So with that in mind…

Here’s what an average day inside my company looked like before (and if you’ve ever worked in an office, then I’m sure you can relate).

I call this the "Traditional Corporate Model":

Step 1 - The cycle usually begins with manually slogging through repetitive tasks like data entry, reporting, content creation, and other routine work that keeps the business running day-to-day.

Generally, because this happens when we're already overloaded, the process for this hasn’t really been optimized.

So we never know how long mundane work will take - some days are more productive than others, but we don’t know whether we'll make real progress or just spin our wheels.

It’s common to waste hours on end doing repetitive tasks that could be automated.

Step 2 - We often have to play phone or email tag to coordinate collaboration, meetings take ages to schedule, and responses can take days since people are bogged down in their own silos.

Some communication falls through the cracks before we make progress, and people fail to show up or deliver as expected.

Step 3 - Our workflows involve manually guiding people through processes and customizing our approach in an attempt to be helpful and personable. But it's inconsistent and time-consuming.

Step 4 - When we do complete tasks, we deal with slow manual approvals, paperwork back and forth, and customized invoicing - causing more delays.

Step 5 - We tend to drop balls due to disconnected workflows, communication breakdowns, and siloed efforts - then we're back at step 1, buried under the routine work.

Step 6 - Once we wrap up one project, we immediately dive into the next without having time for strategic thinking, growth initiatives, or business development. Our days get consumed reactively dealing with the urgent, leaving no room for the important.

Step 7 - Just like internally, communicating externally involves an endless chain of unoptimized emails, calls, and meetings - keeping us chained to our inboxes around the clock.

Step 8 - By the time we complete a project, we're already burnt out and behind on the next one. There's no time for customer satisfaction surveys, tailored follow-up, or relationship nurturing.

Step 9 - As a result, we’re constantly overwhelmed - working evenings, weekends, and vacations just to keep up.

Step 10 - And no matter how hard we work, we can't seem to move beyond survival mode or achieve our growth goals, because we simply don't have time to step back and work on the business with so much time spent in it.