick win challenge in that episode was for you to make a list of where chaos is quietly stealing your time. Now, if you did that, I want you to grab your list now because in this week's challenge we're going to take that list to the next step. But before we get to that, we're going to zero in on one of the biggest pressure points in your business, that's client onboarding. And that list that you made is going to help you spot exactly where the cracks are showing up in your business back end so that you can fix them. Because when there's no system in place, even when you land a dream, client onboarding can drain your energy. So today I'm going to share three lessons that I've learned through experience or from my clients and members of the Mind your Time Society that will help you reset your onboarding process, protect your time and start to lead your client experience with confidence.

Now I'll be the first to admit I used to treat onboarding like something I just had to get through. I would send the contract right away because I was excited. I would create and send the invoice, but it required a number of emails back and forth and, honestly, it was inconsistent. And I'll never forget when this finally exposed the cracks in my process, or I really should say lack of process. It was a Saturday morning and a client called me out of the blue. She was panicking about something that we had already talked about in a number of emails honestly, way too many emails but instead of me, one reminding her of my boundaries, about my business hours and unscheduled phone calls, I dropped whatever I was doing and I just scrambled to get the problem solved. The problem with that, it wasn't that she was a bad client, but the problem was actually that I didn't have a clear process in place that set expectations or protected my time at the beginning of this new relationship, and actually, as I sat on and thought about it, I noticed that this was a recurring issue, but just in different forms with each new client. That was the day I realized, when you don't have an onboarding system, you're not leading your clients, they're leading you, and now I'm a firm believer in training people to treat you the way you want to be treated. That teaches them to respect your time, teaches them to respect your time. So let's get into those three lessons.

Lesson number one let's talk about why new clients feel so messy. Let's be honest those first few weeks they can feel like a fire drill. You're probably chasing down files, waiting for them to send you the right documents, the photos you need, or just simply give you access to their accounts. So you're sending reminder emails, but they're unanswered. And then they dump everything on you at once and you start to scramble and you're off on the race. Now I know it's exciting to get a new client, but when this is happening, this process is also exhausting. So you end up spending hours on things that you can't bill for, and most of that is you just trying to get what you need to do your job. The worst part is that it leaves you feeling scattered and reactive and you haven't even started the real work yet.

So if your client onboarding feels this way, I want you to understand it's not because you're not capable of doing what you do, it's not because your clients don't value you, but it's because there wasn't or isn't a clear system controlling this process. So what happens? Well, when expectations aren't laid out clearly in advance, clients make up their own, and when your boundaries aren't clearly communicated. They default to what's convenient for them, and this is a big one for them. And this is a big one when your process is non-existent or it's inconsistent. You spend more energy putting out fires than you do delivering what they actually paid you to do. That's why things feel so messy with every new client and why they drain so much of your time and energy.

Without structure that relationship. It started on shaky ground and once that tone is set, it is incredibly hard to change it Now. In some cases things go so far off track that the client ends the contract early and they don't realize that the real issue was just a lack of structure in your business. But it leads to a bad experience for them and, from their point of view, they blame the quality of your work. So here's the lesson I want you to take from this If you don't set the tone from day one or I should say the right tone from day one your client is going to set it for you. I've seen this play out not just in my business, but with members inside the Mind your Time Society as well.

One member was completely overwhelmed by every new client onboarding experience by every new client onboarding experience. She would spend weeks chasing them down for photos and videos that she needed to do her job. She needed them to approve the content she created for them. Approvals dragged on or were never received because everything was scattered across spreadsheets and different Google Drive folders and, honestly, she said, she felt like she was nagging them all the time and her clients were frustrated as well. So her confidence took a hit and she really started to dread every new client experience because she knew it was going to be stressful.

But once she put a real onboarding system in place, everything shifted for the better. She started using message templates that set the expectations from day one. She created a project management template in Airtable that she could duplicate for every new client. She showed them how to use this on the kickoff call. She showed them how to use this on the kickoff call. Everything was centralized, so her clients knew exactly where to upload the files. They knew how to review the content drafts and the approval process became simple and they love it. The difference is night and day. She went from dreading every new client to feeling confident and in control. She also got her time back. Her clients were happier and now that relationship feels more professional and controlled instead of chaotic and frustrating. How does she do this? Well, one of the tools that she used is the Welcome Kit workbook inside the Mind your Time Society. It gave her back hours every week, and that's what happens when you lead with systems, and guess what? It's possible for you too.

So let's talk about lesson number two, which is about boundaries. You cannot hand them off. Now you might be thinking, ok, well, I'll just hire someone and they can take care of this for me. Well, my friend, you cannot outsource your boundaries. Yes, delegation is a smart move, but only when it's done strategically. If your back end is scattered right now, bringing in help is not going to solve the problem. It's going to expand it quickly.

Because, no matter how talented a VA is, they can't enforce boundaries that you haven't set. If you haven't decided how you're going to communicate with your clients, what turnaround times look like, what deadlines should look like clients, what turnaround times look like, what deadlines should look like, where information should be stored? The list goes on and on. Your VA is going to be stuck making it up as they go, and that doesn't set them up for success. It sets them up to fail. If your process isn't clear. Your VA is going to be chasing the same files, managing the same back and forth emails and juggling the same client issues and putting out fires which are draining you right now. They can't hold boundaries you haven't set and when that happens they end up frustrated, you end up disappointed, and then that relationship fails. And who gets the blame? Nine times out of 10, it's the VA. That's why preparation matters, and this includes preparing yourself and your business.

Leadership starts with you, and leadership in business doesn't mean just doing the work well. It means creating systems that protect your time, your energy and your relationships with your client, your VA and anyone else that you hire. And your boundaries can't come from your VA, your clients or anyone else. That's non-negotiable. They have to come from you. When you set clear boundaries, you make it easier for both yourself and other people that you work with to follow your lead.

