TRANSCRIPT 🔗
A few years ago, one summer, my family was planning to go to the zoo. This was on a weekday, and it was one of the few weekdays that summer I was able to actually get work done. We weren't doing summer camp, we didn't really have childcare, so I was working on the days my wife was off. And so she arranged to go to the zoo with a few of her coworkers and their kids. And so this was a group activity, and I'm telling you that Because it was also my son's birthday, though this wasn't particularly for his birthday. It just happened to fall on his birthday. We were having a party that weekend. The morning came and the weather looked bad and everybody else bailed, which meant that it would be my wife and the kids, including my son, on his birthday.
So, you know, I decided this has turned into a family-only activity. I am going to take the day off even though I wasn't planning on it, even though I really didn't have a lot of working days that summer, and spend the day with my family. And you know what? It was super fun and it was a very memorable birthday for my son. I would not have been able to do that just the year before because I didn't feel I had any margin for time off, let alone having the ability to take that time off in a summer where I was already not working a lot. And that's what I want to talk about today. Hey everybody, and welcome to The Streamlined Solopreneur, where I help business owners stop doing everything themselves, saving 25 hours per month, so they can focus on what really matters, like taking their kids to the zoo. Now, I want to pose this question to you in this episode. You likely read it in the title.
What would you do with 25 hours? This is something that I have been asking other small business owners, solo business owners, potential clients, and the answers vary from person to person. But some of the goals I heard were great. Some said, oh, I would finally get the time to do this project I've been dying to do. A couple of people said I would finally write my book or my novel. I would spend more time with my nieces and nephews, with my kids, with my significant other. I would go to a movie in the middle of an afternoon. Just great answers. And some people said I would just touch grass.
I think having these goals in mind are important because without those goals, you're not really working towards something. So when I was ready to save up 25 hours per month, I had my kids in mind. And I'm going to tell you about a few ways that I've been able to help people get 25 hours per month back. Now, before we get into how to solve this problem, I know that many of you are struggling to find the time to even start thinking about this. You're probably thinking, Joe, I would love 25 hours. I would love 25 minutes. That's why I want to make this as easy as possible for you with the Solo Ops Roadmap. In one 60-minute call, I will learn how you work and how you can save 25 hours each month.
Then I will give you a prioritized list so
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you know where to start, including something you can take action on the same day you get the roadmap. If that sounds good to you, you can book yours at streamlined.fm/roadmap. That's streamlined with a D, Dot FM slash roadmap. But hurry, because I only have a limited number of spots for these each month. Now, what would you do with 25 hours each month? This is a question I make sure to ask all of my clients when we start working together. And so I have some really great stories, how we did it and how they're spending their time now. And I want to start with Annie. Annie reached out to me.
Hi. And she said, how could you possibly run 3 podcasts while raising 3 kids when I can barely handle one of each? So we sat down, I learned how she worked. We built a better system for her to produce her podcast. And now she is more consistent, but also has time to spend with her family. With her son, which, by the way, did I mention that Annie's also a full-time nurse? So she's a nurse, she has this podcast, and she still has more time to spend with her son. That's what I'm trying— that's what I'm trying to do for as many people as possible. Laura was in the same boat. Laura runs a podcast called Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
I will link our episode. We did like a post-coaching engagement interview where we talked about Her transformation, but she was really overwhelmed. She was paying for too many tools. She was not doing things efficiently and she knew it, but she didn't know where to start. She didn't know what questions that she even needed to ask to get her to where she wanted to be, which was be more present for the grandchildren that she's raising. Now we put a full system in place. We cut a bunch of her tools. We simplified her process.
It is way less hands-on for her now, and she can deliver great content without having to touch every single thing, which frees up her time. And she shared this story on the podcast, but she mentioned about how her mom is sick and she wants to spend as much time with her as possible. And so freeing up her time here has given her the ability to have soup with her mom during lunch. instead of her eating at her desk while she's trying to get the next podcast episode out or build the next community thing. And that was so like— I teared up when she told me that because that's, that's like an intangible thing, right? She is using her 25 hours every month to spend this time with her mom and with her grandkids. And finally, I want to talk about Paolo. Paolo Luongo is a lawyer, a practicing lawyer. In Florida.
We helped him launch his podcast and YouTube channel where he helps Florida first responders. He's the partner in this law firm. It's him and his partner doing the podcast. As you can imagine, they're pretty busy running a law firm, practicing the law. And so we wanted to make the process of releasing these super educational videos for people— videos and podcasts— as easy as possible. I followed up with Paolo
6 months after we were finished. So like a little bit earlier this year as I record this. And he said not only is the show gaining traction, but he's already getting cases from the podcast, something that we launched 6 months ago.
And what is he doing with his extra time? Well, Paolo has 4 kids, but he's also serving his community. He helps a group of people who need this help and are underserved because workman's comp— like, this is what he does, workman's comp for first responders. And there is such little or bad information out there that he is spending his time educating his community and serving his audience better. So I want you to think about the question, what would you do with 25 hours if I was able to give you 25 hours back? What would you do? Because having some concrete goal makes the work you need to do to make it happen easier. When I set my goal of spending more time with my family, I knew I needed more automation, sure, but I needed better boundaries, and I built those boundaries. And so having that goal will help you build the systems and stick to it. Now, I know some of you are thinking, even with the goal, you, you might not feel like you can make this happen. You need some accountability, you need guidance, you need to know what tools are out there and what automations you can build.
That's why I do private coaching and consulting. I use my signature framework, the Streamline Solopreneur System, To help you set goals and get in the right mindset, understand how you work best. This is step 1. How do you work best? This is what we're going to build our system around and organize your business. Then I build a system that works for you. You don't have to do that part. I will do that part. I will build a system that you will actually use.
It is my promise to you. That we will build something you will actually use. I will teach you how it works and how to use it. We'll refine it so that it's perfect for you. And then I hand it off to you with everything you need to confidently use the system. The result? You're going to be more like Annie and Laura and Paulo. You will have 25 hours back each month to write that book. Spend more time with your family, or just touch grass.
If that sounds like something you need, I offer free, no-pressure strategy calls. I love helping people. This is what I do with my time. So I will talk to you about how you work and everything you're doing. You can book your free strategy call at streamlined.fm/strategy. There will be a link in the description. below as well.
But that is it for this episode of The Streamlined Solopreneur. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you're thinking about this near-future time where you have the ability to step away from your desk because you have a system in place that allows you to do the work that you most need to do. And so that you have the time to focus on what really matters. I'm going to spend more time with my kids, go to the zoo, go to Disney World, just play some baseball with them in the backyard. It's why I built my business.
Thanks so much for listening. And until next time, I hope you find some space in your week.