And the good news you don't have to figure this out alone. That's exactly why, inside the Mind, your Time Society members use the Welcome Kitten Onboarding Workbook. It has plug and play templates, scripts and checklists that you can use to turn your boundaries into a professional process. So clients know upfront how to work with you and if you hire a VA, they can step into that system and, instead of trying to make it up as they go along, they just blend right in and when you're ready to put all those pieces into words inside the Mind, your Time. Society is also the MYT Welcome Kit Coach.

It's a custom GPT that has been trained using the exact approach that I teach. It's like having me in your back pocket while you built your welcome kit. It's calm, clear and aligned with the way you actually want to run your business. So here's some ways you can use it to draft your client welcome email, to create your call reminders, to clarify your office hours so many other things as well and when you combine this with that workbook, it gives you the structure that you need to communicate your boundaries clearly, set clear expectations for your clients and they'll never be left guessing how to work with you.

You can just enforce your boundaries. Remember boundaries, protect your business. If you don't set them, someone else will, but you probably won't like them. Someone else will, but you probably won't like them. Now here's lesson number three. Smooth onboarding is actually leadership, and this is the final piece of the puzzle today. Smooth onboarding isn't just about saving you time it's about influence. When your onboarding is clear and consistent, clients see you as a leader from day one and, instead of trying to manage you or bend your process in their direction, they naturally fall into the system that you've created. Now this is what that looks like: a kickoff process so you can set expectations right away, templates that you use to keep communication simple and consistent, and boundaries that are built into your workflow so clients follow your lead instead of pulling you into theirs. Now I will be real with you.

Some clients are not going to love your structure at first. They may be used to working in a looser way and at the beginning it can feel like it's just one more thing that they have to adapt to. But the truth is, structure is service. The very same clients who hesitate in the beginning or kind of push back, they often become your biggest fans later because your process, when you stick to it, makes their life so much easier. They don't have to dig through their inbox for instructions, they don't have to wonder what's coming next and they won't have to second guess how you work.

Instead, they are confident in you and your ability to keep your word and get them what they're paying you, for they feel cared for and, most importantly, they are relieved because they know you are on it. And here's the ripple effect when clients see you as a leader from day one, it changes how they engage with you. The entire time they work with you, they respect your boundaries, they trust your expertise and they stop treating you like an employee or just another service provider and they start seeing you as a trusted strategic partner. Take my word for it. I have been working with one of my clients for over 10 years because of having an onboarding process.

But this is also why the 90 day roadmap inside the Mind, your Time Society is so powerful, because you don't have to fix everything overnight. As a matter of fact, trying to do it all at once is what keeps so many service providers stuck, but that roadmap helps you jumpstart the process by breaking this into clear, doable steps. First, you focus on the system that will make the biggest difference for you right now in your business, and oftentimes that's onboarding or client communication. Then each week, you take a small, manageable step that builds on the last one.

So by the end of 90 days, not only have you plugged the biggest gaps in your back office and your client experience, but you've also created momentum that you can continue to build on. So, instead of spinning your wheels or wasting energy trying to fix everything at once, you always know what to do next and you can actually see progress, but you're not overwhelmed. That's how the roadmap helps you make the transition from being reactive and scattered to being calm, confident and proactive, so you can create one system at a time. So the lesson for you smooth onboarding is not just about being organized. It actually allows you to be a leader, and leadership is what elevates you and takes you from being on demand for tasks to being in demand for your expertise.

So now let's talk about this week's quick win challenge. Remember, last week, I asked you to write down the top three things you repeat with every client. That can be questions, instructions or reminders that you see coming up over and over again. That list is the starting point of your system. So now, this week, I want you to choose just one of those things that you wrote down so we can get it out of your head and into a repeatable format. You can save it as a message template, drop it into a Google Doc or simply create a form. A new client can complete.

The format doesn't really matter right now. What matters is that you've taken the first step toward leading your client relationships forward instead of reacting to them, and here's why this step matters. This is exactly how members of the Mind your Time Society start building their onboarding systems. Everyone starts small. They document one thing, they plug it into the Welcome Kit and onboarding workbook so it becomes a professional process that works for every client. See, when you do this, you're not just creating a shortcut for yourself. You're practicing the exact habit that makes onboarding smooth, repeatable and professional. And when you plug that template from that workbook into the coach man, you come out with a professional system that you can use with every client.

Okay, so let's recap the three big lessons I want you to take away today. Number one things feel messy with new clients because there isn't a clear system guiding the process, and without that structure, you're feeling scattered, you're reactive instead of proactive and you're spending hours doing things you cannot bill for. Lesson two boundaries start with you. It's non-negotiable. You can't delegate them or expect clients to magically know how you work. And delegation is a strategy, not a shortcut. When you prepare your business by getting your systems and boundaries in place first, you set both yourself and anyone else that works with you up for success.

Lesson three smooth onboarding is not just about getting everything organized, it's leadership. So even if some of your clients resist the structure at first, they will come to appreciate it because it makes their life easier. And when you lead the process and stick to it, clients see you as a trusted partner, not just another service provider. So, in a nutshell, every client relationship succeeds or fails based on your system or your lack of having one. And when you lead with clarity from day one, clients will follow your lead with trust and respect. So that's it for this week.

Now, if this episode hit home and you're ready to simplify your onboarding process, here's your next step: Go to theshannonbaker.com forward slash checklist and download the free back office power checklist. It's going to show you exactly where the cracks are in your back end, starting with your client communication and new client onboarding, and when you're ready to fix those cracks and stop scrambling and start leading.

I would love to see you inside the Mind your Time Society and as soon as you join, you get access to the starter stack, which includes the Welcome Kit and onboarding workbook, the 90 day roadmap and the Welcome Kit coach. It helps you put it all into words, put them all together. It creates a repeatable process, a smooth professional onboarding process your clients are going to love and you will, too, imagine going into the next quarter with clients who follow your lead instead of it draining your time. That's exactly what the Mind, your Time Society helps you build, and the sooner you start, the sooner you're going to feel the difference. Every week you delay is another week. You're stuck chasing clients for files, repeating yourself and burning hours you can't bill for. But one small reset today can completely change how your next client relationship feels, because clients are always going to be clients. But with the right system in place, you stop scrambling and you start leading.

Now, don't forget, this is just episode two in the systems reset series. Next week, in episode three, we're going to shift gears and talk about your calendar. I'm going to talk about why poor scheduling doesn't just cost you time, but it also costs you the right clients. More importantly, I'm going to talk about why poor scheduling doesn't just cost you time, but it also costs you the right clients. More importantly, I'm going to walk you through a few simple resets that are going to help you filter out the wrong fit clients and projects and give you back time and energy. So make sure you hit, follow and I will meet you right back here next week for episode three. Thanks for tuning in today.

If this episode hit home, it's because you already know you're ready to stop patching up the problems and start running your business like the pro you are. But listening won't fix the cracks. Action will your next step? Grab the back office power checklist at theshannonbaker.com forward slash checklist. It'll show you exactly what's working, what's missing and where your back end is silently slowing you down. And if you're ready to go deeper, founder circle inside the Mind. Your Time Society is where we can fix it, together with the systems insanity suite and you'll get the clarity that you've been craving. Not quite there yet. Come say hi to me on Instagram at the underscore Shannon Baker. I would love to hear what resonated with you the most. And if you're loving the podcast, please leave a quick review because it goes a long way in helping more service providers like you find the podcast. You can do that right now at ratethispodcast.com forward slash Mind your time. Skills got your clients, systems and your expertise are what's going to help you keep them. So until next time, keep calm and streamline.

If you're great at what you do but you still feel like things are falling apart behind the scenes in your business, then this episode is for you. This is the very first episode of my brand new Systems Reset series, a four-part series designed to help you uncover the cracks in your business, fix the ones that are holding you back, and step into Q4 with clarity and confidence.

In this episode, we're going to dig into why being talented just isn't enough to build a sustainable business, why it's not your fault, and how you can start shifting things so your back end actually supports your growth. Welcome to the Mind Your Time podcast.

I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding, or draining workdays, this show is for you. Each week, I share bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion framework to help you streamline your backend, protect your time, and lead your client experience with confidence—because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further.

So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink and let's dive in. I'm going to start by letting you in on something most people don’t know about me. I didn’t always have systems, and I definitely didn’t always love them.

When I started my business as a virtual assistant over a decade ago, I didn’t even really know what a system was. To me, a system now means documenting your process, automating what you can with tech, and delegating the rest. But back then, I thought if I registered my business, opened a bank account, and kept my clients happy, everything else would fall into place. And while I did land some amazing clients—I still work with one of them today—behind the scenes was a total mess.

My inbox was overflowing, my onboarding was inconsistent, and I said yes to way too many projects that drained me because I had nothing in place to keep control. It wasn’t that I was bad at what I did—I was actually really good. The problem was that my backend was duct-taped together. Until I faced that truth, I kept hitting walls and booking the wrong clients.

I don’t want you to make the same mistakes, so let’s talk about three lessons I learned as a service provider and how you can avoid them.

Lesson number one: meaningful work does not guarantee a smooth backend. You can be absolutely amazing at what you do and still feel like you’re drowning. I remember redoing a client’s newsletter after dinner one night because they’d missed another approval deadline. Instead of enforcing my boundaries, I ignored them. I thought, “I love this client and this work—so why is it so hard?”

The problem wasn’t the client or my skills. It was that I didn’t have systems in place to protect my time, set expectations, and make the process run smoothly. Without systems, I kept cycling through missed deadlines, stress, and frustration.

If every new client or project forces you to reinvent the wheel, you’ll stay stuck in survival mode. And it’s not because you’re not capable—it’s because your business doesn’t yet have the foundation to support you. That’s why I created the Back Office POWER Checklist. It shows you exactly where the cracks are so you can stop guessing and start fixing the right things first.

Lesson number two: the real reason discovery calls feel off and your workdays feel so draining. Early in my business, my calendar was packed with calls. At first, I thought that meant growth, but most weren’t a good fit. Without a system to filter people out, I spent energy on calls that left me drained.
Even onboarding those who did say yes was messy. Expectations weren’t clear, so projects felt heavier than they needed to. The truth is, when your backend is missing structure, you pay in time, energy, and credibility.

That’s why I created resources like the 90-Day Roadmap and the Welcome Kit & Onboarding Workbook inside the Starter Stack. Members use these tools to clarify their client journey, build systems one at a time without overwhelm, and onboard consistently and professionally. One member told me she thought she wasn’t “a systems person.” But once she used the Back Office POWER Checklist and onboarding workbook, she realized her process—not her—was the problem. Now, she closes more aligned clients with ease.

Lesson number three: systems protect your peace and let you shine. When I finally created systems, they didn’t box me in. They gave me freedom to focus on my best work. My days felt lighter, discovery calls were aligned, and onboarding became clear. Most importantly, my confidence skyrocketed.
Systems didn’t make me less creative. They made me more professional, more trusted, and more effective. They gave me peace of mind and space to serve my clients well.
That’s the lesson I want you to take away—systems aren’t about making your business robotic. They’re about protecting your peace and creating space for you to shine.

To prove it, here’s a quick win challenge: write down the top three things you repeat for every client. Once it’s on paper, turn it into a template or checklist. That small step saves hours every month.

Lesson one—being great at what you do isn’t enough. Without systems, you’ll stay in survival mode.
Lesson two—if discovery calls feel off and projects feel heavy, the missing piece is your systems.
Lesson three—systems don’t restrict you, they protect you.
If this hit home, your next step is to grab the Back Office POWER Checklist. It only takes minutes to complete and shows you exactly where your gaps are so you stop duct-taping things together. Then, when you’re ready to close those gaps, Founders Circle inside the Mind Your Time Society is where you’ll get the tools, templates, and guidance to put it all into action.

And this is just the beginning. In the next episode of the Systems Reset Series, we’re going to talk about client onboarding and how to turn it from a time suck into a strategic advantage that wows your clients.

Have you ever looked around at your business and thought, Wait, how did things get this messy? Behind the scenes? On the outside things look like they're working great. Clients are happy. You're getting referrals, you're booking discovery calls, but behind the scenes, you're holding it all together with duct tape, high hopes and way too many reminders in your head, while you're not necessarily behind, you're not operating with the clarity and structure you know you need.

So in today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the first steps you can take to finally fix what's broken behind the scenes in your business. If your back end feels like it's chaotic, you're reactive or it's disorganized, this is where we start to make changes.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee loving host and business operations strategist. If you're a service provider who's great at what you do but stuck with misfit clients, messy onboarding or draining work days, this show is for you each week. I share both strategies and practical insights rooted in my power and motion framework to help you streamline your back end, protect your time and lead your client experience with confidence, because skills got you clients, but systems will take you further. So grab your cup of coffee or your favorite drink, and let's dive in.

Let me take you back in time to the moment when I went from being a virtual assistant to a business operation strategist, let me tell you, I was booked out. My clients trusted me, and my business grew because of referrals. So growth happened a lot faster than I had ever anticipated. But behind the scenes of my business, it was total chaos.

I was mainly onboarding every client, which meant that every client had a different experience, and all of them weren't that great. I also found myself having to redo client work because they didn't have any processes so their expectations weren't clearly communicated when they gave me the task to complete, and because I didn't have systems in place, I was wasting hours looking for files that I needed, recreating onboarding steps over and over, retyping the same client emails over and over, the list goes on and on. The bottom line, I couldn't keep up, because at the time, my daughter had just started going to school, and I was working full time while trying to build my business, and I didn't know what to fix first. That's what made it so frustrating.

When I started my business, I found tons of information online to help me get the business going, but there wasn't a lot of information about how to keep it going without burning out. But over time, one thing I did figure out on my own was that I didn't need another offer, because I had tried quite a few at that time, and none of them really worked out the way that I wanted them to. And honestly, it didn't matter, because I didn't need more work, because I didn't have more time.

What I actually needed was a way to fix the back end of my business. Because of lack of systems, it was dragging me down, and it was really straining my relationship with my family. Now, if that's you right now, I promise there is a way out, and it starts with clarity.

So let's dig into what that looks like. Well, first of all, if you're disorganized, that is only part of the problem, and you're not the only one with it. You've actually just outgrown your current infrastructure.

So let's take a moment to reframe your thoughts on that, because I've talked to quite a few number of service providers over the years, and most of them, they honestly feel like they're bad at systems and that there's no hope. How do you feel about that?

Well, if your client experience feels different every time, if communication with your clients and your team feels scattered, if your boundaries are constantly being tested or ignored, and if you feel stuck or in hustle mode because you don't have the structure you need to grow and scale, that's not because you're bad at systems.

It's because you don't have the ones you need to support the level you're actually operating at. And that's why everything feels so heavy, and why your business is so dependent on you, because you're carrying it all on your own, and your operations are all in your head.

So here's the truth. You know your clients, they already trust you. Your skills are solid. You're delivering results. So this isn't about your capability, but it's really about your back end catching up to your brilliance. See, when you create structure to support your zone of genius, your business stops feeling so chaotic and heavy you.

Stop making decisions that aren't aligned with your values or the season of your life. You stop doing things from scratch over and over again, and instead, you get the systems in place that you need so that you can start operating efficiently and showing up like the leader that you already are.

But here's the catch, you can't fix what you can't see. See, one of the most frustrating parts of back end chaos is not even knowing where to start, and it keeps a lot of business owners stuck. It's a common struggle. I mean, you can feel that something's off, you know you're repeating tasks that really should be easy, but without a bird's eye view into your business operations as they are right now, you get stuck putting out fires instead of building the foundation that you actually need.

And because you spend so much time putting out fires, you don't have the time you need to investigate the issue so you can resolve it, not to mention it's probably not your expertise anyway. Now if you want to experience the relief that comes from at least identifying the issues, then I highly recommend you grab the back office power checklist, because it walks you through the six core systems that I personally feel every growing service provider needs to have in place in their business.

Now, the top three are file management, calendar management and client communication, and all of them together will help that well, at least that checklist is going to help you pinpoint exactly where the chaos is coming from, because one or more of those systems is missing, and the truth is, it's not about fixing everything at once. It's about fixing the right thing first.

So now if you're wondering what those six core systems are, I go deeper into that in the episode The six core systems your business needs to grow without burnout. So I'm going to drop a link to that episode in the show notes, because it gives you a quick summary of each of the core systems that you need so that you have a strong business foundation that supports you.

But for now, the one thing I cannot say enough is I need you to go to the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist and grab the back office power checklist and complete it as soon as possible. But now let's talk about how you can start to make changes for the better.

Okay, let's be real. I know you are neck deep in work right now, so you don't have the capacity to take on, let's say, a 90 day overhaul of your back office. That's why the first fix in your back end needs to give you a quick win, something you can implement right away that makes tomorrow next week and the months and the years beyond easier, not more overwhelming.

So maybe you can start by organizing your digital filing system and create naming conventions that you plan to use so you're not wasting time searching for the same documents every week or recreating the same document that's your file management system doing this job.

Or maybe you want to take control of your time by blocking every Monday for CEO tasks like planning out your week based on the season of your life, instead of putting out fires every day and overbooking yourself. Guess what? That's part of your scheduling system or a time management system, which puts boundaries around your capacity instead of draining it.

And one of the most common areas I see service providers struggling with is writing out a simple, repeatable onboarding workflow, and this is a bit more than just a checklist, and there's nothing wrong with checklists, but you really need a full process that gently and professionally guys a client, from when they sign the contract and submit their payment to scheduling their kickoff meeting and beyond that. And it's all done in a way that makes them feel confident in you, that you care for them, and it clearly shows them what they can expect as they move forward with working with you. And the best part, you don't have to explain everything manually, manually, each and every time.

That's your communication system doing its job, or you can call it a client management system. But this reinforces your boundaries, it sets expectations up front, and it elevates your client experience, all while saving you time and energy behind the scenes, because it's automated.

Now you may be wondering, why am I sharing all of this with you? Well, it's because your back end does not need a total rebuild to calm the chaos, and you don't need to burn everything down and start over. You just need a clear starting point and a plan so that you can make the needed changes.

That's what the back office power. Checklist can help you with and that's how you stop wasting energy on things that don't actually move things forward for you and your business. So now here's a quick one challenge for you that I want you to complete this week.

Pick one area in your business that feels the most chaotic right now. It could be your client onboarding, client communication, or even just setting client expectations. Now, write out how you're handling that right now, and don't overthink it. Just write a few bullet points. Then I want you to go to the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist.

Download the back office power checklist, then use it to compare your current process to what a streamlined system could look like. That checklist will help you immediately spot the gaps in your back office and identify what you need to fix first, and then you can build that into a full workflow and an automated system later, but this is how you start calming the chaos. One clear step, one clear process at a time.

Now this is what I want to emphasize. This is really important, and I don't want you to forget it. The back office power checklist is just the first step. It's intentionally designed to help you see what's missing, but then you have to take action.

But when you're ready to actually build your systems out, you don't have to figure it out on your own. That's where the mind, your time society, comes in, and it's not just another membership.

It's actually your toolkit and your roadmap to creating a strong foundation in your business, because inside, you get access to the full systems insanity suite as a founder circle member. Now here are some of the resources that are included. The back office power checklist, which helps you quickly spot what's missing in your back end. The starter stack, which gives you plug and play templates for smoother operations and many other resources and tools you can use to create your processes and your workflows and your systems. There are detailed momentum maps that guide you so that you can focus on one priority at a time and not get overwhelmed and the power path plans, they show you how to move through the systems insanity suite based on your time, your energy, no more. Where do I start? Decision paralysis.

The beauty of the systems insanity suite is that it meets you where you are right now, and you don't need to fix everything today. You'll be able to create a plan that you can work on based on your schedule, with no pressure and because the mind your time society is a community. You won't be doing this alone. You'll have guidance and support from other service providers who are at different points of their journey, and they also have access to those tools that will help you grow, and everyone grows together. I would love to welcome you inside. So go to the Shannon baker.com, forward slash membership, and check that out today.

Now let's take a moment to recap what we've talked about today, because this episode isn't just about identifying the chaos, it's about giving you the clarity that you need to finally start fixing it. So here are three things that I want you to take away from this episode.

Takeaway number one, the chaos you're experiencing is not your fault. It's just a sign that your systems haven't caught up to your growth. Recognizing that is a first step to making a change, and it takes the shame out of where you are right now so that you can move forward and get where you need to be.

Takeaway number two, you cannot fix what you can't see. So that scattered feeling that you have right now, it's rooted in blind spots. You've been doing the hard work. You're delivering results, you're making things happen, but you're doing it without a strong back end to support you, so you're constantly playing catch up. The back office power checklist will give you the full picture so that you can take action from a place of strategy, not stress, not panic, but you can take the time and fill in the gaps so that you can operate more efficiently.

And TAKEAWAY NUMBER THREE, fixing this doesn't have to be complicated. You just need to start now, and you don't have to fix everything at once. You just need to focus on one area that's slowing you down the most and make one change that will bring you relief, and then you can start to build momentum off of that one intentional fix at a time. That's how you start showing up with more clarity, confidence and control.

So with the chaos behind the scenes of your business has been weighing on you, I hope you. Walk away from this episode knowing this you're not behind. You just need systems that support the level that you're operating at in your business, and you only need to pick one and get started. So if you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and finally fix the chaos behind the scenes in your business, head to the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist and grab the back office power checklist today and complete it. It's free, it's simple, and it's designed to help you take back control without overwhelm, and then when you're ready for the next level of support, the checklist, again, is just the beginning. Join us Inside founders circle in the mind your time society so you can get access to the full systems insanity suite that gives you tools, templates, maps and the pacing plan that you can use to create a structure that will help you build a business, one system at a time, at your pace. But you won't have to do it alone. I know you're ready for the next level of support, and I'm here to help you build that with confidence. So let's get started. Thanks for tuning in today. If this episode hit home, it's because you already know you're ready to stop patching up the problems and start running your business like the pro you are. But listening won't fix the cracks. Action will your next step grab the back office power checklist at the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist, it'll show you exactly what's working, what's missing, and where you're back in is silently slowing you down. And if you're ready to go deeper, founder circle inside the mind, your time society is where we can fix it together with the system's insanity suite, and you'll get the clarity that you've been craving not quite there yet, come say hi to me on Instagram at the underscore. Shannon Baker, I would love to hear what resonated with you the most. And if you're loving the podcast, please leave a quick review, because it goes a long way in helping more service providers like you find the podcast. You can do that right now. At rate this podcast.com, forward slash mind, your time skills got your clients, systems and your expertise are what's going to help you keep them so until next time, keep calm and streamline you.

If your business is starting to grow, but everything behind the scenes is getting harder to manage to the point that you are overwhelmed. This episode is for you. Today I'm going to break down the must fix systems that either support your growth or are silently sabotaging it because they're missing. So if you're back in fields, duct taped together and you're ready for more clarity, more control and way less stress. Let's get into it.

Welcome to the mind your time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your copy loving host and business operations strategist. Each week, I'll share practical insights and bold strategies rooted in my power and motion framework to help you streamline your operations, reclaim your time and build a business that supports your life, whether you're just starting out or scaling to six figures and beyond, these episodes will help you take control and create success on your own terms. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, and let's dive into today's topic.

Okay, I have a confession to make. I didn't always love systems. In fact, I didn't even know what systems were when I started my business as a virtual assistant, but eventually I learned the hard way, that they are the things that you can't just piece together if you want your business to thrive. But before that lesson was learned, I was doing good work, I was booking clients, I was staying busy, but everything behind the scenes, it was pure chaos, and I will never forget the part of my journey when I was juggling multiple client projects, working a full time job, raising a family, and I was exhausted, I mean, to the point that I was like, how am I supposed to keep this up?

And then one day, I realized I had promised the client something, and I completely forgot about it. It wasn't in my planner, it wasn't on my digital calendar. I couldn't even find the email that I needed to complete the task, and it definitely wasn't in any kind of project management tool, because I wasn't using one, and I almost lost that client. That was the moment that I realized something had to change. And this didn't just happen because I was disorganized, because, by nature, I'm a very organized person, but that didn't matter, because I was just trying to grow a business without the back end that needed to support it. And that's when it clicked.

The problem wasn't how much I was doing, it was how I was doing it, and that's when I made the decision that I wasn't going to keep working in that chaos. So I started paying attention to when I worked and how I worked, not just what I worked on, and that laid the foundation for the kind of business that I run today, and I help my clients build the same type of business. So the tips that I'm going to share today and the strategies that I share on the podcast in general, they are tried and true. And I'm not saying that you need to do things exactly the way that I did, by all means, but I'm pretty sure that you can relate to the struggle that I've had over the years and the things that I've had to overcome, and you can get something from what I learned or the mistakes that I made, so that you can also get past that.

Now, if you're out here doing meaningful work, your clients are happy, your business is growing and you're getting noticed. Kudos to you. But I also know for many of you, everything behind the scenes is keeping you up at night. So if that's you, I want you to recognize that it doesn't mean you're necessarily doing anything wrong, but your systems are not in place, or your business is not equipped to support all of that because the systems are missing. So let's talk about what you actually need to fix before you experience this growing pain, because more clients and bigger opportunities won't fix a messy back end, it will just magnify the issues. And if you already have steady growth, then you are experiencing these growing pains, and it's time for us to get it under control.

So let's start with the first hard truth. Growth exposes every single crack in the back end of your business. Now, when you first start your business, you can get by with a couple of sticky notes, and you can still make things happen when you're working with organized chaos. But as you prove your business concept is viable and your business starts growing, that means you're taking more calls, so you need a screening process. You also need templates to respond be. Because you're going to get more inquiries.

Basically, there are a ton of moving parts, and every little inefficiency in your back office becomes a big energy drink. So you end up spending more time double checking to see if you sent that response or that contract if you reply to an email, sometimes you forget to follow up with people, so you miss out on good opportunities. And that doesn't even count for the time that you lose, constantly searching through your computer or your Google Drive or Dropbox or OneDrive, trying to find that one document you use the last time you know the one that has the wording exactly the way that you want it. And it's not that you're disorganized, well maybe, but in reality, the fact is that your business has outgrown the way you've been operating.

You need systems, and this is where a lot of business owners get stuck, or they just ignore this all together and continue to operate by the seat of their pants. And then we're told in the online space that you just need to hire help or work harder, work smarter, not harder. But no one tells you what actually needs to change to address all of this, and if you keep ignoring it, it will only get worse. The truth is, you don't need more help because you're doing things manually. You need a business that supports you automatically, because once you start booking clients consistently, or you get enough business to the point that you start to raise your prices, those cracks in your back end are going to start costing you real time, real energy, money and trust.
And that brings me to the second big mindset shift that you need to make. You don't need more tools. You need more structure. And this is big because it's very easy to fall into. The tech will save me trap. This is the second biggest trap I've seen business owners make outside of hiring help way before their business is ready for that type of support. Now I'm not going to get on my soapbox about that today, because I've covered that already in the episode, stop hiring in chaos.

How to delegate successfully, and you can check that out later if you're thinking about building a team to help you solve this issue. Spoiler alert is not going to work, but here's the truth that no one talks about tech tools do not fix messy processes. They just disguise them. So maybe you've tried Google Sheets. Click up, notion. Air table, Trello, Monday, the list can go on and on, hoping that one of them is going to finally make your business feel more organized. If you don't have documented processes or you're unclear on your process, on your priorities or how things flow, it doesn't matter where you store your documents or what tools you have in your tech toolkit, it's still chaos.

So when you create systems in your business, you start to build structure, and when I say systems, I'm talking about a documented process that walks through how to do something for your business, step by step, then your tech tools are integrated, and what's left can be delegated to someone other than you. See, when your systems are in place, you have a way of working that's repeatable. Boundaries are built into your workflows. Things operate efficiently and consistently behind the scenes.

That means you can stop reinventing the wheel, because the wheel is already mapped out and in place, and once you have that, my friend, your tools finally start doing what you wanted them to do. Your task manager reminds you at the right time to do something. Your client folders follow a naming convention so you can find what you need when you need it, and your scheduler, oh, your calendar is completely blocked off and allows for the time that you need to focus and be present in everyday life. So it's not about finding the perfect software or even the perfect person. It's about building a structure that works for you, and then plugging your tools and people into that.

Now here's the part, most people overlook the right systems. They help you lead, not just deliver. So if you're spending all of your time reacting to emails, juggling client deliverables and putting out fires, you're stuck in survival mode, and that is not leadership. And I know that you're not building your business just to feel busy all the time.

You're building it to lead, to have control of your time, to create a client experience that feels aligned. It's sustainable. Streamlined systems allow you to do that. They let you lead your clients through a smooth, consistent and clear process that sets expectations and builds trust. They let you say no to the wrong opportunities and yes to the right ones without panicking and without stretching you too thin, they help you hand off tasks with confidence, because you're not the only person who knows how it all works, and it works without you having to manually do it all yourself.

You see, leadership isn't just about having the vision. It's about having the right operations. It's about how your business runs when you're not the one pushing it forward every single day, and if your business is relying on you to remember, manage and hold everything together that is not sustainable. That's a burnout plan that is waiting to happen. So where exactly can you start?
Well, I've got a quick one challenge for you. I want you to pick one process in your business right now that feels inconsistent or is weighing you down just one it could be your only onboarding process. It could be how you prepare for sales calls, or maybe it's how you manage your clients.

Whatever it is, I want you to write out every single step of that process, and I mean the real version, not the polished one that exists in your head but doesn't work in reality. What do you actually do? Write down the steps in order, and then you can go back and identify what's missing, and I don't want you to worry about fixing it yet. I just want you to get the steps out of your head and onto paper, because once you can see your process, then you can clean it up. Once it's cleaned up, you can create templates, you can streamline it, and eventually you can delegate it.

That's how systems start. And it doesn't require a fancy dashboard, but it does require clarity. Now, if you want a little help identifying where to start mapping out your back end systems. That's exactly what the back office power checklist is for. It walks you through the six core systems your business needs so that you can grow without burnout, and in less than 10 minutes, you can see what's working, what's missing, and identifying where you need to focus.

This is the same checklist that I use to streamline my systems, and I use it with my clients and inside of the mighty society systems insanity suite. It's designed to help you stop spinning your wheels and start fixing what's slowing you down. You can grab it at the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist, or you can just click the link in the show notes.

Now, before I let you go, let's ground all of this information with a quick recap. First, growth magnifies what's missing in your back end. If it's messy, getting more clients is not going to fix that. It's just going to make it harder to manage. So before you start to grow and scale, we need to fix the foundation. Second, tech tools are not the solution. Structure is you can't automate what isn't clearly identified.

So start with how you work, then you can choose tools that support that workflow, not ones that force you into someone else's system. And third systems are how you lead with intention. They give you control without you having to micromanage. They let you show up for your business, your clients and your life with calmness, clarity and confidence. And that's the kind of business you're really trying to build, isn't it? Not one that just runs, but one that fits the way you want to live and lead.

So if you're ready to start building that version of your business, I want you to go to the Shannon baker.com forward slash checklist and download the back office power checklist, and once you go through it, you will know exactly where to start fixing the things that are silently stealing your time. Remember, you don't need to work harder, you just need the right support, and that starts with your systems.

Thanks for hanging out with me this week. If you've made it this far, it's clear you're ready to shake things up and take control of your business, and I'm here for it. But remember, just listening to this episode won't get you better results. I challenge you to break the mold and take action today. Your next move, let's connect. Head to the show notes and book a call with me to learn how the mighty society membership can help you streamline your back office and reclaim your time. If you're not ready for that step yet, no worries.

Connect with me on Instagram at the underscore Shannon Baker and tell me what resonated most from today's episode, and if you're loving the podcast, leaving a review is a quick way to show your support and help more entrepreneurs like you break free from the chaos. Listening is great, but action creates transformation. Go make it happen, and until next time, keep calm and streamline you.

If your business feels heavy, scattered, or stuck in the same cycle every quarter, this episode is your reset button. Today, I'm going to talk about how to use this season — meaning right now — to take control of your business growth without burning out. September is my January, and after today, I think it might become yours too.

You're going to walk away with three powerful steps you can use to reset your vision, clean up the back end of your business, and finish this year strong. And I've got a resource that's going to make this easier for you.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time Podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If your business feels chaotic and you're tired of spinning your wheels, you're in the right place.

Each episode contains bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion Framework to help you streamline your operations, reclaim your time, and grow without burnout. So, whether you're just starting out or scaling to six figures and beyond, I’ll help you simplify, set boundaries, and build a business that works for you.

So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage, and let's dive in.

Let me start by talking about a common challenge I see among entrepreneurs — whether they’ve just started bringing in clients, are on the verge of hitting six figures, or are just beyond that milestone. They tend to jump from one thing to the next, never really giving anything enough time to work.

There’s always pressure to try new strategies. We have a tendency to chase what’s trending, and that can be overwhelming. I know firsthand — I’ve been there, chasing shiny objects, chasing money, and feeling like I was missing out on something if I didn’t hop on every opportunity and new idea that came my way.

So how do you decide what truly deserves your time and energy? How do you filter out the noise and focus on what actually matters so that your business can grow?

For me, the answer came during a season of reflection and reset.

That’s when I decided to make September 1st my January. I’d heard the idea before — for years, actually — but when I finally started doing it myself, it stuck. It felt like the perfect time to pause and redirect my energy. Not just to finish the year strong, but to reset my goals, review my systems, and realign in a way that supported the lifestyle I was craving.

And that one shift made an immediate difference.

What I didn’t realize until I made that change was how much I’d been waiting for a new year to fix everything. I was waiting for a new planner, waiting to create a new strategy, waiting to fix what really needed to be rebuilt in my business from the inside out.

Instead of scrambling to set goals and "restart" in January — when my energy was lower, the weather was cold, and my schedule was already full — I started using the fall to build momentum. I treated September like the start of Q1 for my business.

While everyone else was winding down for the holidays, I was laying the foundation for the business I wanted to walk into on January 1.

If you've ever hired someone to help relieve the overwhelm you feel in your business and you still feel like you're doing everything yourself, this episode is for you. Because I'm going to be talking about why you keep failing at delegation—and spoiler alert, it's probably not the reason you think.

It's not about who you hired. It's about what you hired them into.

Whether you're the CEO trying to grow your business or you're just trying to get control of your time and get time back, your systems matter. Delegation isn't the problem—but your back end might be.

So let's talk about it.

Welcome to the Mind Your Time podcast. I'm Shannon Baker, your coffee-loving host and business operations strategist. If your business feels chaotic and you're tired of spinning your wheels, you're in the right place. Each episode contains bold strategies and practical insights rooted in my POWER In Motion Framework to help you streamline your operations, reclaim your time, and grow without burnout.

Whether you're just starting out or scaling to six figures and beyond, I’ll help you simplify, set boundaries, and build a business that works for you. So grab a cup of coffee or your favorite beverage and let's dive in.

Okay, so let me start by taking you back to one of the first clients that I ever worked with as a virtual assistant. We're going to call her Melissa.

On the outside, everything in her business looked amazing. She was almost making six figures, she was booking speaking gigs, and she had a waitlist full of dream clients. But once I got to look behind the curtains and see the real deal, her business was a mess.

There were no SOPs. No task management system. Nothing was documented. It was just pure chaos.

During her discovery call, I noticed some red flags that I should not have ignored. She was very vague about how she worked and couldn’t explain her processes. Honestly, she was pretty scattered. But I ignored all those red flags because I was new—and I truly believed I could help her.

Well, guess what? I couldn’t.

Every time I tried to create structure in Melissa's business, she got flustered. Sometimes she even ghosted me. One day she said I was giving her too much work—when all I had done was try to introduce some clarity and organization.

Needless to say, I ended up firing her as a client.

That was the moment I realized: delegation isn't always the issue. Nine times out of ten, the real problem is the backend of the business.

I remember sitting at my desk wondering, “Is it me? Am I asking too much?” But deep down, I knew I wasn’t. I was asking for basic things: clarity, communication, and structure.

That’s when it hit me—it wasn’t about my effort. It was about her readiness.

And that moment has stuck with me ever since. Because I’ve seen it happen time and time again—especially with women who are purpose-driven and laser-focused on reaching their goals.

So let’s talk about this for real.

If you're anything like my client Carla—this is a different client—then you’re probably thinking delegation just doesn’t work for you either.

You’ve handed off a few tasks here and there. Maybe you’ve hired a VA once, twice, even three times—and each time it’s failed. Somehow it always ends up the same.

Tasks fall through the cracks. You repeat yourself constantly. And eventually, you just do it yourself.

So you tell yourself, “It’s easier if I just handle it.”

But here’s the truth: you aren’t failing at delegation. You’re trying to delegate into disorganized—or nonexistent—systems.

Let’s say you hire someone and say, “Just help me. Jump in wherever I need support.” Sounds reasonable, right?

But without clear expectations, documented steps, or a system for them to plug into, they’re left guessing. And guesswork leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to mistrust. And suddenly you’re back in the weeds, stressed out and burned out, doing it all yourself again.

The problem isn’t that you hired the wrong person. It’s that your backend wasn’t ready to support them so they could support you.

Now hear me out. I’m not saying you need to build a 200-page SOP manual overnight. But you do need a system—a foundation that gives your support team clarity, direction, and documentation so they can actually help.

That’s where the Back Office POWER Checklist comes in.

It’s the very first thing I give to anyone who’s preparing to hire or who’s had a poor experience with delegation. It helps you take an honest look at what’s working, what’s missing, and what’s creating bottlenecks behind the scenes.

Because if your business is built on adrenaline and last-minute decisions, no VA in the world can keep up. But if you give them a roadmap, show them the big picture, and provide a little breathing room—they can help you lead.

That’s exactly what one of my clients—let’s call her Carla 2.0—did.

She came to me totally over it. She’d already sworn off hiring another VA because it had “never worked.” She said it was more stress than support.

But during her POWER In Motion Jumpstart Session, we did something different.

Instead of rushing to fill in the gaps, we slowed down. We walked through the Back Office POWER Checklist together. And that one step changed everything.

She saw exactly where her systems were fuzzy, where handoff points were failing, and where her expectations were still stuck in her head. That clarity shifted everything.

By the end of her session, she didn’t just feel ready to hire—she felt equipped to do it differently. She had a starting point, a 30-day focus, and a way to prepare for the kind of support she actually wanted and needed.

For the first time, she wasn’t hiring from the verge of burnout. She was hiring with intention.

Her plan now is to bring on a VA who can truly grow with her. And when she does, she already knows what that onboarding process will look like—because we mapped it out together.

She’s planning to enroll them into Founders Circle after 90 days of working together, and they’ll use the Delegate with Confidence Guide to co-build the backend—without Carla becoming the bottleneck again.

What a difference preparation makes. And it started with one honest look at what was happening behind the scenes.

That’s what I want for you, too.

So let me ask you—do you really know what kind of support you need? Or are you hoping someone will just figure it out for you?

Do you have a repeatable way to hand things off? Or are you winging it every time something comes up?

Answer those questions honestly.

Here’s your quick win challenge this week: Download the Back Office POWER Checklist and complete it—truthfully. Don’t sugarcoat. Don’t skip the messy parts. If it’s slowing you down or making delegation harder, it needs to be addressed.

This isn’t just the first step to hiring. It’s the foundation for building a business that supports the growth you want.

Now let’s wrap this up with three mindset shifts that can change your entire approach to delegation:

First, hiring isn’t the fix—preparation is. If your backend is chaotic, it won’t matter who you hire. You have to make space for them to succeed.

Second, delegation works when you lead it well. That doesn’t mean micromanaging—it means providing structure, context, and a system that helps your team step into their role with confidence.

Third, you don’t need a massive overhaul to see results. Sometimes one focused audit or a 30-day plan is all it takes—just like Carla 2.0 experienced.

If you’re ready for support that actually sticks, download the Back Office POWER Checklist now. And if you want personalized guidance as you walk through it, book a POWER In Motion Jumpstart Session. In one hour, we’ll create a 30-day action plan that gets your backend ready for the kind of support that can help you thrive.

You don’t need to do more to make your business run better. You just need the right foundation.

Let’s build it together.